In the book "The things they carried" Chapter 7

Question

Why is the use of “foul language” stressed in this chapter? What point is O’Brien making about the age of the men?

Answer 1

Think about the age ranges that swear. What happens to the boys who go to war, they come home as men, right? What about their experiences in Vietnam give them permission to swear but also force them to grow up? (War. The answer is the War. I'll leave you to pick out the specific examples from Ch.7 that you'd like to use.)