When stuck in High School, it is easy to find yourself separated from the greater world, and feel isolated. However, an openness to the experience of others can educate our generation on what we are lacking. Being as young as we are, we often disregard the life experiences of others, believing our own to be supremely important.
We need to listen when people, such as O’Brien present their life experiences. O’Brien said that “I think young people, in particular, need to understand the complications and the ambiguities of these things, and to hear it from someone who has not only gone to a war, but devoted a lifetime to suffering from it”.
His novel, which was more clearly labeled as fiction that in this interview than any other interview, is his way of telling his story. He had to embellish, and falsify some parts of his past so as to accurately depict the realities of war, and what we should draw from it. Although this makes the story decidedly fiction, that does not diminish the conclusions that can be drawn from the story.
Rather, the realization that the story is fiction solidifies the connection between tropes and the novel. If the book were primarily non-fiction, then we would be unable to take events and analyze them as language manipulated by the author. Suddenly, passages such as Bowker’s endless driving, the flight of Lemon, and the final chapter with Timmy have additional meaning.
Speaking of the individual stories, I think there is an incredible amount of power within Bowker’s story. It was already brought up in class, but his story encapsulates the experience of many of the soldiers who returned from ‘Nam. Moreover, his experience has incredible application in terms of all the people who feel lost in the world today. Reading about Bowker would help people realize that all they’re looking for is a conversation, and that is the first step toward help.
Also, I think it is important to recognize that this novel follow’s foster’s rule of “If it about sex, it isn’t” except, in relation to war. The grittiest parts of the novel, are about the human experience, rather than war itself. The war is a journey for all of the characters, who become drastically changed by it. Their experience in the war is not about the war; rather, it is about how humans change under those stresses.
We all go on journeys throughout our lives, and while they may not be as archetypal as those in novel’s, they are still worth noting. One such journey, is that of a man stuck working in a car wash, feeling blue.
paco1216 
I really like your post! The way you suggest that books like these help younger generations understand the events that some of our world has faced is interesting and it reminds me that English is not just about the grade and making a paper sound good or getting all of the multiple choice questions correct. English is about so much more. It is about understanding the world and finding your voice and developing your own ideas. And that is easy to forget.
Anyways, I also agree that this book’s message is successful because of its somewhat fictional status. At first, I was heartbroken when I realized that some of it was made up. I felt, in a way, that I had been lied to. But as I finished the book and the class discussion has progressed, I have come to appreciate the mixed fiction and nonfiction status of the novel. It distinctly and successfully conveys O’Brien’s message that war and other controversies have such a profound emotional impact on “men” (if you can call them that– most of them were merely boys) and the rest of people who face hardships in daily life.
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It might just be a random wall that I’ve built up in my head, but I can only manipulate themes from fiction, rather than nonfiction.
Also, I think it is easy to lose track of what really matters when enduring long days at school. Learning, getting excited about learning, and a multitude of other things are why I’m here.
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Actually, what you talk about in your first paragraph is one of the reasons why I love English so much. Honestly, I feel like a lot of the classes in school aren’t very applicable to real life or, at least, don’t really have any deep personal connection with the outside world. (I mean, show me one time in my life when I’ll actually have to take integrals, and I’ll give ya 20 bucks, ‘kay?) But the novels we read in English really do give us a glimpse into situations and problems that — hopefully — we’ll never have to experience.
Also, the blend of fiction & non-fiction that is The Things They Carried has also been a big interest of mine as well. I think it’s just so trippy and cool how O’Brien manages to trick the readers into thinking it’s non-fiction to get us to really care about the characters… I mean, this book is technically no different from any other work of fiction — but by getting us to believe that the characters are real, breathing, human beings, we start to cheer for the characters and feel like there’s actually something real at stake.
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I couldn’t have said it better myself, we all got so attached to Kiowa because we thought he was a real guy. The quasi non-fiction status of the novel builds a connection with the reader that would otherwise be improbable.
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I really like what you said about listening to people. I think empathy is one of the greatest things lacking from us as a generation and a people. We passively listen to people’s stories, sure, but are we really listening? Are we really absorbing what they say and thinking about ways to come up with a thoughtful response? Often, we aren’t. For me at least, Tim O’Brien’s message wasn’t just about listening but also responding. Obviously for the passerby not involved in Vietnam, this message is much easier said than done, but I think for the passive audience, the one who didn’t fight the war, O’Brien is reminding us to try to empathize and relate instead of just saying a mere “that’s rough.”
This message can be applied to our own lives too. We have to be present for people in the best way we know how, and often that’s through being an audience. We won’t always need our friends as much as they need us, but that’s the whole point. A friendship should be the place where selfishness doesn’t come up to bat, and we’re ok being a listener when our friends need an audience. It’s hard to be that friend—the one who is the confidante. But sometimes, as the novel shows us, a life literally depends on having someone listen. That message couldn’t be clearer.
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I think relating the experiences of others to our lives is one of the most direct ways to grow. I do agree that we must do more than merely listen, but listening to me isn’t only a passive activity. If you truly listen, it is almost impossible not to act. So, for me listening comprises the entire cycle of activities.
Within our lives, being there for others when they need us is one of the best ways we can be helpful.
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