You're Wrong and Right, and I Am, Too

This is a blanket response to the posts and comments below.

Although “The Things They Carried” seems to contradict itself in the ways some of you have noted, I think those contradictions are intentional and integral (my brain is too weary to elaborate). However, I am probably misunderstanding the story and the ideas you have shared; I question my interpretations because I’m filtering everything through fatigue. But even if I were comprehending what the posts and comments below are saying, I would be surprised if they fully express how their authors read the story.

And isn’t that a problem deconstruction says all writing has? Even when the writing is refined (and blog entries rarely are; at least mine aren’t), it’s just an attempt to organize thoughts and feelings that are changing as and because they are put into words. And regardless of how well a given piece captures its author’s intent, its readers will assign their own meaning to it. Which makes reading frustrating and exciting, and writing frightening.