The novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien includes several fictional viewpoints and stories, though entirely based on real-life situations and experiences, all purposed to explore and create examples of the long-term effects of war on veterans. Through the author’s descriptive storytelling, the readers are offered insight into the thought processes and daily burdens of soldiers post-Vietnam War. During the course of the novel, the main focus is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the effect it holds on the afflicted years after said experience occurs. In 1983, not long before Tim O’Brien’s novel was published, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study found that about 15% of the 2.7 million soldiers who served in the Vietnam…show more content… Tim also uses both literal and metaphorical language to describe the physical and mental/emotional scars that they have. One example of PTSD’s effect on a veteran’s everyday life after their service is the character Norman Bowker, a man who returns to his hometown after the war and has trouble re-integrating into local society. He does return from the war with little physical scarring, but his mental health is severely damaged. Norman frequently imagines conversations in his head about his experiences, specifically regarding him “almost receiving the Silver Star”, and with two specific people: his father, and a woman he used to be ‘friends’ with, perhaps assumably romantically interested in. However, once he notices certain differences upon his return, such as his father not “being the same” and the woman (Sally) being married, he seems to isolate himself and specifically avoid actually speaking with these people. Instead, keeping that self-isolation, he acts out the “possibles” in his mind, imagining
