Death, Part II--As If One Wasn't Enough (Understatement)

“Death sucks.”

-The Things They Carried, p 230

Why yes, it does. This one two-word sentence is quite possibly the biggest understatement I have personally heard. Yet this is what the entire novel has been about. O’Brien does not trifle himself with grandiose or gruesome images of war, nor does he disregard the severity and brutality of battle. He simply yet powerfully describes war as he has experienced it, nothing more and nothing less. By doing so, though, O’Brien accomplishes his goal more successfully than many writers who attempt to write about war. The reader can sense the truth in his words. Even when the phrases are short and the accounts terse, the power of his writing remains.

In many ways, Vietnam cannot be described in grandiose terms; it simply was not a glorious war. A war of such vapidity should be described in a straightforward manner. That is what makes O’Brien’s writing so effective. This honest, abrupt style of writing in which the author can simply say, “Death sucks,” and actually have it carry immense weight and power, embodies the mood of the Vietnam War itself.

A Change in Perception (Point of View)

“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That’s what stories are for.”

-The Things They Carried, p 36

One noteworthy point which I forgot to discuss earlier was O’Brien’s switch to the first person point of view. The first chapter was entirely in third person, giving the chapter an impersonal touch. This was supported by the author’s decision not to use quotation marks to indicate dialogue. By doing this, O’Brien deliberately stripped the writing even more of any character, giving war a cold and disconnected feel.

After the first chapter, however, O’Brien does a complete volte face, now writing in first person and revealing that he also was a member of the company. By changing the point of view, O’Brien shifts the style of the book from simple historical fiction to a much deeper anecdotal reflection on a war which he experienced. He further expands this by now utilizing quotation marks, giving life and personality to his comrades. By establishing his ethos, O’Brien also explains why he is writing this tale: to preserve his experiences so that future generations may learn from them.