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Examples Of If I Die In A Combat Zone

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If I Die in a Combat Zone The Vietnam War affected the United States population by causing most troops to experience mental health disorders, alcoholism, drug addiction, and many more struggles that left Americans feeling empty after the war. The United States feared that communism was going to spread to South Vietnam. They feared that this spread of communism would lead to a domino effect, which would start with one nation becoming destabilized due to communism, and it leading onto other countries making a repeating effect globally. In If I Die in a Combat Zone O’Brien is the narrator, author and protagonist that takes place in the novel. O’Brien cared for his country, but was not for the Vietnam War when he got drafted to go fight for …show more content…

Many soldiers that served in the Vietnam war suffered dramatically pertaining to mental and physical health. O’Brien and many other soldiers also had the same views on the Vietnam War, such as that it was pointless for the United States. Most soldiers were frustrated with the fact that they were fighting for their country with no purpose or benefit for the American people. In the book O’Brian said, “I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop thinking of what a waste it all was” (O’Brian 7). This quote stated by O’Brien shares how himself and other soldiers felt about the war, and how they felt like their fight and war tactact was overall useless for the United States. O’Brien also mentions that he feels frustrated that the government would let thousands of Americans' lives to end just for a war that had no benefit or meaning for the country. O’Brien is a great representative for American soldiers who served in the Vietnam War because of the emotion and frustration he felt about the war and the war’s …show more content…

O’Brien did not like the other soldiers he fought with because they did not care about the Vietnam people. O’Brien claims in the book, “I hated the trainees, even more than the captors. But I hated them all. Passionate, sad, desperate hate” (O’Brien 33). Most trannies did not take the war seriously, but had clicks of friends that O’Brien did not take part in. O’Brein did not have many friends during the war, but did have one friend, Erik. Although O’Brein had Erik, he felt very lonely and independent during the Vietnam War. He mentions in the book that he trained by himself and learned how to do things on his own without any help from the captains or the trainees. This missing aspect in his life during the Vietnam War could have caused his outlook on the war more bitter than other soldiers, even though most soldiers did not like the concept of the Vietnam

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1348 Words | 6 Pages

Being their first hand, O’Brien is able to show people how it is. What the soldiers go through on a day to day basics. Being able to show the world how war was, helped the world to understand it. By openly writing about war, more people were able to help the soldiers. The transition from war to civilian life is a hard one.

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1365 Words | 6 Pages

In If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O’Brien argues that the Vietnam War was unjust by expressing his disapproval of the war through his own moral beliefs, sharing the descriptions of deaths in Vietnam of the innocent citizens, and by describing how much the war impacted himself and others negatively. In the beginning of the book, O’Brien openly stated his beliefs on the war. He believed it was wrongly accepted and unjust, but he battled his own opinions with society’s views anyway (18). Constantly, O’Brien discussed within his own head about the true definition of bravery and courage (147).

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957 Words | 4 Pages

He talks not only about his experiences but, also his platoon members experience. War degrades the lives of war and post-war soldiers by completely ripping them from their normal lives and into war. The Vietnam war derailed many lives, as people were forced into a foreign land to fight an unknown war. The 60’s were a changing time, young adults were looking to succeed and rebel the norms.

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465 Words | 2 Pages

Being a soldier was well respected in his conservative hometown, and not fighting would cause disgrace to fall upon his family. Despite his morals being against it, O’Brien decided to go war and fight, “I survived,” he explained, “but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” (O’Brien 79). Although O’Brien was against fighting in the war, he still fought because he was ashamed and afraid that he would be scorned if he did not.

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730 Words | 3 Pages

The men who served in the Vietnam War were just barely men, some of them were just hitting the age twenty. It was the draft which brought these boys into the fight involuntarily, to fight a war which they saw no meaning in. Many of these boys are the sons of veterans who fought in World War II, that came home to parades and were held up like heroes for fighting. Honorary men of the country and the soldiers fighting for Vietnam did not want to disappoint them. Thus, when O’Brien mentions in the quote, valor was not the point, he is trying to explain to the reader that the men went like it was a job they had to do, not a random act of courage that willed them to proceed.

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931 Words | 4 Pages

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).

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875 Words | 4 Pages

Through his stories, O’Brien doesn’t say outright: “War is bad” or “War is good,” he simply tells the truth. His painfully blunt manner of writing holds no rose-colored lenses over reader’s eyes, regarding any subject. O’Brien tackles viewpoints from many characters in The Things They Carried to better display the experiences of the individual in Vietnam. Though these characters all have different experiences, different backstories, and all behave in different ways, they all share the struggle of the soul at war. O’Brien uses various

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2081 Words | 9 Pages

The soldiers in the Vietnam War are portrayed as losing themselves in the chaos and trauma of combat. Through the stories of the soldiers and their experiences, O’Brien explores the ways in which war strips away one's sense of identity and humanity. The author himself is depicted as losing himself in the war. O'Brien served in the Vietnam War, and his experiences inspired much of the book. Through the character of Tim O'Brien, the author explores the ways in which war can strip away one's sense of self and purpose.

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1383 Words | 6 Pages

The Vietnam War was a war that most Americans at the time were not happy with. They did not agree with why we were sending young men to die in a foreign land. Tim O’Brien was one of those Americans. He did not try to hide the fact that he did not support the vietnam war. He was open about having thoughts about avoiding the draft and fleeing to Canada but instead he stayed in America and did not try to flee

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795 Words | 4 Pages

“Many of his [Tim O’Brien’s] novels and stories draw on his experiences during the war” (Gardner 1332-1333). Authors may feel as though they have a unique perspective on an event because they witnessed it first hand and know details about the event that few others do. Tim O’Brien was promoted to sergeant during the Vietnam war and later decorated with a purple heart (Gardner 1332-1333). Tim O’Brien was a high ranking enlisted man in the Vietnam war. One can assume there were times he had to make difficult decisions for his platoon and himself.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

Often if we give up, or fail to reach them we feel ashamed that we are not strong enough to overcome obstacles and we place blame on other aspects of our life to try and re-direct our own personal guilt. O’Brien was held back from leaving to Canada because of “all [the] eyes on [him], the town, the whole universe- and [he] couldn’t risk embarrassment.” He blames himself even many years later because he “was a coward” who “went to the war.” This demonstrates the guilt he places on himself because he gave in to his surroundings and the shame he feels that he couldn’t stand up for what he didn’t agree with, which was the war itself. Although he went to war because he of what the people in his town would think of him, he also didn’t want to live with himself knowing that the shadow of the war would follow him wherever he

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688 Words | 3 Pages

He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Not many new soldiers knew at the beginning of the Vietnam War that war was going to be wrong, unwanted, and not moral. O’Brien wanted to escape the draft and go live somewhere else, but did not want to embarrass his family and decided to stay to face it. On the other hand, his college friends found ways to easily avoid being drafted to the war. They got deferments and letters from clergy members and doctors to get away from the problem of being obligated to serve time in the war (pg. 21). The war was unwanted by many.

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1507 Words | 7 Pages

This serves as an effective reason for O’Brien to be critical in himself because prior to deciding to serve in Vietnam. “[He] imagined [himself] doing things [he] could not do – charging an enemy position, taking aim at another human being.” (O’Brien, 44) He was against the idea of violence against another human being. Deciding to serve in this war contradicts this statement.

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943 Words | 4 Pages

The Vietnam War had a crucial impact on the Vietnamese and the Americans’ Home life. Not only did it have an impact on these people but also the impact on the American fighters. Between 1963 and 19 73 the US had sent thousands upon thousands of soldiers to the battle grounds in Vietnam. At the start of the war the American soldiers were fixed on the reasons they were fighting however towards 19 68 the troops were considering the real reasons’ they were involved in the war, due to this 500’000 troops had deserted the war and refused to fight. The fact that these soldiers weren’t volunteered to go and were given slips, didn’t help either.

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