English Literature
mahel
english_2030_fiction_obrien.pptTim
O’Brien
“As a story teller and as a person who trusts story, I think a good story addresses not just the head, but the whole human body: the tear ducts, the scalp, the back of your neck and spine, even the stomach.”
1946-
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O’Brien was drafted in the Spring of 1968, even though he had just received a scholarship for graduate school at Harvard. He spent the summer battling a torn conscience, trying to decide whether or not to fight in the war.
“I didn’t want to die or kill anybody in a war. I was a small town kid, not a radical, and I wanted to be a good guy. Whether you are conservative or liberal, you can identify with someone who wants to do the right thing.”
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Ultimately, O’Brien decided to go to Vietnam out what he refers to as fear of embarrassment: “I should have had the courage to say no; I was a coward for going to Vietnam.”
He spent a year as an infantry soldier. He saw front line action, and was wounded. The war turned his idealism into cynicism. While never comfortable talking about his war experiences, he found psychological release in writing about them.
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O’Brien says his books about Vietnam give him an opportunity to do justice to what happened.
In his personal appearances, he now urges people to appreciate and embrace a life of peace:
“Peace is a very shy thing, but war brags.”
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Left: two Vietnam soldiers in the jungle
Below: the U.S. military’s answer to heavy jungle cover: napalm.
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