Daly Walker's Involvement In The Vietnam War

Terry’s father and George Robinson share a multitude of similar experiences and traits. Conspicuously, they both fought in the Vietnam War; however, as a consequence, both men, whether physically or mentally, were injured. Furthermore, the both of them have implied or mentioned that they found it difficult to watch others die, especially if it was one of their own men. Additionally, unlike most of their comrades, Terry’s father and Robinson did live to see the end of the Vietnam War, although both men consider themselves as changed men because of ghastly situations they had to live through. Also, both veterans did not have any desire to discuss their experiences with their loved ones. As Terry’s father explained, their memories of the war were just too horrifying for

“The pictures get jumbled; you tend to miss a lot. And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed” (O’Brien 68). In Tim O'Brien's’ novel, The Things They Carried, the author creates an overall reflection of war and the memories that come from the experiences. O’Brien describes his experiences in the Vietnam War and how the outcomes can lead to PTSD. Soldiers can not possibly capture these experiences in literal truth, but by storytelling. Tim kills an enemy and feels the guilt from it, so he makes up a backstory for

The Vietnam war was an absolutely brutal time in American history. The war lasted for the majority of the 1960s and left many young men dead. The short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam give us just a glance into the war by giving using the three themes of fear, pressures, and blame/guilt to embody the concept of war and how it absolutely changes a person. War not only destroys countries, but it destroys people.

While the Vietnam War was a complex political pursuit that lasted only a few years, the impact of the war on millions of soldiers and civilians extended for many years beyond its termination. Soldiers killed or were killed; those who survived suffered from physical wounds or were plagued by PTSD from being wounded, watching their platoon mates die violently or dealing with the moral implications of their own violence on enemy fighters. Inspired by his experiences in the war, Tim O’Brien, a former soldier, wrote The Things They Carried, a collection of fictional and true war stories that embody the

The short story that will be discussed, evaluated, and analyzed in this paper is a very emotionally and morally challenging short story to read. Michael Meyer, author of the college text The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, states that the author of How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O’Brien, “was drafted into the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart” (472). His experiences from the Vietnam War have stayed with him, and he writes about them in this short story. The purpose of this literary analysis is to critically analyze this short story by explaining O’Brien’s writing techniques, by discussing his intended message and how it is displayed, by providing my own reaction,

Tim O’Brien managed to survive the Vietnam war virtually unharmed, and gained countless stories and a subject to write about along the way. Tim O’Brien has written several books about the Vietnam War and the experiences of being a combat. Tim O’Brien has been obsessed with stories

As time passes, events occur. This fact is part of the nature of the universe; however, just because things happen does not mean that actions carry any meaning. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried explores the idea of truth while presenting fictional accounts of the Vietnam War as if they had actually occurred. This effort is most evident in the short story “How to Tell a True War Story,” where O’Brien argues that truth does not simply comprise events that happened. He argues that in order to best convey meaning, truth is formed from the thoughts, emotions, and perspective that determine how events are interpreted. In this story, O’Brien repeatedly states what he thinks truth is and openly seems to contradict himself.

O’Brien was a Vietnam War soldier that experienced the horrors of war first-hand, reliving the moments of the battlefield in the war as well as at home. The “things they carried” were not just their war equipment, but also the emotional and psychological baggage that they had. This emotional baggage weighs in on their conscience and disturbs the peace in their dreams. O’Brien states that “a true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models for proper human behavior”(O’Brien 65). Throughout the book O’Brien puts an effort into exposing the reality of what a “true war story” sounds like. He remarks that any story that makes “you feel uplifted” is a complete falsehood and claims that “you have been made the victim of very old and terrible lie”(O’Brien 65).

The Vietnam war had its controversy. Many families were getting split apart. Left and right, people were getting taken away from their loved ones. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of people died during the war. The stories “On the Rainy River” and “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” both represent the controversy during the Vietnam War. Both Tim O'Brien and John Strickland had to leave their loved ones because they got drafted. Tim O'Brien went to the war and hated himself for that, while John Strickland escaped to Canada. In ”On the Rainy River” and “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” Tim O'Brien and John Strickland both demonstrate the similarities between their perspectives on the Vietnam War.

Sentence Summary: Daniel Robinson’s essay, “Getting it Right: The Short Fiction of Tim O’Brien” delineates O’Brien’s style of writing which focuses on the aspects of Vietnam, that tell more than the actual facts can. Robinson alludes to the idea that O’Brien’s stories revolve around the emotions and feelings of the characters as they journey through the years of the war, rather than the actual events of the war itself.

Tim O’Brien is a famous ‘war’ writer. He is the author of “How to Tell a True War Story.” The study of this short story provides a profound insight into why he wrote the book. The study of his background reveals insights into the actual purpose of this story (Kenison). In particular, his background explains why the book was written in an ambiguous manner. The ambiguity of the story is clearly seen in the choice of characters, the tone, as well as the irony. After reading this story, it becomes clear that the characters, tone, and irony all relate to the author’s personal experience in Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien was one of the American soldiers who participated in the prolonged Vietnam War. He used his experienced after the war to write this story in an ambiguous form.

Tim O’Brien’s short story “How to Tell a True War Story” details memories from O’Brien’s time in the vietnam war. It explores the concept of truth, and challenges its definition by asserting that there are certain truths about war which are more important than the actual facts and details of the event. O’Brien tells the story of his friend Bob “Rat” Kiley witnessing the death of their friend Curt Lemon. He also shares the story told to him by his friend Mitchell Sanders about a group of listening post soldiers that grow hysteric listening to the vietnamese jungle. He uses these war stories as examples to show how even when the exact facts are misconstrued, they are still true stories because

The humid, teeming jungles of Vietnam during the war were the breeding ground of nightmares for U.S. soldiers who were forced to subject themselves to the barbaric conditions daily. A defining author of the Post-war Vietnam era, Tim O’Brien is one of the writers truly able to capture the war through words. O’Brien focuses on the daily life of the soldier more so than the overall conflict, and is able to delve into the true horrors of war and its effects on the men who fought it. O’Brien’s service in the Army gave him the inspiration to write, something he turned into a career. In his memoir, If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, O’Brien writes about his wartime experiences during his service in Vietnam. Like any other young

Beginning in 1965, the Vietnam War was a nearly decade long conflict in which the United States attempted to halt the inevitable rise of Communism in Southeast Asia. Ultimately resulting in the deaths of 60,000 Americans, the Vietnam War was a massive failure in American history (“Vietnam War Fast Facts”). Domestically, the War sparked controversy and protests across the nation. As chaos ensued in Vietnam, many Americans questioned the moral values of the United States Government. In media, such inquiries quickly became a prominent topic, and films such as The Deer Hunter, directed by Michael Cimino, became major hits. Even years later, the Vietnam War remained a significant focus for many Americans, sparking a Vietnam war veteran, Tim O’Brien, to write his war story novel, The Things They Carried. In his book, O’Brien thoroughly describes the guidelines of a true war story, with a main point being that, “A true war story is never moral” (O’Brien 76). In his film The Deer Hunter, Michael Cimino asserts Tim O’Brien’s guideline that war stories are morally indifferent. During the movie, Michael’s actions in the Vietnamese village and Nick’s death represent the lack of virtue in the war.

The Vietnam War is a tough pill to swallow, whether you were part of it, heard stories of it or only learned about it by watching ' 'Forrest Gump ' ', it is an alienating subject to most of the people on this earth. And while most of us, hopefully, will never find out what war feels like, smells like or how it is to get out of it, Tim O 'Brian 's account makes it relateable to us how dreadful it is how it is to be in a war zone.