Ambush/The Man I Killed

Q & A 

Q: Who tells the story in this chapter? 

A: The narrator of this chapter is Tim O'Brien, the character, telling a story of the man he killed.  

Q: O'Brien knows many intimate details about the man he killed. How does he know this? 

A: I believe O'Brien does not know the man in any way. These details he seems to "know" he is most likely just inventing, they are a result from his guilt. O'Brien's conscience and mind is deeply affected by the murder he committed. I would say imagination is co-working with guilt to produce these ideas. Humans tend to always depict these thoughts about "what if," "what could be," ect; O'Brien himself is going through this proccess. The sight of this skinny young man with the star-hole eye inspires O'Brien to dream--His guilt however, is what inspires the specific generalization that the victim was a good man. Its almost as if he is putting more weight on his shoulders; he is blaming himself for seizing the existence of a valuable human being. 

Q: Where do the details come from? 

A: Like I mentioned before, these details are a product of a combination of Tim O'Brien's guilt and imgination. Another factor that deeply affects these ideas is the things the man carried and his appearance. For example, "His chest was sunken and poorly muscled--A scholar maybe," (The Things They Carried, pg. 118.) The quote above not only gives the reader insight on how O'Brien judged the man, but also by using the word "maybe" one can see that the details are probably assumptions.