The Things They Carried Chase Wight Background Vietnam

The Things They Carried Chase Wight

Background � Vietnam War � The typical narrator, Tim O’Brien, graduated from Harvard before getting drafted into the Army � Tim entered the war around the time it entered its bloodiest phase � The author modeled Tim after himself � Tim almost ran away to Canada to escape the draft

Structure of the Book � Short stories revolving around Alpha Company � Each story focuses on a new character’s experience � Not limited to the American soldiers or even the Vietnam War

The Daily War � Most of the days were spent “humping” �Carrying all of the soldiers burdens from one location to the next day or night � Regular burdens �Heavy equipment �Emotional burdens �Fear from constant threat

Themes � Equipment �Used to weigh the burdens of each soldier and often contrast the emotional burden of the lightest objects � Fear �Fear of shame �Much of the fear comes from inaction �The fearless versus frightened soldiers �Fear of the unknown

Themes � Terrain �Vietnam was as much an enemy as the actual enemy soldiers �The shit field that swallowed up Alpha Company and trapped them under mortar fire, killing Kiowa �The mountain musical

Themes � Stories and Memory �The events that do not happen to Alpha Company are verbally told by a soldier �In between the short stories, the author reflects with his daughter and old friends �The verbal stories seem very probable but imaginary ○ Ex: The man Tim killed

Important Quotes � “They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment. ”

Quote Explanation � This quote is the most fundamental part of the fear theme � Tim did not flee to Canada because he feared the dishonor and shame from his home town � Ex: Curt Lemon feinted during a dentist check up, so he “redeemed” himself by going back and getting a perfectly good tooth pulled the next day.

Important Quotes � “By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night in the shit field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain. ”

Quote Explanation � Basically, stories do not have to happen to be true � Often the connotation and context of a story can completely change the moral � Ex: The shit field � Ex: Tim only tossed a grenade and killed a random armed Vietnamese man, but he created an entire life story for the man to bring war back into perspective.

My Interpretation