The Things They Carried Tennis

The original excerpt can be found on page 40 of The Things They Carried.

In June of 1968, a month after graduating Malcester College, I was selected for the amateur tennis team that I hated. I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and inexperienced, but even so, I was good enough for the experienced team. Somebody picked my fate for no reason, it didn't make sense. The very facts were shrouded in mystery: Was it the coach who disliked me? Pure bad luck? Who made this decision and why? Was I just not good enough? I am divided on these and a thousand other issues, and the debate had spilled out across my whole life, and nobody could decide on the most fundamental matters of the issue. The only certainty that summer was moral confusion.

Thesis Statement

In Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carry, the author uses unique anecdotes wherein the narrator shows his, and essentially the author's, attitudes towards the life-changing events of the Vietnam War.

Tim O'Brien's Interview Vs. "TTTC"

There is a clear parallel to be seen when looking at O'Brien's Interview and his novel. This would of course be expected since O'Brien wrote the book from his own point of view and with his mentality. In a way it is interesting to see how the author himself talks about his novel and how he comments on what it was like to write the book. From reading these examples the reader can even better understand and realize what the author is thinking or how he feels. Therefore due to the personal nature of the book and interview, O'Briens feelings and intentions in "The Things They Carried" become very clear when compared to the interview.