The Things They Carried

1
The Things They Carried

• An introduction to Tim OBrien and his fictional
  account of the Vietnam War

2
Vietnam Views

• Opposition
• Not obligated under Geneva treaty to help
• Civil War no right to intervene
• Vietnam chose not to honor Geneva treaty
• No Chinese threat long history of China and
  Vietnam animosity
• South wanted unification
• No democracy in Vietnam
• Bad military tactics napalm, ambushes, etc.

3
Relevant Facts About the Vietnam War

• No fixed date that the US entered into war with
  Vietnam
• Series of steps from 1950 1965

4
Vietnam War

• 58,000 Americans dead
• 150 Billion dollars cost of America
• Wanted to keep communism from spreading domino
  theory
• Guerrilla Warfare
• Surprise attacks, ambushes, bombings, no clear
  enemy, terrorist in nature

5
Vietnam Timeline

• 1950 Truman sent economic and military aid to
  the French who were trying to retain hold on
  their Indochina colony.
• 1954 The defeated French conceded to a
  communist government north of the 17th parallel.
• 1960 JFK approves Aid
• 1964 US began sending combat troops as a result
  of The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

6
Vietnam Timeline

• 1965 1966 Military escalation because S.
  Vietnam couldnt handle things
• 1967 Draft began. Antiwar Protests happening
  across US
• 1969 My Lai Massacre where US soldiers kill a
  village full of civilians
• 1972 Ceasefire
• 1973 Paris Peace Agreement
• Click here for an online timeline offered by
  pbs.org

7
Post Vietnam

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Frightening thoughts and memories
• Lack of emotional attachments to others
• Sleep disorders
• Easily startled
• Nightmares/flashbacks
• Psychiatric problems
• Lack of interest in life
• 30 of Vietnam Veterans

8
Vietnam Demographics

• Location South of China, East of Laos and
  Cambodia, West of South China Sea

Here is an interesting interactive map of places
mentioned in the book
9
Religion

• Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and
  Tam Giao (tri-religion, )

10
Religions
Other religions include Hoa Hao (1.5), Cao Dai
(1.1), Protestant (.5, and Muslim (.1)
11
People of Vietnam
80 ethnic Vietnamese 20 - 50 different ethnic
minority groups, hill tribes Languages spoken
Vietnamese, Chinese, English, French, Russian
12
What Do You Need to Know About the Book Before
Reading It?

• It is ALL fiction!
• Facts are not important!
• Emotional effect of incidents is what is
  important.

13
Tim OBrien (author) vs. Tim OBrien
(character, narrator)

• Protagonist and sometimes narrator is Tim
  OBrien. This Tim OBrien in the book is NOT
  REAL.
• Even when Tim OBrien talks directly to the
  reader, it is the fictional Tim.

14
Example of the narrator Tim OBrien speaking
directly to the reader

• Now and then, when I tell this story about the
  baby water buffalo, someone will come up to me
  afterward and say she liked it. Its always a
  woman. . What I should do, shell say, is put
  it all behind me. Find new stories to tell.
• I wont say it but Ill think it.
• Ill picture Rat Kileys face, his grief, and
  Ill think, You dumb cooze.
• Because she wasnt listening.
• It wasnt a war story. It was a love story.
• How to Tell a True War Story, pgs 84 - 85

15
Tim OBrien

• The author Tim did actually go to Vietnam and
  really was in the Alpha Company, but is writing a
  fictional account.

16
Themes

• The justification of killing
• Loss of a friend
• Isolation
• Corruption of war
• Inability to adjust back to normal life
• Individual consequences of war
• Racism as a coping mechanism

17
Tim O'Brien biographyThe Early Years

• Born in Austin on Oct. 1, 1946 and grew up in a
  small town in Minnesota
• He shares this birth date with several of his
  characters
• Dad was an insurance salesman
• Mom was an elementary school teacher

18
Tim O'Brien BiographyCollege Life

• Political science major at Macalester College,
  attended peace vigils and war protests
• Graduated in 1968

19
Tim O'Brien BiographyTo Go to War?

• Received his draft notice upon graduation
• Was against the war hated Boy Scouts, bugs, and
  rifles.
• Considered deserting to Canada once he received
  his classification as an infantryman

20
Tim O'Brien BiographyIn Vietnam

• Assigned to the 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 5th
  battalion, 46th Infantry as a foot soldier
• Served in Vietnam from 1969-1970
• Returned home with a Purple Heart
• Was wounded by shrapnel from a hand grenade

21
Tim O'Brien BiographyViews on Vietnam

• Now believes it was an act of cowardice to go to
  war instead of fleeing to Canada
• Was 22 years old and feared the disapproval of
  his family and friends, his townspeople and
  country
• Hated every minute of Vietnam

22
Tim O'Brien BiographyLife after Vietnam

• After returning to the states, he became a grad
  student at Harvard.
• Left Harvard to become a newspaper reporter for
  The Washington Post.
• Began writing fiction about Vietnam

23
Tim OBrien

• Claims he still gets calls from people, asking
  questions, offering their own opinions about what
  happened.
• They want to know, missing the point of the
  novel, that life often does not offer solutions
  or resolutions, that it is impossible to know
  completely what secrets lurk within people