Tim O'Brien's motive in writing The Things They Carried

O'Brien discusses in "The Things They Carried" many reasons for writing the novel through stories.O'Brien gives great examples of what story telling is all about. "If a story seems moral, do not believe it" (O'Brien 65). O'Brien does this so he can have the reader feel and relate to the stories. His purpose to is to give the reader a sense of imagination of what can or cannot happen in the war. It's easy to forget a loved one who has passed away through the years, therefore O'Brien wants the dead to be alive through stories."She was dead. I understood that. After all, I'd seen her body. And yet even as a nine year old I had begun to practice the magic of stories" (O'Brien 231). O'Brien's purpose in writing "The Things They Carried" is to be as close to the dead as possible, through thick memories of the loved ones.