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Universal Truth In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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Sent by Patriots, Dismissed by Protestors In order to better convey an understandable universal truth in their works, writers will distort factual happening truth by creating a fictional story truth. Tim O’Brien uses fictional characters in the novel, The Things They Carried, to convey the pressure American draftees faced when called to join the military in Vietnam. Recruits of the Vietnam War Draft in 1969 were descendants of World War II veterans, subsequently, military service was an expectation. Recruits who dodged the draft would forever be labeled by America as cowards who would, as Vietnam Veteran, Francis T. Logan states, in the South Dakota Vietnam War Memorial Dedication, “live with,” their national embarrassment along with, “their …show more content…

Vietnam intervention was widely unpopular among American citizens and countless rallies were held protesting the US Government. Troops were consequently held in blame by the majority of America for participating in the Government's war. In the South Dakota Vietnam War Memorial Dedication, Vietnam War veteran, Jerome K. Cleveland, stated that any person who sacrifices their lives for their nation, “deserves the respect of all citizens,” (Cleveland 14). Along with many other troops who sacrificed their lives, Cleveland felt unappreciated as the majority of America scorned them for participating in Vietnam. O’Brien, who was part of the military during the war, created in his novel a character, Rat Kiley, to bring to life the feelings of abandonment troops felt. Kiley writes a letter to a sister of one of his friends who was killed in Vietnam stating his remorse for the loss, yet she never writes back leaving Kiley in frustration, “The dumb cooze never writes back,” (O’Brien 66). Rat Kiley felt the sister had no respect or appreciation for the sacrifices that her brother, Rat Kiley, and every troop in Vietnam made. The girl was a part of a majority in America who denounced the war and the soldiers. O’Brien uses Rat Kiley to prove that U.S. citizens totally relinquished the troops in Vietnam who sacrificed everything for

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