When in war you must have a way to see if the other members of your squad are at a level where they will not jeopardize your safety so by giving each other nicknames they could tell who was a reliable person who wouldn't take your safety for granted. Certain people in The Things They Carried have bonds that would be created at war such as Lemon and his friend who was shocked once he stepped on the land mine. Other people are very distant from others because they have nothing in common or have not been able to experience the same things. It seems like a pretty realistic set of friendships because certain people you would just not get along with while others would have your your back through the time your enlisted time.
I like how O'Brien added a female character to the mix. With her being so fearless it shows that men are not the only ones who are suitable for combat. I believe he is trying to compare men and women and show that they are equal in many ways such as strength and bravery. Women were taking the roles of men during this time proving themselves such as members of the war and taking the jobs in factories since all of the men had enlisted.
I see most of this book as being fiction but i know that these stories are being told based on personal experiences that he had and altered. The part where he told his personal experience was very interesting and I thought it was so weird how the soldiers were hearing the Asian music coming from the mountains and caused them to the go insane because they just couldn't handle it. I don't mind the fact that its fiction since most of the books that i read are of that genre. It also adds more action than may have actually happened in his time serving.
Questions:Why Didn't the Asian music stop during the post with the soldiers even after they had bombed the area?
