The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the Vietnam War. O'Brien makes several statements about war through these characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, he makes an effective antiwar statement, and he shows how a person completely changes because of the war. By using details in …

…on this. O'Brien believes the Americans are making the war revolve around themselves, instead of the Vietnamese. While also criticizing Americans, he questions the necessity of United States involvement in the war. His thoughts in the book gives people the impression that the young men that are being brought into the war to become statistics, part of a body count. O'Brien shows very effectively the massive destruction of innocent human life brought on by Vietnam.