Susan’s Comments (group member since Jun 19, 2009)

Susan’s comments from the AP Comp & Lang The Things They Carried Discussion group.

Nice question! I'd say O'Brien has the right to do this since he authored the book, especially since I don't think he is trying to manipulate us maliciously. Every author crafts their work to convey their intentions - in the words of that little blue book, "everything is an argument." During Vietnam, he was inevitably manipulated by the government, so maybe this manipulation (and more importantly the realization of our manipulation) help us to better understand his experience. Perhaps, in this case, manipulation is a tool of education? But maybe I'm completely taking this out of context...