In Speaking of Courage by Tim O'brien, a short story witten by one of his characters in The Things They Carried.In the story Paul finds him self home after serving his time in Vietnam, on the 4th of July. Even though he is back in his home town, things do not seem the same to him. The war seems to have put a new spin on his life. Most of the story he spends driving in circles while thinking about the war and his lack of place in his old society.The war becomes his whole life, and he feels as though he is to far distant from the town people for them to understand.On its own it is the troubling tale.