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

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In If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O'Brien argued that the Vietnam War was wrong and unjust through his depictions of a soldier’s daily life on war, how the author is affected by moral ambiguity, and soldier's experiences of the feel of the war with struggles along with emotional and physical changes.
In the book, O’Brien invokes his daily life as a college student who was drafted into becoming a soldier at the Vietnam War (pg. 16). He had no other option than to take part in the war. His life is changed due to the war he is obligated to take a part of. He was persuaded then and still is that the Vietnam war was wrong because many people died during its evil (pg. 18). Soldier’s, including Tim O’Brien, walked from village to village causing …show more content…

He was unsure what he would do once drafted and thought of running away to avoid being taken to fight (pg. 17). This shows that the men drafted like the author were not ready to join the military to go off to war. They were not ready for what tragic events were to occur at the battlefield that would change their lives forever and what their perception about war in general. Being drafted affected O’Brien from having a clear perception about what he thought of war as he began as a new soldier drafted from college. Later, he thought that war is wrong because he was persuaded that it was and because it resulted in many deaths but he then he had a thought that war might be poorly justified and wrongly conceived (pg. 18). 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. Some men just did not want to go fight in a war that will result them to lose a body part or their lives. Leaving their normal lives they are used to having to

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Why does Tim O’Brien only Share Fictional War Stories? How many times have you read a fact, but never truly connected to it? You probably didn’t have the emotional sense that you would have had if you were to read those facts, but in a story outline. Tim O’Brien expresses his experience in the Vietnam War, not by listing off facts, but by writing a fictional story so the readers can understand and feel the emotional connection. When someone reads a history book, it’s dull because it has bunch of facts without a detailed description.

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But there are a few things the O’Brien validates for the reader. He did fight in the Vietnam War. Several different places in the book show this. He received his draft letter on June 17, 1968. He responded in not the normal way, but he ran away to the Canadian border where he spent six

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In If I Die In A Combat Zone author Tim O'Brien states that the Vietnam war was a horrible place and time to be a part of by showing the gruesome violence of the war, the horrible living conditions of the war and lastly the amount of casualties that resulted from the war. O’Brien in the book reveles to the readers on several occasions how unorthodox the war in Vietnam was. This was already a pretty common consensus about the war but in the book it really drives the point home with countless scenes of violence and hostel imagery. A good example of this would be when the soldiers witness one of their comrades getting shot right in the buttox and the bullet comes out the other other end and out though the crotch area leaving puddles of blood

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The weight or stress of “fitting in” and the fear of being rejected by his community drove him into choosing whether to leave or stay in the country “All those eyes on me - the town, the whole universe - and I couldn’t risk the embarrassment. ”(pg.186). Tim O'Brien's decision to participate in the war can be seen as an act of courage, because it demonstrates his willingness to face societal judgment in order to fit into the duty he has to serve his

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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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Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Thing’s They Carried, reveals the author elaborating on his experiences of the Vietnam War through various war stories. While elaborating on his own personal experience from the war, he is also able to delve a little into how the war affects the country. “War has a catastrophic effect on the health and well being of nations. Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease” (Lakshiminarayana and Murthy).

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O’Brien did not want to shame his family by ignoring the draft to the Vietnam war he received. He confirms how he “feared ridicule and censure” to explain how his hometown would disapprove him fleeing to Canada instead going to the war (O’Brien 42). Shame motivated him to go to the war because he do not want to seem cowardly or shameful. Although love and shame affect the men , enemies does as well.

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Plus, the issues that the book mainly digresses and discusses into, are the moral question of whether war is right or not and the psychological effects it has on its soldiers or those involved in it as mentioned by O’Brien himself in some of the chapters and the main conflict O’Brien has during the war is having difficulty dealing with the war itself either by the long-term effects or by the immediate effects of the war. O’Brien sees the effects that it had on his comrades of the war through his narration and talks about it himself about what he is doing really is helping or not and what he personally thinks of the war and the ordeal. The chapters in the novel are stories that O’Brien recalls from the time he spent during the Vietnam War that revolves around himself and the troops he was with and some key details to summarize this novel despite there ever being a plot, are that during the summer of the year 1968, O’Brien has an internal crisis with himself and has trouble choosing whether he wants to join and fight in the

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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).

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The Vietnam War leaves a legacy of moral confusion with each and every soldier who serves. Soldiers are fighting for a cause they do not necessarily believe in, killing people who do not necessarily deserve it, and watching their brothers die beside them. Tim O’Briens’ book, The Things They Carried, illustrates the soldiers struggle to define morality throughout the confusion of the war. On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien faces what he feels is his moral obligation to answer his country’s call and fight in Vietnam, and a personal moral issue with the reason for the war.

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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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In the book, The Things They Carried, the narrator, and author, Tim O'Brien faces several different obstacles that he has to overcome. The main one that he goes through all starts when he gets his draft notice for the Vietnam Wa. He has to decide whether or not he should be brave, and fight. Or if he should pack up his things, and leave for Canada. For some people, making the decision to go to war or to flee would be a no brainer, but it was a different story for Tim O' Brien.

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The notion that Man is saved by grace and not by works challenged the core beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, it sparked a great religious movement throughout Britain and the thirteen colonies known as the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening, typically known now as the First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and continues through the 1740s. This movement consisted of church revivals that focused on the people’s relationship with Jesus and not how much power or money they possessed. George Whitefield, a great influencer in the movement, said, “Take care of your life and the Lord will take care of your death.” (1740)

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The knowledge of ethos, logos, and pathos develops and improves yourself as an analytical reader by recognizing the appeals the author uses throughout their text for the readers. It helps reveal the author’s approach in their writing, such as appealing to the reader’s emotions, setting themselves as an credible and reliable source, or uses facts and data to back up their approach. It develops a deeper understanding of the text and the author’s way of addressing the audience. The things they carry are both physical and emotional burdens that weigh them down. O’Brien repeats the weight of each physical item they carry: “for a total weight of nearly 18 pounds...the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds...starlight scope, which weighed 6.3 pounds…” (page

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This is evident when Mr. O’Brien says, “I would go to the war – I would kill and maybe die – because I was embarrassed not to,” (pg. 57.) In the end the author realized what he must do and went back home, so he could fight in the Vietnam

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