Conflict

Obviously there's some external conflict going on: the war. But the main conflicts of the novel seem to be internal. Jimmy Cross was separated from Martha, a woman he loves who does not love him back, but he still "carried letters from [her]" (1). Tim O'Brien almost swam away to Canada because he didn't want to leave his "mainstream life" (48) for a war in which he didn't believe. The book is mainly centered on how people deal with conflicts inside their own minds, especially when they're in high-pressure situations. The biggest conflict so far in the story is O'Brien's decision to go to war. He says that he "had taken a modest stand against the war" (39) and had even rung "a few doorbells for Gene McCarthy" (39). These aren't the actions of a guy who wants to go to war. His decision was like his own personal war between his mind and his heart.