Haunting Memories In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” there is constant repetition of words such as ghost, spirits and hauntings throughout the whole novel.This book contains stories, of which soldiers in the Vietnam War seem to “carry” ghost,and they seem to always be haunted by a certain presence.
“The thing about remembering is that you don’t forget.” (33). In this quote remembering is being compared to a ghost in which it is a presence that is always there. The ghost that Tim O’Brien is referring to is the memories of the Vietnam War and how the memories are unceasingly there, sort of like a ghost. For example, On 9 page it is written“They all carried ghost.” Each soldier has certain memories haunting them like a ghost,…show more content… O’Brien is of course referring to the war itself and how the war has in a way become, essentially, a ghost. So, in a sense, Whenever O’Brien wrote that all the soldiers carried “ghost”, he is mentioning the war and the memories and the experiences of the Vietnam War and how they have become something they cannot forget. Something that haunts them. In like manner, the “ghost” can also be suggested that the enemy and Vietnam are some haunting, evil presence. On page 192 of the book it reads,“It was a ghost country, and Charlie Cong were the main ghost.” ( 192). Charlie Cong was a nickname they made up for the Viet Cong. So, in this part of the book Tim O’Brien is comparing the Viet Cong to a ghost. Furthermore.In the whole chapter Ghost Soldiers ( 180-208). O’Brien kind of sounds as if he is obsessed with the idea of ghost. Throughout this paragraph (195) O’Brien is thinking about these ghost that have been mentioned to him. “Ghost behind you, in front of you, and inside you.” (195). I think that when the author writes that he is not only including the Viet Cong, but also the memories of war, as the metaphorical “ghost”. O’Brien as well as the other soldiers, feel overwhelmed and consumed by Vietnam
