The Things They Carried:

Commonplace E-book
By Claire Lander
Truth- Entry I| “How to Tell a True War Story”
O’brien defines what a true war story is within the
chapter “How to Tell a True War story”. He defines a
true war story as one that “cannot be believed” and that
“often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff
isn’t”(68). The way O’brien describes this, the words
contradict themselves, therefore forming a paradox. This
gives the reader the idea that the truth within war stories
may be unbelievable, but could they could still be true.
There is a blurred line within truth and exaggeration
within these “true war stories”. Similar to the paradox
shown within O’brien’s chapter, the poem shown, written
by Majid Rashid, explains that “The truth is still the
truth, even if no one believes it”(Rashid). Conceit is
expressed through this statement because usually truth is
generally paired with believing in the truth, but even if
people do not believe the truth it could still be true. The
way Rashid defines truth compliments how O’brien defines
truth. They both explain that even if the truth seems
unbelievable, there is a possibility that something could be
the truth and nothing can change that.
Truth- Entry II| “Good Form”
T Full of loneliness This garden bloomed Full of thorns I In the chapter “Good Form” O’brien talks about “story-truth”
H bind myself in this sand castle What is your name Do and “happening-truth” in which he goes back and forth from
E you have a place to go Oh could you tell me? I saw you being responsible for killing a man, but then not being
responsible. O'brien explains that the happening-truth was him
T
hiding in this garden And I know All of your warmth is
feeling guilty for being in the presence of many dead bodies. He
R real The blue flower your hand was picking I want to further explains that the story-truth was that he killed a man,
U hold it but It’s my fate Don’t smile to me Lie to me in which he believes that the story truth feels much more true.
T Because I can’t get closer to you There’s no name you When his daughter asks him if he has killed anyone, he could
H can call me You know that I can’t Show you me Give say “honestly, ‘Of course not’. Or I can say, honestly,
you me I can’t show you a ruined part of myself ‘Yes’”(172). Previously in an earlier chapter he had told her
U
Once again I put a mask on and go to see you But I still that he had not killed anyone. In the song , “The Truth Untold”
N
want you Bloomed in a garden of loneliness A flower by BTS, a line goes “I can’t show you a ruined part of myself,
T
that resembles you I wanted to give it to you After I Once again I put a mask on and go to see you”. In this lyric the
O
L take off this foolish mask I'm crying That’s disappeared mask plays as a symbol that keeps the truth out and is a symbol
D of not showing your true self, being nervous that the outside
That’s fallen Left alone in this sandcastle
world will judge your ruined parts. The mask acts like O’brien
Looking at this broken mask And I still want you But I telling the happening-truth and hiding the story truth of which
-
still want you But I still want you And I still want you he feels is more true. In the song and in the story, both conceal
B a part of the truth from those they want to show the truth, but
T simply cannot.
S
Identity- Entry I| “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
O’brien tells a story given to him by Rat Kiley about a fellow soldier who
managed to fly his sweetheart to Vietnam in order to spend time together
while he was deployed. It sounded absurd to everyone, someone bringing
their girlfriend to a dangerous war zone, but one guy had managed. Once
they reunited, his girlfriend who was a “cute blonde- just out of high
school” grew accustomed to the land and the soldier-life. After weeks of
staying in Vietnam, the sweetheart’s, Mary Anne’s, “bubbliness was
gone”. She had explained that she “had never been happier in [her] whole
life”(95). Eventually, she would sneak out and go on dangerous night
missions with the greenies. She then disappeared and turned savage-like
and ran off into the land on her own. Rat Kiley asserted to his audience
that “‘You got these blinders on about women. How gentle and peaceful
they are… Pure garbage”(102). Many generally think that women are soft
and delicate, but Rat Kiley had learned otherwise, women can be just as
strong and tough as men. Similarly, the poem shown conveys the fact that
some women do fear things that are scary and dangerous, but “some
women simply become it” meaning that they embrace the fear and become
the feared, like MaryAnne. This metaphor shows that women do not
technically become the fire, they become what is feared or something
courageous and bold, like fire. Women are not all the same, they are all
individuals and have their own identities that change sometimes, which
many people generalize and assume they are the similar.
Identity- Entry II| “Notes”
Z Breathin’ but I’ve been dyin’ inside Nothin’ new and
nothin’ feels right Dejavu so I close my eyes Let the
O demon sing me a lullaby Today’s a present that I don’t
want So I’m wonderin’ in this world Am I really the only
M one Who’s been wantin’ to hide out from the sun And run
When we live a life Always dreamin’ for a dream to come
true So I live this life Wanting somethin’ I can’t see And
B
something I can’t reach Or somethin’ that could not exist
I feel like I became a zombie Not alive but I’m still
I
walkin’ When the sunrise is upon me I’ll be waitin’ for
the day to pass by Oh why I became a zombie And
E comparison to the song “Zombie” by Day6, the two themes
there’s nothing that can cure me So tomorrow I know I’ll
be Just the same you’ll see me Wishin’ to stop and close
- my eyes Yeah this is my life Always dreamin’ for a dream
to come true This meaningless life Wanting somethin’ I
D can’t see And something I can’t reach Or somethin’ that
A could not exist No more of this I wanna cry Dried out but
Y feel like I should cry Tell the world that I’m still here
6 tonight
In the chapter “Notes”, O’brien talks about the long letter he
had received from his former platoon member Norman
Bowker. Bowker wrote about his life after the war and his
“problem of finding a meaningful use for his life after the
war”(149). He had jumped from job to job and he could not
find anything he truly thought he was meant to do. Bowker
explains how he feels, saying that “‘there’s no place to go…
My life I mean’” and that “It’s almost like I got killed over in
Nam’”(150). The war had changed his whole path of his life
and career, and along with that his identity, now feeling that
there is no place for him and life has passed him by. In
are very similar. The lyrics “I feel like a zombie, Not alive
but I’m still walkin’” is a perfect metaphor that symbolizes
the feeling of still being present physically but not feeling
emotionally and mentally present. It explains the feeling of
wandering aimlessly, as Bowker had felt. Bowker feels like
he got killed while fighting in the war, but it is his soul that
was destroyed, therefore making him feel like a “Zombie”.
Beauty- Entry II| “The Lives of the Dead”
O’brien alludes back to when he was a child, in love with a
young girl named Linda. While with her, he would often
“glance over at her, thinking how beautiful she
was”(217). Even at the young age of nine, he recognized
her beauty and knew that his feelings for her were true
love. Later on, Linda passed away due to cancer, but he
continued to love her after she was gone and dream of her.
She lived on with him through his thoughts of her and he
never forgot about her, even when she was not there.
Similarly in the movie “A Walk to Remember”, the main
characters Jamie and Landon, where in the same type of
love as Linda and O’brien. Jamie eventually passed away
due to Leukemia, but Landon said “I’ll always miss her.
But our love is like the wind. I can’t see it… but I can feel
it.”. Through this, Landon used a simile to describe that
even though Jamie was not with him anymore, their love
is still present. Both couples had lost their other half, but
their love continued on beautifully, like how the wind
continues blowing.
Beauty- Entry I| “The Things They Carried”
L I will never know if you love me Or my company, but I
don’t mind ‘Cause I ain't tryna be the one Been through
O this a thousand times I don't needa take your heart You
keep yours, I'll keep mine All I really know is when I'm
S lonely I hate that I'm lonely And that's why I let you in
And maybe in another life we fight all day, kiss all
E night But I don't wanna break your heart, you keep
yours I'll keep mine I know We know better so We'd
- both better go I don't need a reason To keep on
dreamin' That we don’t lose, yeah, what's the use? I
N don't need a reason To keep on dreamin', oh That we
I can win at anything at all Am I the only one who sees
K right through this? Don't play me for no fool Yeah, you
I don't gotta lose your mind, every time I don't call And I
should never have to win your love Then hate myself
when I don’t, oh Fickle as you are, that's exactly why I
keep on runnin' back ‘Cause I'm brittle at the parts
where I wish I were strong And maybe when you need
my help, I like myself when it's over
In the first chapter of the book, O’brien lists the things that
each of the soldiers were required to carry and what they had
personally brought. For First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, he had
brought photos of his love back where he is from, Martha, and
a pebble that she had given to him. He would often day dream
of her, but she was not daydreaming about him. It was as if
she was his escape from the ugly war, something beautiful
among the despair. She would often write him letters, which
he had described that “she wrote beautifully” and that “he
wanted Martha to love him the way he loved her”(1) but he
knew their relationship would remain platonic. Like the song,
Lose by NIKI, it says “when I’m lonely, I hate that I’m lonely,
and that's why I let you in” describes how Cross is feeling
with the repetition of lonely and how he let’s the thoughts of
his beautiful Martha cloud his mind, even if it takes a toll on
his leading performance. The lyrics “I don’t need a reason to
keep on dreaming” corresponds with Cross’ daydreams about
Martha while Marching, and he would never take his mind off
her beauty.
Trauma- Entry I| “On the Rainy River”
“The Screaming Hydra” By Rivka Korf
In the chapter, “On the Rainy River”, O’brien describes his fear
of going to the war and how he wanted to get out of it, while on
a fishing boat with the owner of the motel he staying at. He
was constantly torn between anxiety, fear, and anger because
of his drafting. He was staying. While describing his
experience on the boat, O’brien says that “Even now, as [he
writes] this, [he] can still feel that tightness”(54) when
choosing to escape his future or to fulfill his military duties. At
that moment he felt that everything around him was filled with
“crushing sorrow” and that the most embarrassing part was
“the paralysis that took [his] heart”(54). O’brien still gets
anxious to this day when he thinks about this moment, showing
the trauma he had experienced. He thought everything was
sadness and his heart stopped because of his overwhelming
emotions. The Screaming Hydra, by Rivka Korf, depicts a
person's heart, or emotional being, screaming with many faces
which each represent a certain feeling. Those feelings include
despair, pain, anger, fear, and anxiety. These feelings represent
how O’brien felt after he received his drafting letter and even
the feelings he still experiences because of the emotional
trauma he underwent during that time.
Trauma- Entry II| “Ambush”
In the chapter “Ambush” O’brien speaks about how he
killed a man. After the deed had been done, he had an
immense feeling of guilt and couldn’t take his eyes off the
corpse, not saying a word. He describes that “ In ordinary
hours of life [he] tries not to dwell on it, but now and
then, when [he’s] reading a newspaper or sitting alone is
a room, [he’ll] look up and see the young man step out of
the morning fog”(128). O’brien still thinks of the man he
killed to this day and carries the burden of guilt along
with him. The trauma from that experience still follows
him and most likely will till the end of his life. In the poem
“Guilt” by Akif Kichloo, a stanza says that “The dead are
dead The ones to leave have left” which clearly describes
the situation that O’brien is going through. By repeating
“dead” and “leave” the author asserts the fact that what is
done is done. He left the man he killed alone, cold on the
floor, and once he left he would carry the burden of killing
that man. Although O’brien has “left”, the memory will
never leave him, as the man he killed left Earth.