The draft through imagery
Instead of talking about the draft hypothetically, O'Brien tells the story of his own personal draft. Before the war, he explains that he didn't support the war. The draft is shown as a horrific mechanism by which the government can ensure civilian participation in unpopular wars. The draft is imagery that sets a whole fate in motion that O'Brien cannot escape without risking serious consequences. The draft looms over the communities in America, deepening the schism between supporters of the war and those who oppose it, like O'Brien himself.
Vietnam
Suddenly, O'Brien is in a dense jungle that is complicated and confusing. It is a very hot climate and often rainy and wet. Most importantly, Vietnam is full of enemy soldiers who know the land like the backs of their hands, whereas to O'Brien, Vietnam is completely new terrain. He is continually paranoid by the likelihood of enemy attacks. The scenery is complicated by US military operations that seek to establish bases in important locations, but even there, they are not safe from attack. In Vietnam, they are never safe from attack.
Warfare and violence
O'Brien has a complex relationship to the battles he endures. His external reality is suddenly upset by the threat of death whenever enemies open fire on him or his platoon. But, the imagery of warfare awakens a part of himself that he has to experience, and the experience of his own violence is traumatizing. He realizes through the experience of war that when it comes down to the line, the question is not about whether the soldier supports the US government in its geopolitical endeavors; the question is whether he is willing to kill the people who are trying to kill him so he can survive and go home.
War crimes and human evil
When O'Brien is called upon to investigate war crimes in the My Lai Massacre, he gets to see that the damage done by war extends far past one's own survival. Some American troops rape and torture Vietnamese people, and many times, the soldiers commit atrocities that are not called for. The question is how much of this was allowed by leadership, and how justice can be accomplished. The imagery of such atrocities pushes O'Brien to become a seeker of justice in his own life by sharing the truth of what he witnessed in Vietnam through books.
