#reblog 2/2/14.. Growing up with a single mom war wasn't really a evening discussion. I find myself rereading many pages trying not to "skim read". there are so many characters and the book skips around alot. It is easy to see how this book is po- mo. Back then people really didn't discuss the details of war. Even today many people just leave it as your dad put it. The fact that the details were there made the story very realistic. Imagine living in the dirt with bugs and who knows what for weeks, months, years. I also found it interesting the things they carried were both physical and mental and the descriptions of both were right on. Htey carried guilt, passion, regret, love, hope, drugs, equipment.. I wonder what was "heavier" the physical or mental items.
So far I am on page 140 in The Things They Carried. I am enjoying it more than I usually enjoy I guess”war stories”. Before this book I did not know much about the Vietnam War and this book has truly opened my eyes on how horrible of a place it was. My favorite part so far was when he was telling you “you know it’s a war story when”. I have had the pleasure to grow up a Military child so when I read that chapter I thought of all the times I’ve asked by dad about stories and sometimes the only thing he could say was “it’s a bad place”. How descriptive Tim O’Brien was with the casualties to my understanding would be some form of Po-Mo. As we discussed in class the other day it’s describing gruesome scenes in books just wasn’t done. So for him to come through and write a story on the war of that time that people knew so little about was very unheard of. #013114