"The Things They Carried"
Analysis Journal
“ It’s time to be blunt… a long time ago I walked through Quang Ngai Province as a foot soldier. Almost everything else is invented” (179). The art of storytelling has been around for thousands of years. Stories have shaped cultures, formed traditions, and offered comfort and intrigue to people around the world. Tim O’Brien’s book "The Things They Carried" is not about Vietnam but rather is about the reality and the fantasy of storytelling. O’Brien writes stories to rationalize traumatic events and to bring closure to difficult memories. He makes the reader understand and he writes so that people feel and experience situations they have never been through. In the end O’Brien’s way of storytelling reflects his natural ability to teach us about life through words of fiction.

The reason why O’Brien tells certain stories is to heal from his experiences. In the chapter “The Man I Killed” O’Brien witnessed a death. For a young foot soldier the event changed the way he looked at the world around him. He became traumatized and learned to deal with the war. O’Brien notes, “By telling stories you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself… you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but nonetheless help to clarify and explain” (158). It has been proven in many studies that keeping a journal and writing on a regular basis can relieve stress and anxiety. For O’Brien writing is his way of relieving the stress of memories. It helped him deal with being a witness of death and feeling like he was to blame. O’Brien accentuates to the reader how important stories can be in the healing process. O’Brien writes, “ I can look at things I never looked at… I can be brave. I can make myself feel again” (180). This statement by O’Brien defines his reason for why writing stories can be so important to a healing mind.

O’Brien not only uses stories to heal but he writes to make the reader feel. He writes, “ The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it hoping that others might then dream along with you…” (230). O’Brien uses vivid imagery and powerful symbolism to turn a rare experience such as war into an experience everyone can relate to. He captures the sympathy and understanding of every reader. Without the story of Mary Anne or the Shit Field the reader might have not understood the power and meaning that is behind war, death, and love. O’Brien lets the reader know his intentions, “I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer than happening-truth” (179).

In the big picture, stories can teach us. They can explain what blame feels like and how a person grieves. They teach us about living and about dying. O’Brien adds, “A true war story is never about war” (85) he explains that stories carry a much higher meaning, “It’s about love and memory. It’s about sorrow” (85). O’Brien uses storytelling to teach the reader about life by making them feel as if they are apart of the story and putting true meaning into certain events. For instance the story of the baby water buffalo “Wasn't a war story. It was a love story” (85). The story made all of us feel compassionate, angry, vulnerable and scared all at the same time, which can also be associated with a feeling or concept of love. The reason why O’Brien’s writing is so captivating is because he has the ability to relate his stories to the struggles and concepts we face in life.

Tim O’Brien’s book "The Things They Carried" shows the true art of storytelling and how it affects our lives. He has shown a beautiful example of how stories change our lives. They can heal you, make you believe, and teach you. O’Brien wisely says,
“ Stories are for joining the past and the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (38).