THE VIETNAM WAR, TIM
O’BRIEN, AND THE ART OF
STORY TELLING
You Will Take Notes or You Will End up Like Curt
Lemon…
Brief Summary of Vietnam
Before WWII started, the area known as Indochina
(Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) was a property of the
French.
 During WWI the
Japanese took it over as
a strategic move against
The allies.
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Great Beaches!
After the war, Ho Chi Minh, a damned Commie,
started a guerrilla warfare group called the Viet
Minh aimed at overthrowing the Japanese
occupiers
 Ho Chi Minh was supported by the
United States which shipped in
weapons and supplies.
 Eventually, Japan began the process of granting
those countries independence.
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After the war the Fench returned to reclaim their
territory
The newly established government allowed French
forces into the country after France promised it
would allow Vietnam into the French Union.
In 1946 talks between the two nations collapsed.
What followed was an all out military invasion,
starting with the bombing of Haiphong and an
incursion into Hanoi
The Bombing of Haiphong
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This conflict would come to be called The First Indochina War
In 1954, the Viet Minh repelled the final French invasion force at the battle of Dien
Bien Phu.
Even though French forces over took the city early on, Viet Minh forces used artillery
strikes from nearby wooded hills to lower the morale of the French troops. That and
assorted guerilla hit and runs eventually forced the French out of the city
The Geneva Accords
In 1954 Vietnam was split into 2 countries at the
17th parallel.
 The Communist controlled North Vietnam while
South Vietnam
became a democratic
country.
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American Involvement in Vietnam
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At first, Americans were content to let the fate of
Vietnam be determined by its people.
Unfortunately, the world became an increasingly
conflicted place, the Cold War was beginning-The
values of Western Democracy vs. The Communism of the
USSR
Since North Vietnam was Communist, and allied with the
Russians, the US needed to do something…
The resulting theory was called “containment” and the
goal was to keep whatever countries practiced
Communism from spreading it.
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At first the US merely lent money, weapons, and
support to the French in their initial conflict with the
“Red” Vietnam
By 1956, after the recognition of North and South
Vietnam, the US began training officers in South
Vietnam’s ARSV (Army of the Republic of South
Vietnam
Owing to several factors, the ARSV was never truly
effective in containment
Tensions Mount
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In the summer of 1955, South Vietnamese Prime
Minister Diem ordered the incarceration of hundreds
of accused Communist sympathizers in his country.
Unfortunately, in his attempts to silence opposition,
he jailed and killed anyone he even suspected of
treason. This included Buddhist Monks and other
innocent people.
In secret, Ho Chi Minh (now leader of the Communist
North Vietnam) was supplying weapons to hidden
forces in the South via the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Setting the table
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The Communists in the south used their militaristic and
political support in the South to start a movement called
the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam,
or Viet Cong. This was basically a heavily armed
political party intent on overthrowing democratic
leadership in South Vietnam
On November 2, 1963, the US CIA helped assassinate
the incompetent Diem in order to install a political
figure that would be more favorable to US involvement.
Also, the US sent upped the US “advisors” in South
Vietnam to 16,000
Oh no you di’in’t!!!
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On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox, an American destroyer, was
attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin by three North Vietnamese torpedo
boats while conducting an intelligence mission.
Congress passed the Southeast Asia (Gulf of Tonkin) Resolution
which permitted the president to commit to military operations
without a formal declaration by Congress (we still use it today!!!)
Beginning on March 2, 1965, and known as Operation Rolling
Thunder, the bombing campaign would last over three years and
would drop an average of 800 tons of bombs a day on the north.
To protect US airbases in South Vietnam, 3,500 Marines were
deployed that same month, becoming the first ground forces
committed to the conflict.
Shifting Tides…
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By April 1965, Johnson had sent the first 60,000
American troops to Vietnam. The number would
escalate to 536,100 by the end of 1968. In the summer
of 1965, under the command of General William
Westmoreland, US forces executed their first major
offensive operations against the Viet Cong and scored
victories around Chu Lai.
In skirmishes in such places as the La Drang Valley,
Americans exemplified helicopter attacks.
Unfortunately, the Viet Cong learned quickly not to
engage the vastly superior army head on. This is wear
the Vietnam War took a turn for the worst.
Learning from these defeats, the Viet Cong seldom
again engaged American forces in conventional,
pitched battles preferring instead to resort to hit
and run attacks and ambushes. Over the next three
years, American forces focused on searching and
destroying Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units
operating in the south….
Vietcong Tactics
Nah, Tupac
aint down
there…
Tunnels…
TRAPS…
Guerilla Warfare…
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Count the enemies… Wait, you can’t-they are
invisible!
Also,
Vietcong would steal US uniforms
 They were masters at moving almost undetected
through their homeland
 Expert snipers
 They would force local villages to hide guns and
ammunition and they would hide among the
villagers
This led to…
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Burning Villages…
Killing of Innocents…
Paranoia… Who is a Vietcong? Who
Isn’t???
After Effects of The Vietnam War
Homelessness
 PTSD
 Unwelcomed in the US
 Media Nightmare
 Unfavorable news coverage
 Criticism of Government
 First US “War” that the US “Lost
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Do we See Know Why Tim O’Brien
Adopts his Specific Style?
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction
 How can you tell a “true” war story
I wasn’t there…
Was O’Brien?
How can war change a man?
Are you the same person after the war?
How can a “normal” man accept and fight under the
conditions of war?
How were they treated by the country during and after
the war? (“Baby Killers” and Peace Protests)
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How Does One Tell a True War Story…
The Things They Carried is…
-Violent
-Fragmented
-Full of interesting characters
-Sad
-Funny
-Full of factual information
-Mixed with memory
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Meet the Characters...
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Tim O’Brien!
Tim O’Brien is and isn’t the author. The difference
between real and fictional person is intentionally
hard to figure out… why?
He does tell us that his personal experience in
the Vietnam War has led him to write a book
about…
Physical Vs. Emotional Weight
The character’s “hump” or carry a variety of
weapons, ammunition, supplies, and
medicine as well as their emotional and
spiritual weight. They carry the weight of
missing their families as well as the weight
of responsibility and expectations.
The Protagonist: Lieutenant Jimmy
Cross
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The Platoon Leader of Alpha Company
Name Symbology
Obsessed with a woman named Martha from back
home
Carries two pictures of her (one signed “love” even
though he tried to make a move on her in a movie
theater and was denied) and one picture of her
playing volleyball
Obsessed with what could have been with Martha
Significance of the Objects the men
Carry
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Henry Dobbins carries extra rations and wears his
girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck
Ted Lavender is always nervous, he carries tranquilizers
and copious ounces of marijuana
Kiowa is a religious American Indian, he carries a copy
of the New Testament, which his father gave him, as
well as a hatchet.
Rat Kiley is the platoon medic, he carries morphine,
malaria tablets, and supplies for serious wounds.
Significant…
O’Brien is constantly pointing out that men carry
emotional AND physical burdens….
This is symbolized when he gives the weight of each
item and also the emotional attachment.
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FOR EXAMPLE: Kiowa’s bible has a physical weight,
yet it also carries with it a special significance as it
was a gift from his father. It’s emotional weight is
tied to both spirituality and his relationship with his
family back home.
As you carefully work your way through the novel be
sure to note the emotional attachment each man
attaches to physical items
Also, note how affectionately O’Brien refers to the
LAND of Vietnam himself. He is careful to mention
that the men carry the soil and bugs and foliage and
river water and animals of Vietnam as they wander
through the country.
“The Things They Carried”
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The title of the book comes from the first story
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is busy thinking about
Martha outside of a village called Than Ke…
(page 5/6) Ted Lavender, as he is coming back
from using the latrine, is shot
Kiowa describes his body falling under the weight
of his pack
As they wait for the helicopter to take Lavender
away, they smoke his marijuana
Truth and Fiction…
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The next day they burn Than Ke and shoot the
animals that run from the fire
Kiowa is disturbed by how unceremoniously
Lavender’s body fell. He finds it difficult to muster
any sadness because the death wasn’t what he
expected
Later, in the rain, Cross burns the pictures of Martha
and resolves himself to lead his men more
effectively in the future.