Nietzsche says: “If he is not satisfied with the truth in the form of tautology, that is to say if he is not satisfied of empty envelopes, then he will always exchange truths for illusions. (Truth and Lies, 55) By this statement he clearly means that if people are not satisfied, they will exchange their sadness and loneliness for illusions; in other words, magic. Without realizing it, they will make their illusions the truth, which unfortunately is a lie. Like for example O'Brien talks about Jimmy Cross carrying love letters from Martha. As he says: “At the end of the afternoon, after a day of walking, he would dig his burrow, wash his hands under a flask, unwrap the letters, hold them with his fingertips and spend the last hour of light . pretend. He would imagine romantic camping trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. » (The Things They Carried, 1) In these few sentences it clearly shows that Jimmy is pretending, imagining his time with Martha. He pretends, and yet believes that Martha loves him as he loves her. For him, it's real, and that's the magical element. For the magic to work, Jimmy must lie to himself and believe that it is the only truth. Another time magic matters is when Ted Lavender is shot in the head and Rat Kiley panics and starts screaming the obvious: "Ted Lavender was shot in the head while he was coming back from urinating.... Oh