The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien portrays the struggles of soldiers in war. The novel is ultimately a way for the author to deal with death and keep the memories of his platoon alive. Susan Wittig Albert writes: “Storytelling is healing. As we reveal ourselves in story, we become aware of the continuous core of our lives beneath the fragmented surface of our experience. We become aware of the multifaceted, multichaptered “I” that is the narrator. We can trace the paradoxical and even contradictory versions of ourselves that we create for different occasions, different audiences… Above all, when we become aware of ourselves as storytellers, we realize that what we understand and imagine about ourselves is a story. And when we know all this, we can use our stories to heal and heal ourselves. "Tim O'Brien presents himself as an author, narrator, narrator and character in twenty-two panels. Each perspective helps him achieve the purpose for which he wrote the novel. Tim O'Brien, as an author, is able to explore the horror of the war zone through his novel. Each vignette is a coping mechanism that helps him heal; he is able to keep the memory of the fallen alive through the stories to fix it. Sometimes I forgive myself, sometimes I don't” (134). The tragedies of war have left an indelible mark on him. Several men, including Norman Bowker, require a story; while others simply try to find peace. Bowker, unlike O'Brien, has difficulty re-entering society. The author writes: “'Speaking of Courage' was written in 1975 at the suggestion of Norman Bowker, who three years. then he hanged himself in... middle of the paper... The author writes: “But this is also true: stories can save us. I'm forty-three years old and I'm a writer now, and to this day, right here, I still dream of Linda alive. And Ted Lavender, too, and Kiowa, and Curt Lemon, and a skinny young man I killed, and an old man lying by a pigsty, and many others whose bodies I once lifted and dumped into a truck. They are all dead. But in a story, which is a kind of dream, the dead sometimes smile, sit down, and return to the world” (225). Tim O'Brien as the narrator is the most important role, as it offers him the most comfort when dealing with loss. Works cited "Storytelling Is Healing". The passive voice. Np, nd Web. February 2014..O'Brien, Tim. The things they carried. New York: First Broadway, 1998. Print.Creation: 13/02/14 14:23