O'Brien's Intent

O'Brien articulates his primary purpose in writing "The Things They Carried" in his final story "The Lives of the Dead". In the opening line of this reflection, the author declares that "stories can save us" (O'Brien 213). O'Brien condenses his essential intent in this statement and further maintains that his stories "can revive...that which is absolute and unchanging" (O'Brien 224) in the characters he depicts (including himself). O'Brien's purpose of "[keeping] the dead alive with stories" (O'Brien 226) is manifested throughout the novel in characters such as Ted Lavender and his propensity to resist the war with tranquilizers. O'Brien recounts Rat Kiley's story of Curt Lemon trick-or-treating, adding that "to listen to the story...you'd never know that Curt Lemon was dead" (O'Brien 227). Ultimately, O'Brien intends to animate important figures who were lost to Vietnam and preserve the crucial aspects of both himself and his comerades.