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The Things they carried
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is an insightful collection of war stories. Veteran Tim O'Brien narrates the novel, alternating between a first-person and a third-person perspective. O'Brien focuses on the psychological effects war can have on soldiers, and through the multiple perspectives, he conveys interesting insight to different aspects of the Vietnam War. He discusses reactions to death, and how the loss of a fellow soldier can bring on feelings of guilt, sadness, and loss in the other platoon members. He talks about the shame associated with avoiding the draft, and the social pressures that were put on men at the time to fight in the war. Conversely, he also talks about the stigma related to the war that many of the soldiers faced upon their returns back to America, and the difficulty of discussing the war in general. O'Brien uses his writing as a way to recreate the memories he has carried throughout his life and to bring the soldiers he fought with back to life. He purges guilt, sorrows, and even secrets. The soldiers he writes about portray different personality types, such as compassionate Kiowa and insensitive Azar. Mary Anne's curiosity brought on a completely different fate than that of Ted Lavender, and Tim O'Brien processed the events of the war differently than Curt Lemon or Mitchell Sanders or Jimmy Cross. Tim O'Brien's recollection of his time in the Vietnam War allows the reader to really feel the emotions of a soldier and to imagine the heavy burden of all of the things they carried.