Ian O Brien: A Brief Biography

“At night I’d go home smelling of pig. It wouldn’t go away. Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the stink was always there – like old bacon, or sausage, a greasy pig-stink that soaked deep into my skin and hair. Among other things, I remember, it was tough getting dates that summer. I felt isolated; I spent a lot of time alone.” (O’Brien, 41).

“Fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth.” This quote by Minnesota author and veteran, Tim O 'Brien, displays his passion for writing stories that make truth come to life. Tim O’Brien is a remarkable man who has positively affected the world through his literary works regarding the Vietnam War. His personal life and authorship through his military experience, have led to making him one of the most influential war authors to date.

Flannery O'Connor stated in relation to Nathaniel Hawthorn: "I feel more of a kinship with him than any other American Writer." This kinship is well deserved when considering all the similarities between these two authors. Both authors use central literary symbols to strengthen the story and the meaning behind it. Along with similarities in tone and theme these authors differ greatly when it comes to the style of their writings. Despite all the differences it is the central literary symbol of the black veil and the wooden leg that tie these stories together much like the kinship felt between them authors.

There are two types of people that fight in wars; those who consider their patriotic duty an honor and those who entered the war by force. In 1990, twenty years after returning from the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien published The Things They Carried, a disturbing and remorseful collection of short stories that gives detailed, yet fictional, accounts of the horrific events that occurred during the war. Later in 2012, after his tour of duty, Chris Kyle released American Sniper, a humble and passionate memoir that describes what Kyle had to face during his tour. While The Things They Carried utilizes symbolism and similes to inform the reader about the horrors of war, American Sniper uses flashbacks and imagery to demonstrate that some people “come alive” during the war.

The story “The Things They Carried” reveals emotional and physical challenges soldiers face during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien introduces the reader not only to the subject of war and physical exhaustion, but also to human feelings and inner struggle soldiers are going through at this war. Besides the equipment and necessary things, soldiers carried emotions which strengthen their hope of staying alive in order to continue their mission. Tim O’Brien uses female figure, Martha, to create psychological escape which distracts a young soldier, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, from the war. However, such a distraction leads to the death of a group member, Ted Lavender. The illusion of love for Martha and false hopes gradually transform into bitter feeling of guilt and the harsh reality of war. Tim O’Brien masterfully describes Jimmy Cross’ and other soldier’s experience and feelings during

In this book, Tim O’brien reveals all his experiences in detail about the war; as well as stories about his fellow soldiers, and makes a true, but over the top about them. He explains how he feels through stories that are difficult to clearly identify as “true.” This book has a lot of themes, death and violence is one of the major themes.

Life is full of regrets, life is full of death, Tim O'Brien explains this in the book The Things They Carried. The Things They Carried takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien is a sergeant during the war. This book shows O’Briens and his platoon mates hardships throughout the war. That one's life could be changed in a split second, or by one little mistake. In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien presented mortality and death and shame and guilt throughout the war towards people who want an entertaining take on the Vietnam War.

There are three main thing Tim O’Brien wants us to know about war. The first one thing is how war takes lives. The second one is how war helps us not feel alone. And the last thing is how war consoles us.

Tim O'Brien's book, "The Things They Conveyed," gives profitable understanding into the brains of officers, and edifies us to the enthusiastic and mental expenses of war. In particular, the stories of Mary Anne, the infant water wild ox and the section, "In the Field," assist us with relating to the transformation that fighters experience. While the conspicuous connection for O'Brien's novel is to talk about the physical protests every fighter conveyed were a great deal more critical, including such things as individual questions, reasons for alarm, and dreams.

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).

Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, describes the adversity a platoon of American soldiers had to overcome in the Vietnam War. Each soldier in the platoon has a specific role they were assigned to before arriving in Vietnam. The majority of things they carried were all necessities, but some also carried certain belongings or mementos back from home to enlighten their moods. The medic, Bob “Rat” Kiley, is affected by the tragedy all around, but it gives us an idea of what he was like back at home before the war.

War changes everyone, and it can turn even the most innocent into warriors. Mary Anne Bell is whisked to Vietnam when her lover Mark Fossie arranges for her to do so. She becomes everyone’s favorite, and only, “cheerleader” for the medics and soldiers, but the war ends up changing her in ways that make the reader question the real effects of Vietnam. In The Things They Carried, O’Brien uses Mary Anne’s transformation to explore innocence in Vietnam.

Tim O’Brien is known for sharing his life stories with the world. In many of his stories and memoirs he goes into detail about his experiences in the Vietnam War. As quoted from Tim O’Brien, “My passion[s] as a human being and as a writer intersect in Vietnam, not in the physical stuff but in the issues of Vietnam -- of courage, rectitude, enlightenment, holiness, trying to do the right thing in the world” (Chin 1062). Both of his stories Ambush and The Things They Carried are memories of what happened to and around him during the war. He goes into detail about the war and the hardships he had to face to survive. Especially in The Things They Carried he emphasizes the physical and emotional traumas the characters had to face. Tim O’Brien is an influential American author who is highly known for his memoirs and stories such as Ambush and The Things They Carried.

In The Things They Carried, O’Brien shows the effects that war can have on a person by showing different results on multiple characters. It is very clear that one main theme expressed throughout the novel is the psychological effects that resulted from the hardships that they endured while in Vietnam. This can be inferred by the changes that each character encounters after their experiences while at war. War is an experience that changes people drastically.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a book about the Vietnam War. The book, written in 1990, followed the 20 year long war by nearly 25 years. Despite this, the war was (and is) still a hot topic in the States. Understanding that O'Brien released his book at a time when it would have had a political impact is vital to receiving his message. Through his collection of short stories, O'Brien indirectly expresses criticism with regards to citizens of the States that blindly support the war and the ignorance that he sees in these citizens. Throughout the novel, issues like relationships split by military service, difficult and possibly inhumane situations that the militay can put one in, the selflessness that servitude requires, and the bravery