Truth?
The Things They Carried is labeled as a work of fiction even though it is written by Tim O’Brien and is about Tim O’Brien’s experiences. If you’re like me, that’s definitely a “what?” moment. Throughout the majority of the story, you ponder this. Events are told as though they really happened, and your soul begins to believe that it’s all true.
Then, out of nowhere, after a heart-wrenching revelation detailing how Tim let his best friend die, O’Brien knocks your feet out from underneath you by explaining that almost none of this really happened. While you’re in your state of shock and confusion, he drones on and on about the differences between “story-truths” and “happening-truths” (O’Brien 179).
Don’t get me wrong, he makes a lot of good points. He’s right about how sometimes a fictional story can more accurately represent the truth than the real truth. His writing is intended to relay the experiences of all soldiers who fought in Vietnam, and, in order to accomplish that, some less-than-true truths are necessary. Nonetheless, it’s a shock to find out that this entire story is just that. A story.
O’Brien’s revelation only leads to more questions. How much is true? Did he really meet Elroy at the Tip Top Lodge? Did Azar really kill Ted’s puppy? Did Tim really get shot? Did Rat really torture a buffalo out of grief? It’s impossible to tell. The indication is that no, none of that really happened. But that’s not the point. The point is that the stories relay what everybody experienced, even if nobody experienced it.
Side Note:
The Things They Carried is based on Tim O’Brien’s experiences, and the narrator of the story is Tim O’Brien himself. However, the real Tim O’Brien and the novel Tim O’Brien are different people, so I will differentiate between the two by referring to the author as either Tim O’Brien or just O’Brien and referring to the fictional persona as Tim (except in the case of direct quotes from the book).
Carrying More 