“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” This famous assertion is manifestly evident in O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” In the 19th chapter of O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” entitled “Field Trip”, the narrator manifests a number of changes that have occurred since he left Vietnam and as the story moves towards the end, the narrator comes back to the source of his own misgivings to know it again. These changes are not only physical but also psychological and emotional in nature. This thesis presents the theme of “change” in its broader perspective from “Field Trip” in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien.
The episode begins by O’Brien’s visit to the former field of war in Vietnam. Since the narrator left the scene, he has never been there and the death of Kiowa which occurred tragically still disturbs him and makes him guilty, although it is now a couple of years down the line since the war ended. The period between the time he left the scene and the time he revisits represents a stretch of time, which manifests the theme of change in time. Since the narrator has finally resolved to go back to Vietnam and reconcile with his own guilt, he has made a decision which manifests a complete transformation in his mind, or perhaps his heart. His life is no longer going to be full of guilt as it has always been since the death of Kiowa.
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The trip occurs concurrently with Cathleen’s 10th birthday. The fact that Cathleen has turned ten is change in itself. O’Brien thinks his daughter has grown to the level of comprehending his history. That is why he offers her such a trip as a birthday present. The theme of change is manifested in the change of Cathleen’s age.
When Cathleen and her father arrive in the field that was formerly a place of war, they find everything completely changed. The field has become smaller and even dry. It is less menacing, perhaps because O’Brain has grown older. It is at this instance that O’Brien starts to recognize the change in his own age which he had hardly recognized throughout all those years that succeeded the war. It is not possible in reality for a field which has never been physically altered to reduce in size. O’Brien’s recognition of the field as having grown smaller is a reflection of how tough the field used to be during the days of war, perhaps because of the danger of death that made the field a difficult place to survive. Now that the field no longer hosts war, he can feel how peaceful it is and that is why he terms it as smaller. The picture of the field he has always had in mind changes instantly upon his arrival. The fear and suspicion with which O’Brien used to perceive the field, regarding it as a place of war, is seen gradually subsiding from the time he comes to the field to the time he leaves. This is seen to have began sometime back even before the trip. Logically, for one to decide to visit the place that formerly hosted war is a sign that the fear of war is gradually getting away. By the time he tosses himself into the river, it appears that even the little fear he had arrived with at the place has completely faded away. He has changed from a fearful being to a confident man.
Upon arrival in the field of war, O’Brien’s surprise indicates that he had been far away for quite a long period of time. Since he left, he has not had a chance to come back. This explains how those twenty years had alienated him from the scene. This geographical change of location is a clear manifestation of the theme of change in the story.
O’Brien has purposely come to the field to cleanse himself and set his conscience free from the guilt he has experienced for years since Kiowa died. The cleansing process involves Kiowa’s moccasins and an act of taking a quick swim in the Iowa River. Before he finally leaves the river, he takes the moccasins and leaves them there. His actions represent ritual transfiguration meant to effect complete cleansing and alleviation of guilt. Such a transformation is cultural in nature. This element of cultural change contributes greatly to the theme of change in the story.
Cathleen was initially in her birthday mood and had imagined for a good experience, full of pleasure and enjoyment just as a child of her age would want her birthday to look like. However, this is not the case when she arrives in the field. It can be seen from the story that Cathleen undergoes a sudden change in mood. “This place stinks.” Cathleen complains. This arrival has changed Cathleen’s moods from happy to sad and discontented. This is ironic considering what the topic “Field Trip” would be interpreted by a child of Cathleen’s age.
The Vietnamese interpreter has also changed and is giving magic and illusions which attract Cathleen’s attention and make her happy again. The sudden reversal of Cathleen’s moods from sadness to happiness shows how change comes unexpectedly. She was initially happy going for a trip which disappointed her upon arrival in the field. His father has upset her by engaging in what she thought was immature. Finally, she has been made happy again by the interpreter’s magic and illusions. This represents a form of change that is usually short-lived. In her mind, Cathleen interprets her father’s actions as quite childish. To her, O’Brien is changing from adulthood to childhood by exhibiting such behaviors which literally is a change from an ironic perspective or rather negative form of change.
When O’Brien gets out of the river, Cathleen asks him if an old man who is in the field is mad at them. O’Brien responds, “All the anger is finished.” This implies that the situation is no longer the same as it used to be in the past. It is no longer a threatening place and those who go there, just like themselves, the Vietnamese interpreter and the man in the field, all come with completely different missions. None is associated with war. The stinking of the place, as Cathleen feels it, might have been caused by dead bodies that were not well buried in the field, but such deaths are no longer occurring.
Lastly, the nature of the story leaves the reader between the perspective of O’Brien and her daughter Cathleen. A keen reader tries to fit himself/herself in the position of both the father and his daughter at different instances within the story, placing the reader in a marginal situation. There is a constant shift occurring in the reader’s mind as they try to make sense out of the episode. This kind of marginality brings about several changes in different readers and to some extent, changes their attitudes and perceptions of different life situations. For instance, a reader is likely to believe, as O’Brien and his daughter arrive in the field, that the main business of the trip was to systematically take the daughter through his own history. However, looking at the manner in which the events unfold, one comes to understand that what O’Brien does is of much relevance to him than just the mere idea of celebrating his daughter’s birthday. Readers are therefore subjected to change in opinions, attitudes and perception throughout the story, a phenomenon that might be used to represent the kind of change that occurs in the life of O’Brien. In a nutshell, O’Brien’s “Field Trip” in “The Things They Carried” is a dynamic story with every aspect manifesting different forms of change in the society and how change is inevitable.
