From February 1969 to March 1970 he served as infantryman with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, after which he pursued graduate studies in government at Harvard University.
- 1 Why did Tim Obrien not go to Vietnam?
- 2 Did Tim O’Brien serve in the military?
- 3 How long was Tim O’Brien in Vietnam?
- 4 When did Tim O’Brien fight in the Vietnam War?
- 5 Did Tim O’Brien go back to Vietnam?
- 6 What did Tim Obrien leave in Vietnam?
- 7 Was Tim O’Brien really in Vietnam?
- 8 How did the war change Tim O Brien?
- 9 What was Tim O Brien’s view on war?
- 10 How old was Tim O’Brien when he went to Vietnam?
- 11 Does O’Brien have a daughter?
- 12 How did O’Brien feel about the Vietnam War?
- 13 How did Tim feel about the Vietnam War while at college?
- 14 Is Tim O’Brien author alive?
- 15 Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral?
- 16 Is The Things They Carried based on a true story?
- 17 How does O’Brien describe Vietnam?
- 18 What did Tim O’Brien carry emotionally?
- 19 Why did Tim O’Brien search out the spot where Kiowa died?
- 20 What is one reason why Tim O’Brien returned to Vietnam with his daughter 20 years later?
- 21 How was Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story?
- 22 Is O’Brien a coward?
- 23 How did O’Brien end up in the army?
- 24 Why is Tim O’Brien afraid of war?
- 25 What is Tim O Brien’s nationality?
- 26 What is the story Tim O’Brien never tells his family?
- 27 Why did O’Brien make up Kathleen?
- 28 What is ironic about Lemon’s incident with the dentist?
- 29 What question does Tim’s daughter ask?
- 30 How long does O’Brien stay at the Tip Top Lodge?
- 31 What does Tim say Elroy Berdahl role in his life?
- 32 Is Jimmy Cross an effective leader?
- 33 Who experiences PTSD in The Things They Carried?
- 34 Why are stories important to Tim O Brien?
- 35 Why can a true war story not be believed?
- 36 How does Tim O’Brien cope in The Things They Carried?
- 37 How long did Tim O’Brien serve in Vietnam?
- 38 Why did Tim O’Brien go to Vietnam?
- 39 Why does O’Brien change the details from the story to story to get at the truth?
- 40 Did Tim O’Brien fight in Vietnam?
- 41 How many narrators are in The Things They Carried?
- 42 What was ironic about Kiowa’s death?
- 43 Who saved O’Brien the first time he was shot?
- 44 What does Kiowa’s death symbolize?
- 45 What is the effect of O’Brien taking his daughter to Vietnam?
- 46 Where does Tim O’Brien get shot the second time?
- 47 Who does O’Brien say saved his life?
- 48 What did Tim O’Brien carry in Vietnam?
- 49 How did the war change Tim Obrien?
- 50 Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral?
Why did Tim Obrien not go to Vietnam?
He recounts his thoughts on receiving a draft notice, feeling that he was not suited for war because his educational accomplishments and graduate school prospects were too great. O’Brien tells his father that his plan for the summer is to wait and work.
Did Tim O’Brien serve in the military?
Award-winning author Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried, July, July) has incorporated his experience in Vietnam into several of his novels and short stories. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968, he served in the 23rd Infantry Division, also known as the Americal Division.
How long was Tim O’Brien in Vietnam?
Although he was against war, he was conscripted into United States Army and sent to Vietnam where he served for two years.
When did Tim O’Brien fight in the Vietnam War?
O’Brien served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, and, in The Things They Carried, wrote a collection of linked stories that reads like a memoir.
Did Tim O’Brien go back to Vietnam?
And, while O’Brien did return to Vietnam in 1994, accompanied by his then girlfriend—this trip is the subject of his well-known piece for The New York Times Magazine, “The Vietnam in Me”—his daughter did not go with him, because he had no children.
What did Tim Obrien leave in Vietnam?
But before he leaves the river, he takes Kiowa’s moccasins and leaves them in the spot where he imagines his friend settled into the river.
Was Tim O’Brien really in Vietnam?
From February 1969 to March 1970 he served as infantryman with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, after which he pursued graduate studies in government at Harvard University.
How did the war change Tim O Brien?
While in Vietnam, Tim O’Brien lost numerous friends and witnessed incidents too excruciatingly ugly to endure. In order to survive, regain his shredded sanity, then thrive, he wrote this book. In it, he becomes both narrator and active character, a constant observer to the things he cannot change or undo.
What was Tim O Brien’s view on war?
He states that “[He] would go to war- [He] would kill and maybe die- because [He] was embarrassed” (O’Brien 57). He soon realized that he should have escaped when he had the chance because it was better than experiencing the horrors and traumatic experiences that soldiers go through.
How old was Tim O’Brien when he went to Vietnam?
He now thinks it was an act of cowardice not to, particularly since he was against the war, but in 1969, as a twenty-two-year-old, he had feared the disapproval of his family and friends, his townspeople and country. He went to Vietnam and hated every minute of it, from beginning to end.
Does O’Brien have a daughter?
The audience member’s question about novelist Tim O’Brien’s daughter seems reasonable enough, except O’Brien doesn’t have a daughter. As the writer was just telling the crowd at Towson University, however, her name is Kathleen.
How did O’Brien feel about the Vietnam War?
Tim O’Brien was a foot soldier during the Vietnam War. “The problem for me really is that I questioned the rectitude of the war,” he says. “I thought I was doing the wrong thing by being there.”
How did Tim feel about the Vietnam War while at college?
How did Tim feel about the Vietnam War while he was at college? Do his actions and language support the idea that he “hated” the Vietnam war? He disagreed with it, he beilived he was too good for the war. just like other people beilived so.
His son-in-law, Keith McGee, confirmed the news of his passing to CNN Business. O’Brien died November 30 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, after he was hit by a truck while waiting on his bicycle at a traffic light.
Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral?
Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral? As in most of the other chapters, O’Brien has explored the fact that, in war, old notions of morality and immorality do not hold. If someone tries to attach a moral to a war story, he or she is probably altering the truth of the story.
Is The Things They Carried based on a true story?
The Things They Carried is famously a “true” war story drawn from O’Brien’s service in the Vietnam War, featuring events and people that the reader believes or wants to believe are true.
How does O’Brien describe Vietnam?
As “O’Brien” describes the Vietnam War combat experience, he emphasizes that the routine and daily life of a soldier was marked by similar abrupt shifts in action: “Well, you’d think, this isn’t so bad.
What did Tim O’Brien carry emotionally?
Amongst the emotional baggage they are bound with, they also carry grief, fear, terror, love; they carried their own indiscretions. O’Brien himself confesses that the sole reason he went to the war in the first place is the fear of judgment he would receive from his relatives and loved ones.
Why did Tim O’Brien search out the spot where Kiowa died?
A few months after Tim O’Brien finished writing “In the Field” he brings his daughter, Kathleen, with him to Vietnam to visit the field where Kiowa died. He’s looking for “forgiveness or personal grace or whatever else the land might offer.”
What is one reason why Tim O’Brien returned to Vietnam with his daughter 20 years later?
What is the point of O’Brien’s trip to Vietnam 20 years after the war? To show his daughter what he went through. To make peace with Vietnam and cleanse himself of the war. “I wanted to take her upstairs, tie her to the bed, and touch her knee all night long.”
How was Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story?
Tim means that he writes stories as a way to talk about and express all the memories and emotions the war left him with. By doing this it is helping him (Timmy) because he is able to cope with everything better. With what did “Tim” try “to save Timmy’s life”?
Is O’Brien a coward?
He was NOT a coward, but he really didn’t know what war was like, and his thoughts of shame were stronger than his fears.
How did O’Brien end up in the army?
O’Brien was drafted for military service in 1968, two weeks after completing his undergraduate degree in Government and Politics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. O’Brien ultimately answered the call of the draft on August 14, 1968 and served a 13-month tour.
Why is Tim O’Brien afraid of war?
O’Brien encountered war fear because he hated the situation of war such as boy scouts, camp, dirt and mosquitoes, and sight of blood. Moreover, he also scared to kill the enemy as well as be killed by the enemy. 3. Tim O’Brien felt depressed with his fate to be chosen as a soldier.
What is Tim O Brien’s nationality?
What is the story Tim O’Brien never tells his family?
O’Brien says the story he is about to tell is one he has never told to anyone out of embarrassment for himself and his family. He’s lived with the shame for over twenty years. He hopes that by writing it, he’ll alleviate some of that shame.
Why did O’Brien make up Kathleen?
Kathleen also serves as a way for O’Brien to project his own doubt and questions onto her about what he is looking to do in Vietnam. She symbolizes the gap in understanding between veterans and civilians.
What is ironic about Lemon’s incident with the dentist?
The irony of Lemon’s character is that Lemon so abjectly fears something as generally harmless as a dentist’s visit and doesn’t give a second thought to the potential harm of playing with a grenade.
What question does Tim’s daughter ask?
A Story for His Daughter
‘Ambush’ opens with Tim’s nine-year old daughter, Kathleen, asking him if he ever killed anyone in the war. Needless to say, Tim is jarred by the question – it’s not one you expect to hear from your young daughter.
How long does O’Brien stay at the Tip Top Lodge?
O’Brien stays at the Tip Top Lodge for six days, and Elroy mostly remains silent.
What does Tim say Elroy Berdahl role in his life?
Elroy, a main character in “On the Rainy River,” is an American civilian, one of the few depicted in the book. He offers shelter, food and friendship to Tim, who desperately runs away from home after receiving his draft notice.
Is Jimmy Cross an effective leader?
Cross is a weak leader because the traditional training he received is at stark odds with what he encounters in-country.
Who experiences PTSD in The Things They Carried?
In O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, we do not know if the soldiers ever received the group therapy treatment offered by the Veterans Administration in the 1980s. We know that Lavender did self-medicate because he probably had PTSD.
Why are stories important to Tim O Brien?
“Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”
Why can a true war story not be believed?
In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.
How does Tim O’Brien cope in The Things They Carried?
Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, had special way of coping with the psychological impact of his experience in the war. He expressed his thoughts and his emotions by writing this book. Through the themes, motifs, and the stories that are told through this novel.
How long did Tim O’Brien serve in Vietnam?
Tim O’Brien | |
---|---|
Years of service | 1968–1970 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 3rd Platoon, Company A, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment 198th Infantry Brigade |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Why did Tim O’Brien go to Vietnam?
Tim O’Brien decides to go to Vietnam because he couldn’t find the resolve not to or, in his own words, because he “was embarrassed not to.” In “On the Rainy River,” O’Brien contemplates running away to Canada after he is drafted.
Why does O’Brien change the details from the story to story to get at the truth?
O’Brien explains that he can change all the details in his story, such as the names, places, and events, because they are irrelevant in relaying the truth. What kind of truth is O’Brien trying to communicate if not actual fact? The story has to have things that seem real to make people believe the stories.
Did Tim O’Brien fight in Vietnam?
From February 1969 to March 1970 he served as infantryman with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, after which he pursued graduate studies in government at Harvard University.
How many narrators are in The Things They Carried?
The Things They Carried is written from two points of view. The title story and several others are written in first person, from the perspective of the character of Tim. Tim narrates all the stories but is not the main character in of all of them.
What was ironic about Kiowa’s death?
The new testament. According to azar, what was ironic about kiowa’s death? He got wasted in the wastefield.
Who saved O’Brien the first time he was shot?
O’Brien recalls the two times he was shot in Vietnam. The first time, medic Rat Kiley gave him medical care in the midst of battle, checking on him four times, finally helping O’Brien to a helicopter for evacuation to a hospital.
What does Kiowa’s death symbolize?
Kiowa’s death is symbolic of the senseless tragedy of war. He dies in a gruesome way, drowning under the muck of a sewage field about which his lieutenant, Jimmy Cross, has a bad feeling.
What is the effect of O’Brien taking his daughter to Vietnam?
In this story, O’Brien physically revisits a war experience in hopes of alleviating his guilt over Kiowa’s death. Under the guise of a trip for his daughter, O’Brien comes to Vietnam to bury his guilt, bearing Kiowa’s moccasins and wading into the muck to deposit them there.
Where does Tim O’Brien get shot the second time?
When O’Brien is shot the second time—this time in the butt—Jorgenson is too scared to crawl over to him. O’Brien nearly dies of shock, and the wound is so poorly treated that his butt then gets gangrene.
Who does O’Brien say saved his life?
Here, O’Brien is talking about his desire to save Linda’s life—“[n]ot her body—her life”—through storytelling. In saying this, he is acknowledging that he can’t change the facts of what happens in life, like the fact that Linda died at the age of nine of a brain tumor.
What did Tim O’Brien carry in Vietnam?
Tim O’Brien: I carried all the standard military stuff: grenades, ammo, an M16, sometimes an M60. Letters from mom, dad. Letters from a girl back home. More than the physical, I carried incredible terror with every single step I took.
How did the war change Tim Obrien?
While in Vietnam, Tim O’Brien lost numerous friends and witnessed incidents too excruciatingly ugly to endure. In order to survive, regain his shredded sanity, then thrive, he wrote this book. In it, he becomes both narrator and active character, a constant observer to the things he cannot change or undo.
Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral?
Why does O’Brien insist that war stories are not moral? As in most of the other chapters, O’Brien has explored the fact that, in war, old notions of morality and immorality do not hold. If someone tries to attach a moral to a war story, he or she is probably altering the truth of the story.