O'Brian And The Vietnam War... DRAFT

Author Tim O’Brian gives great detail of the Vietnam War in his book If I Die In A Combat Zone. O’Brian gives an account of his time served during the Vietnam War and how he went about his belief and understanding of what he was doing for his country. Being an ordinary young and ambitious American boy, at a young age he would play with his friends as if they were at war. Then when the Vietnam War comes along at a time where he would be eligible to fight, he was not so sure if it would be the right thing. O’Brian gives the reader the idea that even though as a patriotic American young man, he did not believe in what he was fighting for; yet the thought of shame from society and his father would keep him against his will.

Throughout the book the reader is able to pick up on O’Brian’s frustration about the war his country had forced him in. At first he wanted to avoid the war and move over seas. He would go through half way then back down, due to his fear of shame if he were to do such a thing. After entering the army he would go through training and sent to Vietnam, were he would experience a whole new strength and courage that would get him through the war.

The author O’Brian used many different things to get his story across to the reader. One of which was the characters he chose to use in the book. Many of them were middle or low class Americans who joined the war because they had to or the money. Soldiers throughout the book did not seem as if they were fighting for a cause that they thought was just, but yet a fight that they had to fight because President Richard Nixon thought it was a necessary fight against communism.

The author also used imagery very vividly throughout the book. This gives the reader a sense of being in the story; being able to somewhat understand the atmosphere and tension on the battle ground. The amount of danger that each and every soldier was facing every day of their lives on the front lines. The reader can almost picture how each character looked and what was going on around them as the story was told. The most amount of imagery that was used through the story was battles and small scermeshies that occurred from time to time. The bullets, gun shots, and even the sound of shots fired being compared to a woman’s scream; can only give the reader somewhat of a picture or image of what was going on around the characters.

The message that was being written by the author throughout the book was one that could be understood. That although the everyday American believed in protecting their country. Not every American believed in the Vietnam War, even those who gave their lives or put themselves at risk to do so. Yet they did so to rein act the courage most of their fathers had during the 1940s and to play there role in societies eye as a true American.