Story of a Soldier

[Name of the Institute]

Story of a Soldier

Introduction

Tim O'brien is a unique story teller, as he has specialized in documenting his experiences in the army. A collection of war related stories by Tim O'brien called the 'The Things They Carried', has attained worldwide fame, and has managed to bring the experiences and emotions felt by a true soldier to the public. The life of a soldier is very different from a civilian, as they have to face death and killing on a constant bases. The stories about the heroism of men and the greatness of war which play their part in invoking patriotism among the citizens is not necessarily true (Bonn, 1994). They may contain some elements of truth and certain elements are fabricated to attain a moral ending. The moral in the life of a soldier cannot be isolated from his true experiences. In war it is not always possible that the soldiers always act on moral grounds, and the majority of the true stories are merely exaggerations of the real truth. O'brien has a very distinct style of storytelling which is heavily based by his personal experiences in the war. He is very different from the mainstream authors that write about the moral and the greatness of war, because unlike others he has actually witnessed the true horrors of one of the most violent American wars. The Vietnam War cost numerous casualties on both sides of the conflict and as a result several atrocities were committed. The war which the soldiers experienced is very different than the war perceived by the mainstream media and the citizens in the country (Calloway, 1995). This is the reason why Tim O'Brien's perspective of the war and his style of storytelling are so important. It gives the mass population an opportunity to experience the reality of the war, without being misled by the exaggerations made by the media. In order to adequately understand the factors which led O'brien to decide to become an author, and adopt his style of writing, his life experiences have to be analyzed. An observation of his life experiences will show that he was greatly affected by his experiences in the army, and that became his sole motivation to write about the true nature of war.

Discussion

Life Experience

O' Brien along with his family moved to the Worthington, Minnesota early on in his life; and his imaginative and creative journey as an author began in this city. His house was located near to the Lake Okabena, and this region is especially mentioned in several of his stories in the novel 'The Things They Carried'. In his early life he was very interested in the world affairs, and especially the major conflicts in the world. He was very fascinated on how war stories were told in the mainstream media, and the people discussed the concepts of heroism and patriotism. It was his interest in the workings of the global affairs and the major conflicts in the world that he decided ...