the things they carried

The Things They Carried
Unlike traditional war stories, The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brian, has no heroes. O’Brien’s various recollections of the Vietnam War reflect somewhat cowardice and embarrassing behavior. This unusual viewpoint of a war without a hero seems to reveal an inside look on day-to-day life in the middle of a major war.
The reason that O’Brian chose to write a war story with no heroes is that he wanted people outside of the war to see the truth. He wanted people to see that war is not full of fearless leaders and brave soldiers. War has a life-changing and hellish atmosphere that most stories tend to avoid. He does not believe that there is anything heroic about wars based on his many war experiences. O'Brien shows that there are no real "heroes" in the war by trying to convey that everyone in war is just a regular Joe, s...