the things they carried

In the Massachusetts Review: ‘Speaking of Courage’.
In The Quarterly: ‘In the Field’; ‘Style’; ‘Spin’; and ‘The Man I Killed’.

Observations:
· Repetition of themes:
· truth: ‘I remember Mitchell Sanders smiling as he told the story. Most of it made up…but even so it gave me a quick truth-goose.’
· Living up to expectations back home: Martha, family, parents
· ‘Norman Bowker…whispering…If I could have one wish…I’d wish for my dad to write me a letter and say it’s okay if I don’t win any medals.’
· Symbolic images of Vietnam:
Characters

Tim O’Brien Note: The author is Tim O’Brien, but the character Tim in the stories is, to a large extent, a fictitious compilation and not necessarily an accurate autobiographical representation. Speaking generally but including himself:‘They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing – these were the intangibles, bu...