So... Themes of "The Things They Carried" thus far...
Well, as we all know (or will find), Mr. O'Brien's novel/collection/memoir is an anti-war piece that exposes the uselessness of the black-and-white standard so many seek to still implement today; the enemy is bad, looks different from us, and is across a clear line, a division between the good guys (us) and the bad guys (them). The theory behind the usage of us verses them is to create that certain distinction, much like checkers or chess, the color opposite of your own is the bad guy; there is no blood, no real hardship when a piece is lost, no war smell, and safety behind the rules of the game-you can only move a certain way with this piece during a turn and no one in reality gets hurt. But in O'Brien's novel, every decent rule in checkers is turned around inside-out, and nothing can remain true.
In "Enemies" and "Friends", the tension between the two men changes the rules of the game-the enemy classically is never some one a solider fights along with, and a friend is never worried about his friend killing him when he says not to; however, the roles of enemy and friend are contorted. A real friend is some one who feels relief after hearing his buddy died in mid-air, so he wouldn't have to kill him after all, and enemies are all around. There is so much grey area in the two terms in O'Brien's eyes-there are no longer the clear cut boundaries of good and evil in war.
The lack of an honest truth and clear reason why people at war is also highly present. In "Spin" and "On the Rainy River" O'Brien struggles to form an honest truth about his feeling towards the Vietnam and an honest picture of a war without meaning. In "Spin" only fragments of the war stick with him, stories without a beginning, middle, or end, but snippets of everyday and terrifying moments: Checkers, death of a so-called "enemy," death of Kiowa, death of an innocent puppy, and the need for absolution. In "On the Rainy River," anger for not having the courage to shed the expectations of his family and community and the close-minded attitudes of that same community resonate through the fear of facing something a young person should not-the immanent threat of death in a war that he himself finds immoral and senseless.
So in general, O'Brien=anti-war. And the novel exposes his views on the subject matter. I'm done.
I loved O'Brien= anti-war. Hehe, that's to put it lightly. O'Brien tears down the stereotypes of war where the bad guys are on the otherside and every guy on your side is your friend. We see now that the war is a personal state of mind where the battle lines are constantly redrawn even to the point where you are your own worst enemy. It's a new look at the glory of war, because there is no way to find glory in it. There is only confusion and death.
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