“The Things They Carried”?

Question

How does the unusual plot structure in “The Things They Carried” help to emphasize what is the story about?

Answer 1

The stories swings between fact and fiction which emphasizes the nature of reminiscences. Can you tell which stories are true and which are "war" stories? At this point, I don't think Mr. O'Brien even knows which is which. And that makes the book more compelling to the reader; it should not matter whether the stories are true or not, they are tremedously told stories either way.