The Things They Carried By Tim OBrien Background

The Things They Carried By Tim O’Brien

Background on Tim O’Brien � Born October 1, 1946 in Austin, Texas. � Graduated Macalester College in 1968 and was immediately drafted. � O’Brien served in Vietnam war. � After he came back from the war he went to Harvard and soon left to pursue a career in news reporting. � He now is a visiting professor and endowed chair at Southwest Texas University where he teaches in the Creative Writing Program. � Won U. S. National Book Award for Fiction for Vietnam novel Going After Cacciato

Images of O’Brien

2012

Interview Big Think �Big Think Interview

Vietnam War 1959 -1975 �Fight against communism �President Johnson wanted U. S. troops to support the Southern Vietnamese until they took over. �One of the most controversial wars ever fought; highly protested

Images of Vietnam war �Vietnam war (Things They Carried References)

Pro Vietnam War �American fear of the spread of communism in Asia. �Domino effect; chain reaction that would effect all other South Asian countries �Domino effect

Pro Vietnam propaganda

Propaganda continued…

Depiction of heroism The most famous of the Special Forces involved in the Vietnam War were the US Green Berets, their original mission being to wage guerilla warfare and organize resistance behind enemy lines.

Life of the soldiers � U. S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the wellsupplied Viet Cong. � The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. � For U. S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U. S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs. � In every village, U. S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong.

Effect of napalm

“The Things They Carried” �Introduction to characters �Presentation of items and burden that is carried by the soldiers �Emotional burden pg. 18 -19 �How do the soldiers cope with their situation? �Can you blame Jimmy Cross for the casualties, specifically the death of Ted Lavender? pg. 6

Choose a phrase! �Identify a sentence or phrase that grabbed your attention. �Interpret it �How do you think that it enhances the chapter?