Tim O ' Brien : A Man Who Has Positively Affected The World

The first three words of the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” are, “This is true” (67). Although Tim O’Brien begins this chapter with such a bold and clear statement, throughout the chapter he has the reader thinking and confused when he contradicts himself by stating things such as, “In many cases a true war story cannot

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

Through the initial characterization of young Tim, O’Brien suggests that when faced with unexpected life changing dilemmas people will more often than naught end up clouded judgement and panic. Young Tim is ambitious and well educated, he is on his way to Harvard University on a scholarship. His life is heading in the best direction possible. This is until he receives the draft letter. His ideals “hurtling down a huge black funnel” and all he can do is “nothing …wait.” His helpless soon becomes rage, rage towards the government who’s motives for the war “were shrouded in uncertainty”. He is “too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything.” “Why don’t they “draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk?” Why must he, who doesn’t support this “uncertain” war “put [his] own precious fluids on the line.” As “the rage in [his] stomach” “burned down” he soon

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 gained many experiences and maturity by serving in Vietnam which are good but he also gained the feeling of guilt by serving in Vietnam. He hated the idea of war in the beginning and still did during the war but his experiences as soldier serving in the war led him into writing. What he writes is stories because he feels that there are values in telling stories. He even says that miracles happen in stories. When he says that there is value in stories and miracles in stories he means by his telling of stories he feels that he revives the dead and brings them into his life.

O’Brien’s unification of fact and fiction is to illustrate the idea in which the real accuracy of a war story is less significant than storytelling. The subjective truth about what the war meant and what it did to change the soldiers is more meaningful than the technical details of the

     Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien believed he was above the war, and as a result pursued the alternative of escaping across the border to Canada. This understandable act is what Tim O’Brien considers an

In the beginning of the war, the Selective Service collected the names of all American men that were in the draft-ages. When someone’s name was called, they had to report to their local draft broad, which was made up of community members, so that they could begin to evaluate whether he would be fit for battle. The draft committee had a large amount of power in deciding who would stay and who would go. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Thins They Carried, Tim O’Brien had a big life decision in front of him; it was whether to flee to Canada or stay in U.S. and enter the war. He had the chance to jump off of a boat and swim to Canada and be safe, but he froze and that lead to him going to Vietnam. There were many others that face big decisions just like Tim O’Brien. Eric Schechter once wrote,” what my friends were going through; my own experience was too different. I was good at math, so I knew I’d be going to college, and I’d automatically get a draft deferment. Also, I felt less nationalism than most people. For me it would be just an inconvenience, not a great hardship, to flee to Canada, at that time a safe haven for draft dodgers. I knew that I would never wear a uniform” which demonstrates that he had an option of staying and fighting but chose to go to Canada because he didn’t believe in the war and he was set on going to college (Schechter 1). In November of 1969, everything changes. A lottery began to take away the student deferments and tried to get the kids who were in college, to go to Vietnam and

In the Chapter “Good Form,” O’Brien states that “story truth” is a more effective way to tell what happened during the Vietnam War than “happening truth” or historical truth. Journalists and historians would disagree arguing that historical truth shows the facts which people can learn from and make more informed decisions in the present than they did in the past. By contrast, story truth, according to O’Brien is a fictionalized account of the war which presents some facts but mostly the feelings and highly personal perspective of the soldiers. The passages staging what might have happened, while simultaneously questioning the accuracy and credibility of the narrative acts itself. By forcing the readers to experience the impossibility of ever knowing with any certainty what actually happened, O’Brien liberates himself from the lonesome responsibility of remembering and trying to understand the events. O’Brien believes that stories contain immense power, since they allow tellers and listeners to confront the past together and share otherwise unknowable experiences.Although O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran, unwillingly drafted in 1968 and serving until 1970, he purposively fictionalizes the war experience throughout The Things They Carried while simultaneously insisting that the essence of the work is true, a notion that many scholars question. His credentials for war stories establish a premise for the rest of the collection

“They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.” Tim O’Brien, an author, is a man of many words. Many of his words come from the part of him that were forever changed and affected by his drafting in the Vietnam War. War’s impact spreads much farther than country borders with both a physical and metaphorical influence, the one on Tim O’Brien happened to flow into the form of words onto pages into the hands of readers. Langston Hughes, another man with another story yet the same culprit responsible for his words. Poem or novel, both men had stories to tell and messages to convey which they did so successfully. Tim O'Brien's opinion on the war in his inexperienced youth

How would one feel if at any moment they could be called to fight in a war? For young adult males around the world, the looming feeling of receiving a draft notice is commonplace. But American teenagers are unaccustomed to this concept, as they are shielded from the truths of war on a daily basis. Author and Vietnam War veteran Tim O’Brien introduces the reader to his main character, Tim O’Brien, a bright young man with a promising future. Shortly after Tim graduates from college, he receives his draft notice to fight in the Vietnam War, and his world changes forever. Tim struggles with what he believes in his heart is right and what is expected of him by others. As the summer goes by, his decision leads up to a fateful boat ride on the

“I remember when the letter came to my door saying how I would be drafted.” My grandpa stated. “All around me, my family was crying and begging me not to go,but I knew what I had to do, I wanted to take vengeance against the Vietcong who hurt my family,my friends, and pillaged my city!” “For what is a man without his honor?” He exclaimed. “My first orders were to be deployed into Saigon and to await further orders upon arrival.

Tim O’Brien was a guy raised as an anti-war activist once he finished collage come to find out he was drafted into the army to go fight in the war. When deployed he was injured and received a purple heart while being sent back home and discharged. Upon his return he decided he would tell his story and recount what happened there and to him. After this he proceeded to tell his story through fiction and non-fiction works. When he wrote his works they were surprisingly well done and he even received the National Book Award.

O’Brien’s use of tone serves to immerse the audience, so they may envision the events taking place during the Vietnam War. As O’Brien details the journey he disclaims, “By telling stories, you objectify your own experience” in order to redeem a sense of validation when depicting a controversial war (152). Soldiers typically share war stories to filter information and compare their chaotic experiences. However, O’Brien directly addresses the audience, so “you know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth” (171). By this direct notion, O’Brien is stern and persistent to have the audience captivated by the cruelties of war. O'Brien recognizes the traumatic effects of war when stating “story-truth” in comparison to “happening truth”

In the late 60s, Tim O’Brien had been drafted to go to war in Vietnam. When he got drafted he didn’t want to go