TTTC Final Reading #4

Within these final chapters of the book things start to connect and reflect of one another. No one can truly experience or feel the way that O'Brien did throughout the war and no one will ever understand thte actions he took and the things he  did to survive. Simply because if you have never been in war you have never experienced these feelings. This is why in the chapter "Field Trip", Kathleen does not enjoy going to Vietnam and seeing these places where O'Brien had once been and where he lost friends and loved ones and killed many people, simply because she does not see the importance of this part of history and doesn't see why it is so important to O' Brien. A field trip for Kathleen is going somewhere fun, not to Vietnam, but for O'Brien, he is reliving his younger days and looking back on the importance of the war which no one will ever realize unless you have actually fought through it.

O"Brien tells war stories which may or may not always be true about himself, but certainly happened to other soldiers in the war. It always makes you question whether some of the stories he told, if he actually lived through it or just heard about it from some of his buddies. O'Brien also writes, "stories can save us," (pg225) in order to tell others out there like him to share with their families and friends to let all of the grueling events that happened off of their chest and get it out of their heads. It can help cleanse the mind and body and make you feel relieved.

After reading this book I can truly understand the conditions and hardships that the soldiers went through in order to help their country out, and that no matter how many stories they tell us regular city folk, we will truly never experience the things that happened or the feelings that they felt throughout the war.