The Things They Carried mimics this particular age by successfully portraying the lives and environment of the soldiers in Vietnam to depict a true war experience.
Environment Of The Soldiers
In the book, The Things They Carried, there are many short stories about the soldiers lives and what they do during and after the war. Many of these short stories are based off in Vietnam and many United States location's such as Iowa and Massachusetts. Many of the soldiers are very young and have been drafted out of high school. Many of them want to start a new life but don't have the option now due to the war. Vietnam was a very hostile place and they were stranded there for who knows how long with 20 or so guys. They didn't know anything about these guys and they were going to go fight a war with them.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was caused from the Nationalist forces trying to unify Vietnam under a communist government which was refusing. The USA, however, did not favor communism and wanted it from spreading, so they sent troops out to help the Nationalist forces. Thus, they led into war. The war last 16 years and mostly happened in Vietnam. There were almost 60,000 US soldiers killed. There have been many past articles about how soldiers have lost close friends because of enemies and stupidity and this would tie back to The Things They Carried because there are many instances in which soldiers are heartbroken over the death of some of there friends. They blame themselves also for the death of there friends. Many soldiers are also depressed and sad and miss there loved ones back home because of the war. Because Vietnam is such a secluded place to these soldiers, they just want to go home.
Interview with Vietnam War Veteran VS. The Things They Carried
Veterans comments -
"How old were you when this even occurred?" - 20 years old "What were you thinking when the event occurred"? - I was thinking about dying. |
The Things They Carried -
In The Things They Carried, many soldiers were drafted at really early ages. In the book, it was stated about how the average persons age was around this "The average age in our platoon, I'd guess, was nineteen or twenty" (O'Brien 33). "I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything" (O'Brien 36). Many of these people are out of high school so just the though and setting of Vietnam flashes through there head and they start thinking of many negative things. Many are scared. |
Diary of a Vietnam Soldier
This diary is extraordinary because everything he mentions in the diary is very similar to what happens in the book. Wilson mentions how he was also drafted at the army and he had many mixed emotions about going there because he was trying to start his own life. He also mentions how he was scared of dying. The comparison to the diary vs. the book is very similar in a sense. He provides vivid details in his diary about the setting and about Vietnam and how he spent the countless hours with his platoon. I think this is very cool because it relates to the book exactly. Its like O'Brien was the author of the diary also! He also mentions at the end of the diary about the life after the war and how he settled back down in a US country and how he has really vivid memories about the life of himself in Vietnam.
The Things They Carried Places
Tip Top Lodge - O'Brien goes to the lodge as he is deciding whether to flee Canada or not. He was thinking about fleeing because of him being drafted to the war. O'Brien was really scared of going to the war as he wanted to continue his life and didn't want to die. Elroy Berdahl, the lodge owner, takes O'Brien to the Canadian border to go fish. He has every chance to cross the border but doesn't have the guts to do it. This is a really big moment in the book because he decides to go to the war to defend his family honor, showing that he would rather just die then standing up what he believes in.
Song Tra Bond - This was a river in Vietnam that showed power and brutality. This really symbolizes the war because many things happen here for the soldiers.
Mudfield - The mudfield is really important because Tim O'Brien loses his best friend here. Kiowa, a soldier and friend of O'Brien, dies as they are camping in the dark and one of the soldiers shines a flashlight to show him something and they the enemies locate him and shoot him. This was very sad for O'Brien as he is very emotional and it takes time for him to get over this. O'Brien goes back after 20 years to go see this mudfield with his daughter In the end of his visit, he places Kiowa's moccasins in the field. He places them deep in it. "Leaning forward, I reached in the moccasins and wedged them into the soft bottom, letting them slide away (O'Brien 129).
Song Tra Bond - This was a river in Vietnam that showed power and brutality. This really symbolizes the war because many things happen here for the soldiers.
Mudfield - The mudfield is really important because Tim O'Brien loses his best friend here. Kiowa, a soldier and friend of O'Brien, dies as they are camping in the dark and one of the soldiers shines a flashlight to show him something and they the enemies locate him and shoot him. This was very sad for O'Brien as he is very emotional and it takes time for him to get over this. O'Brien goes back after 20 years to go see this mudfield with his daughter In the end of his visit, he places Kiowa's moccasins in the field. He places them deep in it. "Leaning forward, I reached in the moccasins and wedged them into the soft bottom, letting them slide away (O'Brien 129).