Blog Post 3

1.) Wes Hamilton can't remember the real names of his friends because they never used their real names. They were given nicknames that showed their identity for war. Wes, most likely along with the others, keeps this name close to them because it is symbolic of having everyone around in war. Their real identity didn't matter because it was about the person they are inside that counts, the nickname reflects on that. I think the soldiers in The Things They Carried knew each other as who they are at war, and not who they were back in the U.S.

 2.) Mary Anne was a character who centered herself around Fossie, but found that war was an interesting place. She attached herself to the landscape and people but her surroundings took her mind away from logical thinking and changed her into a war craving woman. The message O'Brien was portraying from having her in the book was that women were coming around to become more important figures in the world. Just like in WWII, women took a big part in the war effort, and in Vietnam they found what war was like. O'Brien showed that women were becoming prominent in the war effort though not fighting.

3.) O'Brien doesn't tell the entire truth and he doesn't completely lie, he remembers what he wants to remember. I think the truth can never be completely found unless documented, but he tries his best to share what is needed. He remembers as much as possible to give his side of the story. The only false he adds is to either make it a real story or protect readers from anything that they shouldn't know.
      The advantages of presenting a memoir in a way that isn't fiction or non-fiction is that he can embellish on the truth to make it more interesting. He also could make it a better book by doing this. The disadvantages of writing this way is it isn't a true war story. The reader also can't always trust what he says is true. The reader has to figure out what they are going to believe. It doesn't matter much to the story if you read it as a story, not a memoir. If you know it is just a story that is being told, you can imagine that not every detail is perfect or right.








The things they carried questions:
Why did they camp in the sewage?
Why didn't Norman pull Kiowa out even if he was going to die, aren't they supposed to die for eachother?
Do the soldiers ever have a translator with them?
Does O'brien's unit always stay around the same area in Vietnam?
How do soldiers fight back against mortar fire?