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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper argues that Tim O’Brien’s book “If I Die in a Combat Zone” is strongly anti-war, and that the stories it contains all show the confusion, boredom and terror of what is essentially a pointless war. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVcbtzne.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
West Point strategists or memoirs of general officers-this is what its like to be on patrol, in the field, in a war where anyone could be the enemy. This paper
discusses five of the stories in OBriens book with regard to their similarities, and argues that OBriens book is strongly anti-war. Discussion The first thing a reader notices is that
the stories are out of order and of varying lengths. They do not follow a linear progression from the start of a tour to the end, but jump around feverishly.
In structuring the book this way, OBrien shows readers what it was like to be in Vietnam, never knowing what was coming next, never able to plan, always wondering what
to do. The book is somewhat disorienting in this regard, which we must suppose is meant to mirror the feelings of the soldiers. Each story can be thought of as
a "snapshot," a quick glimpse of life (and death) in a land that was utterly alien to the Americans deployed there. Its widely recognized that disease proved more deadly in
many cases than the enemy did: the heat, the wet, the jungle and the various insects-none of these have any counterparts in the United States, and the troops suffered significant
losses from problems that had nothing to do with the Viet Cong. In "Days," the first story in the book, the reader joins OBrien on patrol, where he and his
buddies talk about the war, and how each day is just like the next (OBrien). The only variation seems to be how many times they get shot at, and how
accurate the shooters are (OBrien). Confusion and disorientation are a hallmark of "Arrival," which tells the story of a new mans arrival in "the Nam" (OBrien). At this point, OBrien
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