Cut for spoilers, sort of. This is the final passage of The Things They Carried and while it doesn't reveal any particular plot points it's still a very poignant final image. If you haven't read this book (please do), be aware that reading this post is like reading the last page and that you'll be getting O'Brien's final thoughts first. I hazard against it.
"I'm young and happy. I'll never die. I'm skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story."
-The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
This final statement summarizes so well what he's said throughout the book: that stories can save us. They can keep alive the things we want most to preserve and they can lessen the blow of our failures. In our stories, as in our dreams, we can replay the moments that mean most to us and re-record them in a different light, in one that portrays the emotional truth of the situation rather than just the factual truth. I'm in love with O'Brien's concept of story-truth which plays a role throughout the novel. If you haven't read the book but you've read this post, I hope you want to read it now. I hope we can talk about it when you're done.
That quote is awesome. It's so good, that I"m swapping out Tim and Timmy with Rob and Robby and putting it on my facebook. That is a powerful image.
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