A Conversation With Tim O Brien Summary

“Hell no, we won’t go!” was a slogan that many of the drafted soldiers chanted all over the United States. This slogan was a way for American people to stand up to the government by stating that they will not kill for a cause they do not support. However, many of the soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War were not sympathetic about the cause, nevertheless, they were forced to attend this gruesome war due to the pressure put on them by their government, family and peers, one of those soldiers is Tim O’Brien. O’Brien was pushed to doing actions he would've never thought of committing until he entered this war. Moreover, O’Brien had to kill a young vietnamese soldier to ‘protect’ himself and his platoon, which shows

When the Vietnam war took place, many people protested against it as they believed that the war’s purpose was illogical and unreasonable. Many people tried to protest against it in different ways; for example, men who were drafted to the war fled the country - as a form of protest - in order to dodge the draft. Stories like “On the Rainy River” and “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” show how men reacted when they were drafted to the Vietnam War, a war which they were opposed to. In the story “On the Rainy River” - the story was written by an author was also named Tim O’Brien just like the main character in the story - O’Brien was opposed to the war as he believed that the war was unjust and unreasonable and saw it as unnecessary. He tried to flee the country to dodge the draft but he couldn’t bring himself to do it as he felt too guilty and ashamed of his decision to avoid fighting in the war. However, in the story “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” - the story was written by John Strickland himself - Strickland, a man who also disagreed with the reason for the war, fled the country as he didn’t believe in fighting in a war which had no solid purpose. From his perspective, fleeing the country to dodge the draft was his way of protesting against the war. Both Strickland and O’Brien didn’t agree or support the war for similar reasons. Yet, only Strickland stuck to his convictions and dodged the draft to show that he was against the war whereas O’Brien wasn’t

Initially, when Tim O’Brien was drafted to fight a war, he needed to make a decision between personal desire and societal expectation: his point of views was more tend to be self-preservation. He believed that according to his qualities, “[he] was too good for this war.”(2,32-33) he refused to go to the war because he had “a full-ride scholarship for grad studies at harvard”(2,35-36) that would make his future much more better than going to a war that he felt unjustified. The notice that about he was drafted to fight the Vietnam War became a mess in the life he planned out for himself. “[Tim O’Brien] did not want to die”(3,26-27) and lose his bright future that would bring him happiness.

Tim O’Brien began this collection with a short story detailing the things soldiers carried, because he wanted to set the mood for the reader, by detailing why they were carrying these things, and what the area around them was like. Whenever he explains what they are carrying, he goes into detail about the weight of what they are carrying, and what happened if the soldier got killed. He talks about a soldier named Jimmy Cross carrying letters and pictures from his love, Martha, and how Jimmy stays up late at night thinking about her, and wishing he was with her (O’Brien pg. 3-4). Another soldier he talks about, Ted Lavender, carried around six or seven ounces of premium dope, until he was shot (O’Brien pg. 3).

After being drafted, several thoughts came to his mind. O’ Brien thought about how his life will be if he goes to war. He states, “I imagined myself dead. I imagined myself doing things I could not do- charging and enemy position, taking aim at another human being” (44). It seems that O’Brien thought about his principles and morals as a human being. He believes killing innocent people was not a heroic act; it was an act of shame. On the other hand, he clarifies that not all wars are negative, “There were occasions, when a nation was justified in using military force to achieve it ends” (44). He considered to fight only in the cases were war is necessary to achieve a significant purpose. O’Brien uses examples of Hitler, referring him as an evil and one of the reasons he would have validated a war, and even joined the military if it were necessary. Yet, he does not want to play hero in a war that had not sense. For that reason, he decided to run away from his draft.

Burdens affect every person daily. From carrying a backpack to school, to dealing with a family member who is causing drama, everyone knows the heaviness of a burden. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” O’Brien describes the physical and emotional baggage of young soldiers in Vietnam. O’Brien creates a very vivid and relatable feel with his story through the way he describes the physical, emotional, and actions of his characters due to the burdens of war.

Tim O’Brien was born in Austin, Minnesota on October 1, 1946 (Glerean). He spent his childhood growing up in Worthington, Minnesota. Worthington is a small town in the southern part of Minnesota. Tim’s father was an insurance salesman and participated in World War II as a sailor (Glerean). Tim’s mother was an elementary school teacher. Tim had an all-American childhood. He loved learning magic tricks, playing baseball, and reading books. He attended Macalester College and graduated in 1968 with a degree in political science (Tim O’Brien). Around the same time he received his diploma, Tim also received an unexpected and unwanted piece of paper: a draft notice (Glerean). O’Brien was against war, but despite this fact he went overseas to fight for America. He felt pressure from both his family and his country to fight in the war. O’Brien went to Vietnam despite his negative attitude toward the conflict. O’Brien fought in the Vietnam War from, 1969 to 1970. “He served in the 3rd Platoon; Company A, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry

While this change could be good or bad during the war as shown by Tim and Mary Ann, it often lead to the soldiers having trouble readjusting to a peaceful life after the war. In the Stories “Speaking of Courage” and “Notes” this difference between a soldier and who they use to be is highlighted very clearly. In “Speaking of Courage” Norman Bowker is reminiscing over a silver medal that he could have won if he had saved his friend Kiowa from drowning in a shit field. Bowker throughout the story is driving in circles around a lake, unable to escape the constant loop of thoughts that kept on leading back to Kiowa. His outlook on life kept him separate and distant from the rest of the town as he felt that he no longer fit such a normal life.

And .. I struggled with that for months prior to my being inducted into the army, and I’m still struggling with it 40 years later” (Tim O’Brien). Tim O’Brien had the choice to dodge the draft and go to Canada to start a new life, some people have this choice today if the draft was still here, they're scared if they leave they will never be able to see their family or get punished with prison. The people who dodged the draft should not be punished. If the country had to do the draft they should put the eligible older men first because they already lived there

What did Tim O'Brien gain by serving in Vietnam? What did he lose? Support your opinions with passages from the text.

: In the story, the characters were very aggravated since every time they walk to school they were always mistreated by Americans, because of this they sabotaged the bus by digging a hole in the road, so that the bus would fall into the hole and crash. They were successful in sabotaging the road but it had consequences, because there were people that wanted to look for and possibly kill the people that were responsible for the crash. In the future chapter the crash may have consequences to the characters, but if they if they didn’t create the hole or didn’t try to sabotage the story would change because there will be no people trying to look for them and they will be no consequences for what they did, but they will have to tolerate that mistreatments

“If I truly believe the war is wrong, is it then also wrong to go off and kill people? If I do that, what will happen to my soul?” (pg 60). Tim O 'Brien is an American man who was drafted into the Vietnam War. O 'Brien is not a violent man and struggles because he believes that the war is wrong. He debates whether or not he should go to war or move to Canada to avoid the draft. Tim O 'Brien decides to join the army. O 'Brien uses his personal experiences as a foot soldier in the Vietnam War to convey his possible bias perspective that the Vietnam War was a waste of people 's lives and a shameful venture for the United States.

Another way O’Brien weaves a new story to portray emotional “truth” is by inserting “lies,” or events that may have not happen. O’Brien states “Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t, because the normal stuff is necessary to believe the truly incredible craziness” (71); this is displayed when Rat Kiley tells the story of Mary Anne and Mitchell Sanders replies with “all that had to be there for a reason. That’s how stories work” (O’Brien 102) when explaining how he knew she was with the Green Berets. Rat Kiley provided basic background information on the Green Berets, such as there were six of them who had their own area and occasionally vanished for a couple days (O’Brien 92). While none of that may be the “happening-truth” - or maybe all of it may be the happening “truth” - it doesn’t really matter. O’Brien implies that the information is not the “happening-true” only to imply the real “truth”, the “story-truth”; Mary Anne’s story was weaved with fiction in order for the readers to understand the “story-truth.” She was there to display how war affected the soldiers: “What happened to her… was what happened to all of them. You come over clean and you get dirty and then afterwards it’s never the same” (O’Brien 114). The juxtaposition of her young feminine innocence in the beginning and in the end with her disappearance was a stronger story than stating the war broke the minds of men. O’Brien weaves his story to depict the “story-truth.” In addition, readers

Are you looking for a good essay about truth and fear? If so you got the perfect essay in your hands. I think truth is relative to the person and what they believe is right or wrong. Fear to me is what you are afraid of. O’Brien definition of truth is whatever the person makes it to be.

Prior to learning he was drafted into a war he hated, we are told that he had recently graduated from college (38). O’Brien says, “I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong” (38). The previous quote shows his confusion towards the war, he then goes on questioning the war by saying, “Was it a civil war? A war of national liberation or simple aggression?” (38) which furthermore provides an example of his uncertainty towards the war. While facing confusion, O’Brien also believed he was “too smart, too passionate” (39) for the war, he claims his drafting was “a mistake, maybe— a foul-up in the paperwork” (39). Both of the quotes show man vs. society conflict. Since O'Brien had recently graduated and received a full scholarship at Harvard, he felt like he was on top of the world, like any other person would if a war was not going on then, society was focused on something he didn't believe so he did not want to accept the harsh reality that he had just been drafted. The narrator also faces man vs self conflict, O’Brien wants to get out of the draft but, he says, “There was no happy way out...my health was solid; I didn't qualify for CO status — no religious grounds, no history as a pacifist” (41). O’Brien knows that it would be illegal to not follow the law of the draft but he also knows that he does NOT want to