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The Changing Experiences In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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When a gear has been fully developed and created it is moved from the assembly line into a machine. This machine slowly begins to wear at the gear and degrade it. By the end of its time in the machine, the gear is nearly unrecognizable, rusted and disfigured. Much like a gear and its machine, soldiers are often left unrecognizable by war. In Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, the author depicts stories from his time in vietnam and his time after. He talks not only about his experiences but, also his platoon members experience. War degrades the lives of war and post-war soldiers by completely ripping them from their normal lives and into war.
The Vietnam war derailed many lives, as people were forced into a foreign land to fight an unknown war. The 60’s were a changing time, young adults were looking to succeed and rebel the norms. The author, O’Brien, was no different, he was aiming for …show more content…

More specifically, the novel depicts the adverse effects war has on soldiers during the war and after the war. O’Brien quickly shows the crippling effects of war through himself. He has been ripped from everything he knows and placed into a foreign land, in which, his life is constantly at risk. As the story progresses there begins to be a shift from the war, to life after it. It is again immediately apparent how difficult it was for soldiers to adjust back to normal life. This transition often times led to another casualty as a result of war. O’Brien masterfully depicted all aspects of these problems in the best way I believe he could have. With that said, I do not know if I could recommend this book to others. It was very well written and a great story I felt but, it is a bit strange to follow. Chapters jump from story to story, time to time, so I don’t think it would be for everyone. I can say however, that this was a great take on the effects of war and that it was incredibly informative in its own

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