Kaitlyn JohnsonDisher 4EnglishMay 28, 2014Compare and Contrast ArticleThe Vietnam War, a conflict in Southeast Asia, took place primarily in South Vietnam between government forces with the help of the United States against guerrilla forces with the help of North Vietnam. The war began shortly after the Geneva Conference provisionally divided Vietnam into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam. It began as a Vietnamese civil war and developed into a limited international conflict in which the United States became deeply involved. The war led to the collapse of South Vietnam and the unification of the northern part of the country. O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, and Oliver Stone's film, Born on the Fourth of July, both analyze and discuss the Vietnam War. Both works feature similar plots, characters, and themes. However, from a more detailed point of view, the two works are also structured very differently. O'Brien has scattered his writing into many different stories that all come together perfectly. In the novel The Things They Carried, the themes of fear, isolation, and truth in storytelling form stand out the most. The theme of fear is prominent as O'Brien must choose between fleeing to Canada or becoming a man and going to fight in the war. Alongside this theme also appears the theme of loneliness. Soldiers are at war and are cut off from what is happening at home. They are isolated in their minds and feel alone. They are detached from their own morality and simply fight according to their true instincts. Finally, narration is one of the most striking themes of the novel. Throughout the novel, O'Brien tells his stories to mourn the loss of his friends in the middle of a paper... similar interests in the war, but they are different in the way they show their interests. . Both the film and the book have similarities in terms of characters, but differ in their themes. After reading The Things They Carried and watching Born on the Fourth of July, I realized that they were both very great works that analyze and describe what it was like to be part of the war and how it affected everyone inside and outside of it. The Vietnam War was a serious mistake on the part of the United States. However, thanks to her, we learned from our mistakes and changed our government to prevent Vietnam from happening again. Along with these changes, great novels and films are still being created about the Vietnam War. These books and films make it easier for generations to discover and understand the Vietnam War..