“And in the end, of course, a true war story is never about war. It's about sunlight. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen.” (Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried)
War can be light and dark; it can be helpful and dreadful. It is about conquering your biggest fears and feeling extreme anguish. A war story is full of hundred of other stories, having nothing to do with war. The Things They Carried is about the capacity to love, it is about carrying the burden of keeping everyone alive, it is about keeping the dead alive, it is about honoring the dead, it is about growing up.
20 years after fighting in the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien writes The Things They Carried, along with other books to help him deal with all the guilt and pain after experiencing such horrible atrocities. Every soldier carried the same basic items, which were things like pocket knives, matches, salt tablets, C rations, and canteens of water. Them some carried bibles, love letters, little pebbles, and tranquilizers. They all carried each other. But possibly, the heaviest things they carried were what they had on the inside. Whether it was fear, or grief, or remorse, or love or longing, they all felt it.
The Things They Carried is so eloquent and powerful, that it is hard for me to believe it is a work of fiction. Tim O’Brien writes straight from the heart, making the characters and the situations seem so authentic and beautiful. The story is so unique, but at the same time it is heartbreaking and tragic.
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