History Literature / TheThingsTheyCarried

%%* FridgeBrilliance: See TheEndingChangesEverything. No specific examples, but the way the book is written lends itself to this. Tim O'Brien's writing style takes after [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Hemingway]] at least in part, so it's not altogether surprising.

* PetTheDog: Azar, when he gives the boy the chocolate bar.

* ActionGirl: Mary Anne. She learns how to disassemble an M-16, fights with the green berets, and [[GoingNative goes native]] in the [[HungryJungle Vietnamese jungle]].

TheFriendNobodyLikes: Azar fills this role, as every single interaction he is shown to have with the other members of the crew suggests they can't stand being around him. It might have something to do with him blowing up Ted Lavender's puppy for shits and giggles.

-> ''"War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead. The truths are contradictory." ''

* CommunicationsOfficer: Mitchell Sanders. The fact that he is this while also being TheStoryteller is [[SarcasmMode probably isn't]] [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolic.]]
* CorruptTheCutie: [[TheNarrator O'Brien]], Lt. Cross. Many of the soldiers, really. Azar [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this, using it as a justification for [[KickTheDog blowing up a puppy.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Norman Bowker after the war.]]

* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Totally [[AvertedTrope averted.]] See HerosMuse.
* FridgeBrilliance: See TheEndingChangesEverything. No specific examples, but the way the book is written lends itself to this. Tim O'Brien's writing style takes after [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Hemingway]] at least in part, so it's not altogether surprising.

* WorldOfSymbolism: It honestly wouldn't be to ridiculous to call this one of the most heavily symbolic books ever written. The book is written in this way since O'Brien felt that a civilian could never properly understand the real experience of being a soldier without being one himself, so instead attempted to capture the essence of the experience instead, in a way that a civilian would be able to understand. This is the reasoning behind the "truer than the truth" quote at the top of the page, and the reason it's given such a heavy focus throughout the book.

* HerosMuse: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] to hell and back. Numerous characters that play this role to several of the soldiers end up causing a considerable amount of the conflict of the plot, such as Martha, Henry Dobbins' girlfriend, and the ex-girlfriend of the guy who [[spoiler: got Kiowa killed]]. The men cling to the idealized versions of these women in their heads since they find the notion that [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent innocence]] and [[PurityPersonified purity]] still exist somewhere outside of the war to be comforting in a situation [[InnocenceLost that has deprived themselves of it]]. Believing in this causes [[spoiler: Lt. Cross to fall into even deeper despair after Ted Lavender is killed while he's day dreaming of Martha, and Mary Anne [[GoingNative going native]] and joining the war effectively deconstructs the entire notion of women's innocence.]]

* HerosMuse: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] to hell and back. Numerous characters that play this role to several of the soldiers end up causing a considerable amount of the conflict of the plot, such as Martha, Henry Dobbins' girlfriend, the ex-girlfriend of the guy who [[spoiler: got Kiowa killed]], and [[spoiler: Linda, in a way]]. The men cling to the idealized versions of these women in their heads since they find the notion that [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent innocence]] and [[PurityPersonified purity]] still exist somewhere outside of the war to be comforting in the terrible situation they find themselves in. Believing in this causes [[spoiler: Lt. Cross to fall into even deeper despair after Ted Lavender is killed while he's day dreaming of Martha, and Mary Anne [[GoingNative going native]] and joining the war effectively deconstructs the entire notion of women's innocence.]]

* [[KickTheDog Blow Up The Dog]]: Azar. He laughs about it and wonders why the others think it's such a big deal.

* SociopathicSoldier

* UnreliableNarrator

* TheStoryteller: Mitchell Sanders.

* GoingNative

* JumpingOnAGrenade: [[DeconstrucedTrope Deconstructed.]] "Story of my life man."

* HungryJungle
* JumpingOnAGrenade
* [[KickTheDog Blow Up The Dog]]: Azar. He laughs about it and wonders why the others think it's such a big deal.
** When Rat Kiley mutilates the baby water buffalo.

* CorruptTheCutie
* DraftDodging

* KickTheDog: Azar, eerily literally. He ''blows up a squad member's puppy.'' And then laughs about it and wonders why the others think it's such a big deal.

* ShoutOut: Mitchell Sanders' story in the chapter Spin about a guy who hooks up with a Red Cross nurse in Danang sounds an awful alot like the plot to ''Literature/AFarewellToArms''. The ending to Sanders version is [[MoodWhiplashthe big difference though.]]

* ShoutOut: Mitchell Sanders' story in the chapter Spin about a guy who hooks up with a Red Cross nurse in Danang sounds an awful alot like the plot to ''Literature/AFarewellToArms''. [[MoodWhiplash The ending is the big difference though.]]

* TheEndingChangesEverything

A bunch of related short stories written by Tim O' Brien, that, for the most part, revolve around the experiences of his fictitional narrator and the 17 (at first) other men that make up his platoon in the Vietnam War.

By the way, that fictional narrator happens to be named Tim O 'Brien. He has a whole bunch of other things in common with the book's author as well, though certainly not everything--unlike the narrator, the real Tim O' Brien does not have children (at the time of writing) and cannot say with certainty that he ever killed a man. In fact, everything in this book should be taken with a grain of salt with regard to its 'truthfullness;' many stories seemingly presented as factual are altered or made up, as the author tries to make an emotional atmosphere that is "truer than true."
The book has a disclaimer that it's a work of fiction even on the title page
* The Things They Carried
**A work of Fiction by Tim O' Brien.
-->"This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author's own life, all incidents, names, and characters are imaginary"


The book also makes a fair number of comments about the act of writing itself, and, in particular, devotes an entire chapter (source of page quote) to talking about what makes a true war story.

* TheVietnamWar:...was pretty horrible, for the most part.

The Things They Carried
A work of Fiction by Tim O' Brien.

By the way, that fictional narrator happens to be named Tim O 'Brien. He has a whole bunch of other things in common with the book's author as well, though certainly not everything--unlike the narrator, the real Tim O'Brien does not have children (at the time of writing) and cannot say with certainty that he ever killed a man. In fact, everything in this book should be taken with a grain of salt with regard to its 'truthfullness;' many stories seemingly presented as factual are altered or made up, as the author tries to make an emotional atmosphere that is "truer than true."

A work of Fiction by TimO'Brien.

-->-- '''Tim O'Brien, How to Tell a True War Story'''

A bunch of related short stories written by TimO'Brien, that, for the most part, revolve around the experiences of his fictitional narrator and the 17 (at first) other men that make up his platoon in the Vietnam War.

By the way, that fictional narrator happens to be named TimO'Brien. He has a whole bunch of other things in common with the book's author as well, though certainly not everything--unlike the narrator, the real Tim O'Brien does not have children (at the time of writing) and cannot say with certainty that he ever killed a man. In fact, everything in this book should be taken with a grain of salt with regard to its 'truthfullness;' many stories seemingly presented as factual are altered or made up, as the author tries to make an emotional atmosphere that is "truer than true."

By the way, that fictional narrator happens to be named Tim O'Brien. He has a whole bunch of other things in common with the book's author as well, though certainly not everything--unlike the narrator, the real Tim O'Brien does not have children (at the time of writing) and cannot say with certainty that he ever killed a man. In fact, everything in this book should be taken with a grain of salt with regard to its 'truthfullness;' many stories seemingly presented as factual are altered or made up, as the author tries to make an emotional atmosphere that is "truer than true."

By the way, that fictional narrator happens to be named Tim O'Brien. He has a whole bunch of other things in common with the book's author as well, though certainly not everything--unlike the narrator, the real Tim O'Brien does not have children and cannot say with certainty that he ever killed a man. In fact, everything in this book should be taken with a grain of salt with regard to its 'truthfullness;' many stories seemingly presented as factual are altered or made up, as the author tries to make an emotional atmosphere that is "truer than true."
The book has a disclaimer that it's a work of fiction.