The Things He Carried by Tim O'Brien Summary Essay
...ever in the war and felt that the war would not solve any problems; until he received a draft letter in June of 1968. In the novel, O’Brien admits for the first time that his feelings of uncertainty made him escape to the border of Canada, where he thought about crossing the border in order to avoid being forced to fight in a war in which he did not believe in. He then realized that his fear and guilt about avoiding war would bring much disappointment to his family, and in his circumstance his political beliefs had to be set aside. He then decided to return home, and a few weeks after, he was in Vietnam, fighting with his fellow soldiers also known as The Alpha Company. Throughout the novel, O’Brien discusses the events that he had to face throughout the war. He recalled the smell of death, blood, and mud throughout the battlefields. However, the death that affected O’Brien the most in book was the death of his beloved friend and member of the Alpha Company, Kiowa. The scene of Kiowa’s death in the battlefield becomes the topic for several of the novel’s short stories, such as “Speaking of Courage,” “Field Trip,” and “Notes.” In each of these, O’Brien discusses what he remembers, and builds a conclusion against the carelessness of the war. In “Speaking of Courage,” O’Brien tells a story that he wrote about a Vietnam comrade named Norman Bowker. In this story, O’Brien described Bowker’s struggle adjusting to civilian life after he returned from Vietnam. In the end of the book, O’Brien describes how Bowker suggested that O’Brien himself should write a story about a veteran with problems trying to return to normal, and the strong, intensifying feelings of survivor guilt. O’Brien then reali...