Re: The Things They Carried Question
It's been some time since I read this book, but you can look up the discussion on Booktalk it's listed in the archived discussions at the bottom of the home page. With regards to this question on the novel's veracity, I could venture a couple comments, but these are just my views.
A central theme of the book is truth and fact and who gets to decide what is truth and how it is told. So by having a story that casts doubt on the novels veracity, he is obliging the reader to think about these questions. The book is 'about' the Vietnam war, at least it uses the war as a platform, and the war itself does raise huge questions about truth and fact, about the use of propaganda and mis-information and about the credibility of politicians and military leaders.
So, in Good Form, O'Brien is asking the reader to judge whether or not he can tell the 'story' and if that story is true.
Tweet This Topic
