Tim O’Brien, a well-known Vietnam War veteran author, utilizes a remarkable and abnormal technique of writing throughout his career as he in a sort belittles the United States in some ways, but mostly about going to the Vietnam War and how the United States are doing unwarranted things. O’Brien grew up during the time of the draft and was not a huge fan of the idea of going to war against his will. He was born and raised in Minnesota, so the thought of fleeing to Canada entered his mind countless times but he procrastinated, and he was eventually taken by the army and sent off to war.
During his time in the army, he learned many things about life like how to live it and what life is worth. His use of direct and, in a sense, convoluted detail seemed to be a magnificent method to engross the reader in the confrontations he had to endure not only in the army, but in his life. As he portrays or becomes any character through any series of events the differing characters give varying point of views for each event, with other feelings and emotions towards a subject. As a result, O’Brien orchestrates numerous events that have personal and close feelings that are easy to comprehend which makes his literature relatable to most. As soon as he returned from the military, he resumed his studies. He graduated from Harvard University and briefly interned as a reporter at the Washington Post. O’Brien started off his career in 1973 with his first publication titled “If I Die in a Combat Zone.”
His memoir passionately reflects misery and sorrow inflicted on soldiers by the Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien’s memoir ‘If I Die in a Combat Zone’ is the story of the author’s life as a foot soldier located in Vietnam. O’Brien recounts his experiences in combat, walking minefields and crawling into tunnels. During this experience, he evaluates the interdependency of manhood and morality, settling on the idea that the war was futile. With this in mind, O’Brien structured ‘If I Die in a Combat Zone’ into twenty-three chapters; the work is not chronological and shifts between time periods. He questions his presence in the war and offers his own personal misgivings concerning each participant.
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By the end of the work, O’Brien offers his perspective concerning the importance of courage. Wikipedia writes “One attribute of O’Brien’s work is the blur between fiction and reality.” (Wikipedia, paragraph eight) This sentence hints at the idea that O’Brien possesses a distinctive style of writing which intrigues readers’ minds and emotions. Writing of the author is filled with meaning and symbolism, concealed in plain sight below an evenly narrative style that breathes not a word of agenda, of dogma, or of personal belief. Also very prevalent in O’Brien’s writings is the tendency to take on the character point of view in the narrative. The depiction of the material is very effective.
