Analysis Of If I Die In A Combat Zone By Tim O Brien

The Vietnam war was one of many crusades the United States carried throughout the 20th century, the Cold War era. The domino theory was one of many terms used in this stage of political hostility where if a nation falls under the communist regime, the rest of its neighboring countries would undergo the same events. Although the war gained immense publicity, it was also victorious in achieving the objection of many through its atrocities. In the book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, the author Tim O’Brien transmitted to the reader his personal experiences and beliefs during his recruitment in the Vietnam war by communicating the cruel, lethal circumstances servicemen encountered, exposing the intrusion on Vietnamese civilian lives and property, and

Vietnam occupied a complex system of deadly weapons such as the booby trap and mines capable of even killing the last man standing (pg.125). These apparatuses were skillfully concealed in any area around villages so it can be invisible for the opponent to see (pg.165). The extreme mortal weapons had the ability to create terror to newcomers together with the commander of the Alpha Company by generating thoughts of alertness for every step they took (pg.123). The equipment used to injure and take the lives of soldiers, caused them to go AWOL from the perturbation of getting sent home into bodily portions (pg.123). These hazardous devices were effective at sending the newly-arrived commander home injured, just like more than half of the company (pg.171). A persistent feeling of panic also limbered through the minds of every soldier as they walked through Vietnam at night (pg.87). They prayed for the leading man to not lose contact with the trooper in front of them (pg.87 ). The darkness of the environment made the soldiers’ eyeballs to irritate until they burst away from their face. In addition, a three-yard distance increased the possibilities of disorientation from the group. Taking turns to watch over enemy attacks also took away the tranquility of the soldiers. As one soldier rested on a foxhole for an hour,

O’Brien demonstrated his criticism for the war when he mentions to himself that there’s little evidence that South Vietnam under the communist rule would be a worse place than a South Vietnam governed by a Diem or a Khanh and that all the lives being lost are worth preventing a change from Thieu to Ho Chi Minh (pg.87). Even before his recruitment and fighting during the war the author was conscious that men slaughter in the war was unjustified. A legitimate democratic government established would not make a difference in the leadership of the rulers being helped in the South. The lives of men killed in the war were more valuable than meeting the government's goal of containment. O’Brien also juxtaposed the Vietnam war with the Trojan war, comparing indecent Helen to democracy(pg.145). He gave an idea of how appealing a new brand of government could be, like Helen, but the consequences, just like in greek mythology, are death and destruction .Tim expressed his denunciation of containment by portraying a silly war being fought by to evil powers, America and North