How can a person convey the truth in a story about the past? Is it even worth seeking the truth when the public knows that this story has been repeated dozens of times, each time slightly different? The author of The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, would say that the truth lies not in the events recounted, but in the emotions conveyed. The reason personal stories are told across time is not to convey objective facts about life, culture, history, etc. of a human being, but to convey a deeper meaning than chronological events. The question should not be whether this story is true, but rather what is the reason behind telling this story. In TTTC, the point of each story and each reiteration is the psychological need to overcome the trauma the characters faced in Viet Nam. Analysis of O'Brien's latest novel can focus on the meaning of each story's narrative. The questions we will answer in this article are: why do characters spend so much time searching for truth/moral/meaning in their stories, and what is the purpose of reliving, repeating, and changing their stories with the sole aim of reviving them, repeating them and modifying them? an audience that might not understand them. It is known that TTTC is a war fiction novel, so the subjects will be soldiers in and out of combat, as well as real-life studies used when meeting veterans using coping mechanisms to function during and after war. The first act of a soldier struggling with post-war life is the chapter "Speaking of Courage", when the character, Norman Bowker, attempts to overcome the loss of a fellow soldier while driving in his childhood hometown. “The war was over and there was no particular place to go” (O’Brien 131), “As he arrived, a pair of red flares opened, a faint blur……. middle of paper.. ....O'Brien, Tim. New York: Mariner, 2009. Print. “How to Tell a Real War Story: Metafiction in the Things That.” 'they carried.' Review 36.4 (1995): 249. MasterFILE First Internet. Muldoon, Orla T. and Robert D. Lowe. (2012): 259-273. Premier Business Source. Internet. May 4, 2014. Wesley, Marilyn. “Truth and Fiction in Tim O'brien's If I Die in a Combat Zone. " Academic Literature 29.2 (2002): 1. Biographical Reference Bank (HW Wilson). Internet. May 4, 2014. Good friend, Vent. The Psychology of Joss Whedon. Dallas: Benbella, 2007. Excerpt. Chambers, John, Ed. The Impact of Postwar Vietnam. The Ox. Soul Companion. Military History., 1999. Web. May 4 2014. .