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Truth In The Things They Carried, By Tim O Brien

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After reading The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, it is astoundingly clear that truth plays an essential role in the story’s overall meaning and portrayal as an authentic Vietnam War story. In this complex narrative, the topic of truth has been interpreted in many specific and intricate ways. Many interpret his usage of truth similarly to one another, stating how “war inevitably imposes a compromised version of the interpretation of a genuine experience”, causing O’Brien to project altered truths so the experience can truly connect and express its true state (Wesley 2). This common trend seen in these authors’ coverage of truth is that they examine the synthesized, story truth that Tim O’Brien utilized in his story aimed to better emphasize …show more content…

Norman Bowker is a character throughout the story that has the overwhelming struggle in confronting and accepting the bitter realities of war, with his actions during it echoes with him. Holding the truth of the death of those around him and the overall trauma-inducing environment of Vietnam eventually led Bowker to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, being completely unable to integrate back into society. It is seen in Bowker’s character that the truth of war severely affected his mental state and perspective, as the remains of guilt and remorse resulted in his untimely suicide by hanging (O’Brien 99). Mary Anne Bell is also a very accurate example. Being represented in the novel as a symbol of peace and innocence, it is soon developed that the truth of war slowly transforms her as she becomes completely immersed in the reality of war around her. This had severe consequences seen as the result is her becoming a mysterious product of war, indicting a mentally-ill state upon her, leading to her disappearance at the end of Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong in the jungles of Vietnam. It is clear that the darkness and evil true nature of Vietnam corrupted her, emphasized in the line, “She was dangerous” (O’Brien 74). These characters and others in the novel are a representation of the massive impact truth has on their psychological well-being, relationships, and

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