Truth In Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'

During World War II Winston Churchill once said “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” The soldiers in World War II suffered many psychological and physical tolls during the war and even after the war ended. When Winston sent his troops he offered their blood, sweat and tears of the men. Sometimes the memories never leave. Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried shows many physical and psychological effects that soldiers went through during the Vietnam War.

He could have been hurt really badly and could have even died. Instead of thinking like that he showed that he was not scared and was courageous enough to throw himself and get hurt to protect the things that he loves. “ YOU OKAY? Few bumps and bruises,” Lemon Brown said” (Myers 6). He threw himself down the star to protect and scare off the bad guys.

In The Things They Carried, the author and narrator, Tim O' Brien seeks to go beyond simply telling the stories he has to tell about his time as a soldier in the Vietnam War. He wants to tell the audience a true war story, and dedicates a chapter, aptly named "How to Tell a True War Story," to giving the reader a better idea of his idea of how a war story should be told. O'Brien's recounting of the story of the baby buffalo epitomizes his view of telling a war story by implementing the concept of blurring truth and fiction which recurs throughout the book and exemplifies how it could enhance the reader's interpretation and understanding of the events and ideas that the author wants to convey, which go beyond a simple retelling of a war story,

While marching west into the mountains, Obrien and the rest of the men took a break along a trail junction. Almost immediately Rat Kiley and Kurt Lemon started goofing off. Despite the seriousness of the situation the two continued to goof off and went off into the shade of giant trees. The men played a game which involved pulling the pin off a smoke grenade and passing it back and forth. Obrien then recalls Kurt Lemon stepping from the shade until the sunlight stating “His face was suddenly brown and shining.

Like, “I traveled around, and one time I come home, and there was the letter saying Jesse got killed in the war. Broke my heart it truly did. They sent back what he had with him over there, and what it was is this old mouth fiddle and these here clippings.” (12) Lemon told Greg. Based on this evidence it demonstrates that Lemon had something meaningful, his son, but when his son died the things he had become Lemon’s treasures.

“That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.

Human beings often claim to be searching for the truth. The truth often entails finding the right answer, choice, or formula. The search for truth develops a tendency to settle for the easiest choice—a false truth; more often than not, a false truth goes unquestioned in order to remain benighted. Concerning the false truth in The Things They Carried, information—specifically memories, must be sorted into two categories: those stories that are true and those which are simply glorified recreational war stories. It would be a near impossible task due to the extent that the tales mix.

Stephen King says “Writing good dialogue is art as well as craft”. Without a good use of dialogue and figurative language, a story can be boring and not memorable. In the short story “The Treasure of Lemon Brown”, the author uses descriptive dialogue and figurative language to create the mood, setting, and, characters. The author does this to develop the relationship between the characters.

Hidden somewhere within the blurred lines of fiction and reality, lies a great war story trapped in the mind of a veteran. On a day to day basis, most are not willing to murder someone, but in the Vietnam War, America’s youth population was forced to after being pulled in by the draft. Author Tim O’Brien expertly blends the lines between fiction, reality, and their effects on psychological viewpoints in the series of short stories embedded within his novel, The Things They Carried. He forces the reader to rethink the purpose of storytelling and breaks down not only what it means to be human, but how mortality and experience influence the way we see our world. In general, he attempts to question why we choose to tell the stories in the way

Jones, and does pay attention to the thugs besides that they needed to get out of the building. The text reads as such, “As Gre howled, the light moved away from Lemon Brown, but not before Greg saw him hurl his body down the stairs at the man who had come to take his treasure.” This shows that Lemon Brown has less regard for the person compared to Mrs. Jones, as Brown’s assailants present a bigger threat. Nonetheless, He handles the situation much different than Mrs. Jones

This shows that Lemon Brown wanted to tell Greg something important. Furthermore, this also

The thugs looked over to find where the howling was coming from and Lemon Brown lunged himself at them, causing himself to roll down the stairs. The thugs went outside of the house and after awhile they left. After seeing how much Lemon Brown adored his treasures, Greg realized that his dad caring so much for him meant everything. Greg now appreciates the lectures about decisions he was trying to make. Greg’s treasure was his relationship with his father all because of Lemon Brown’s story.

For instance, “You really think that treasure of yours is worth fighting for?” Greg asked. “Against a pipe?” This demonstrates that he loved that treasure so much he would die for it. Lemon willing to die for the treasure which tells us a lot about Lemons character.

O’Brien tells a graceful version of a gruesome story. Many people prefer thinking of Lemon being killed by sunlight. That version is much more graceful than the truth, “In the mountains that day, I watched Lemon turn sideways. He laughed and said something to Rat Kiley. Then he took a peculiar half step, moving from shade into bright sunlight, and the booby-trap 105 round blew him into a tree.

This demonstrates that lemon brown is showing a caring and positive relationship with Greg. Lemon Brown is nice. Another quote is, “Don’t try nothing cause I got a razor here sharp enough to cut a week into nine days.’’ This means, Lemon Brown goes through hard times and needs to defend himself.