The Things He Saw

In his vision on the boat, O'brian saw, "a first Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross." This is remarkable because it was before he left for war. There is some reason to believe this to be a mistake, however,I think that Jimmy Cross and all other people in the vision were there for a reason. Tim O'Brian's psychological temperment causes him to be complex and mystical, thus making strange visions about the future plausible. Whether or not all the people listed in the book were actually in the vision is not all too important anyway. O'Brian describes how it is okay to dress up the truth, so that the audience gets the exact feeling and experience that the story- teller went through. He even writes a "true story that never happened" on page 84. The experience on the boat was one of the most profound of his life. He felt opposing forces; his internal morals said not to go kill people, but external influences were overwhelming. All while the old man, a god-symbol, watched in silence. He wants the reader to feel what he felt when he was conflicted and so close to Canada. He wants us to experience exactly what he experienced, and therefore every part of the vision was included for a reason, and it is all true, regardless of whether it actually happened.