War In The Things They Carried, By Tim O Brien

“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind” (John F. Kennedy). In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien he wrote stories about what being in Vietnam war was like. O’Brien wrote the book nonlinear because that is how he remembered the stories. Tim O’Brien let readers get a first hand look on what war is like and what it can really do to someone who was in war. Tim O’Brien used the themes shame/guilt and storytelling/memory to let people who want to understand what war is like to get a better understanding and what it does to a soldier mentally and physically.
The chapter “The Ghost Soldiers,” connects with the theme shame and guilt because O’Brien felt guilty and had trouble dealing with the past situations

Tim O’Brien listens to a story told by one of the soldiers Rat kelly. In the chapter “Sweetheart of the song Tra Bong” O’Brien learns of Mary Anne Bell and how the war changed her. Mary Anne was a girlfriend of Mark Fossie, who was one of the soldiers Tim O’Brien knew. Mark Fossie brought her out to Vietnam to show her off. When Mary Anne first got to Vietnam she was nervous about the outcome. The more Mary Anne was there the more comfortable she got and she started to become out of control. The soldiers had no idea who she was becoming and they knew it was because of the war, “For a long while the girl gazed down at Fosse, almost blankly, and in the candlelight her face had the composure of someone perfectly at peace with herself” (O’Brien, 105). Rat Kelly’s memory recalled Mary Anne changing while she was in Vietnam. She started to kill and turn into someone other than when he first emt, but her attitude was still there that everyone loved. O’Brien shared this story readers understand that the war can change anyone and

Tim O’Brien uses detail to let readers know his emotions during the war. “I felt paralyzed. All around me the options seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling down a huge black funnel, the whole world squeezing in tight” (O’brien, 41). He was stuck with the feeling of scared and not knowing what to do. He used detailed words to have readers try to understand what he was feeling. He was feeling loads of pressure but also felt numb while he was waiting to go into war when he got picked in the draft. He didn’t know what to do and really used his words to let the readers know what he was feeling. He uses great detail in the story he is telling. He wants readers to try and understand what people in the draft felt when they got called and how hard going to war can actually affect a