The major themes of this “memoir” by Tim O’Brien are shame and guilt. Its purpose is to mitigate the trauma of events twenty years earlier when, as a twenty-one-year-old, the writer was drafted to fight in Vietnam. Ironically, he feels both emotions: 1) for his initial decision to flee America to avoid fighting in a war he didn’t believe in; and 2) for putting his convictions aside, going to war, and things he did and/or was exposed to during the conflict. Other themes: moral confusion, civic duty, fear (embarrassment/social stigma vs. injury or death), connection, courage and cowardice.

This metafictional story by Tim O’Brien uses observations on a small collection of stories related by soldiers to highlight the difficulty of faithfully communicating one’s wartime experiences. His central argument is that in war it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen and therefore you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself. This leads to the seemingly paradoxical conclusion that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true. Themes include the nature of truth in storytelling, memories vs. imagination, the trauma of war, morality.

The strength of this Vietnam War memoir by Tim O’Brien is the matter-of-fact way the life of the soldiers (“grunts”) is portrayed. Although the military and survival equipment carried by the men is listed, the major theme of the story is the emotional burdens they carried – both those the men brought to the war, and those they took on during its course. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross learns an important lesson: in order to do your duty and survive the war, you need to find a way to let go of these. Other themes: war, love, individual and collective responsibility.

Private First Class Paul Berlin faces three antagonists in this story by Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien: the enemy (it is after all a war story!), his fellow soldiers (he will be punished and/or branded as a coward if he fails in his duty), and himself (the ability to control his fear). Although the major theme is clearly fear, the story also highlights the naivety and youthful innocence of many of those sent to fight in the war. Fear is presented as two-dimensional. While giving in to it can have grave consequences, facing and harnessing it can save a soldier’s life.