Character Analysis: Agony By Tim O Brien

4. I think it was justified because she was clearly being teased to get a rise out of her and thats exactly what happened.

Tim O’Brien, while having actually fought in Vietnam, did not write down entirely factual accounts of his experiences there. Due to this, the novel cannot be considered non-fiction and is instead distributed as a fiction title. This is not to say that the stories contained are not, to some degree, similar to what may have actually occurred to the author or other veterans. Many of the stories in the novel are inspired by actual experiences, but it is fiction.

Sentence Summary: Daniel Robinson’s essay, “Getting it Right: The Short Fiction of Tim O’Brien” delineates O’Brien’s style of writing which focuses on the aspects of Vietnam, that tell more than the actual facts can. Robinson alludes to the idea that O’Brien’s stories revolve around the emotions and feelings of the characters as they journey through the years of the war, rather than the actual events of the war itself.

During the apex of the Vietnam War Tim O’Brien lived through one of the darkest events in the nation's history. The My Lai Massacre and his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) inspired O’Brien to create such a beautiful novel In the Lake of the Woods. Tim O’Brien achieves the themes of denial and trauma by his masterful use of setting, imagery, and conflict.

The Vietnam war, a blemish on the face of American history is often dismissed and brushed under the rug. But veterans Daly Walker and Tim O'Brien exhume the war stories they spent decades burying in order to expose the truth about war. Despite the authors differing styles they both utilize symbolism to relate to the audience the tragedies that occurred during the war, and the battles they continue to fight even today.

Tim O’Brien uses storytelling over happening truth to extend his message and further dissects the theme of psychological trauma. Although Tim O’Brien isn’t always successful in conveying his message by disregarding actual facts, he does focus on providing synopsis that replicated the platoon’s experiences and feelings during the Vietnam War and the aftermath. Tim O’Brien wasn’t trying to recount the real events of the Vietnam War but rather confess the emotions and actions tied to it.

Tim O’Brien managed to survive the Vietnam war virtually unharmed, and gained countless stories and a subject to write about along the way. Tim O’Brien has written several books about the Vietnam War and the experiences of being a combat. Tim O’Brien has been obsessed with stories

3. Which one of the following sentences or phrases is most likely to be considered a cliché?

3. “I don’t know how you know, how you just know in your gut that something really bad is about to happen, but I knew

Tim O’Brien is a famous ‘war’ writer. He is the author of “How to Tell a True War Story.” The study of this short story provides a profound insight into why he wrote the book. The study of his background reveals insights into the actual purpose of this story (Kenison). In particular, his background explains why the book was written in an ambiguous manner. The ambiguity of the story is clearly seen in the choice of characters, the tone, as well as the irony. After reading this story, it becomes clear that the characters, tone, and irony all relate to the author’s personal experience in Vietnam War. Tim O’Brien was one of the American soldiers who participated in the prolonged Vietnam War. He used his experienced after the war to write this story in an ambiguous form.

In the Chapter “Good Form,” O’Brien states that “story truth” is a more effective way to tell what happened during the Vietnam War than “happening truth” or historical truth. Journalists and historians would disagree arguing that historical truth shows the facts which people can learn from and make more informed decisions in the present than they did in the past. By contrast, story truth, according to O’Brien is a fictionalized account of the war which presents some facts but mostly the feelings and highly personal perspective of the soldiers. The passages staging what might have happened, while simultaneously questioning the accuracy and credibility of the narrative acts itself. By forcing the readers to experience the impossibility of ever knowing with any certainty what actually happened, O’Brien liberates himself from the lonesome responsibility of remembering and trying to understand the events. O’Brien believes that stories contain immense power, since they allow tellers and listeners to confront the past together and share otherwise unknowable experiences.Although O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran, unwillingly drafted in 1968 and serving until 1970, he purposively fictionalizes the war experience throughout The Things They Carried while simultaneously insisting that the essence of the work is true, a notion that many scholars question. His credentials for war stories establish a premise for the rest of the collection

Throughout Tim O 'Brien 's experience as an author, his contribution to the American voice consisted of his grandiose style of writing, using experiences from Vietnam and the Cold war to shape his stories. His contribution to the American voice is unique as he not only includes deep physical and psychological elements into his works, but also uses unorthodox methods to blur the lines between what really happened to characters (and what happened to Tim O’Brien during his life). Tim O’Brien’s experiences in Vietnam shaped his unique writing style, while this particular style created deep description of the physical and psychological effects of war, while incorporating this from his own personal experience into his own works. Through Tim O’Brien’s use of personal experience during the Vietnam and Cold war, he creates a uncanny style of writing that makes an imperative contribution to the American voice.

34. "I felt like crying, but I refused to cry. No, I would not cry. There were too

vii. I am the baby of the family, and I mean im not much of a risk taker to be honest… but I fit this 9 out of 10 times. My whole family calls me the biggest drama queen and they’re pretty spot on with that one.

4. Mrs. Poorwilly reveals to Danny that people on the island usually die in "threes."