THINGS THEY CARRIED

TIM O’BRIEN: THINGS THEY CARRIED

"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest modes of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie." -Tim O’Brien

1. How does one tell a true war story according to O’Brien? Is it possible to tell total lies that still represent truth? If so, how? What is the role of detail in a "true" war story? Of generalization?

2. Is "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" a true war story? Why or why not?

3. What does O’Brien mean when he says he went to war because he was a coward? Was he right in making this decision?

4. Why do you think Vietnam-era soldiers kept on going despite the muck, both physical and moral, associated with the war? What do you think was the meaning of the expression "there it is?" How is this related to the truth of Vietnam?

5. What is attractive about war for O’Brien? How do you respond to this?

6. To what extent is Things They Carried a novel about the Vietnam War and to what extent is it a book about war in general?

7. How is the perspective of the war veteran different from the perspective of the historian? Which is more likely to speak the "truth?" Can this novel challenge our understanding of the purpose of history? To what extent should we learn about the past not only through history books but through novels?

8. What is missing from this book? To what extent are these silences linked to what is in the book?

9. Why do you think O’Brien feels guilty sometimes for still writing war stories? Is he deluded in his hope that stories can save us?