O'Brian
William Timothy O'Brien has written many stories during his lifetime. The first of which he wrote when he was nine years old. "Timmy of the Little League" was an autobiography of a youngster involved in sports (Myers, 143). As Tim was growing up, he took a break from writing. He began again while serving in the Vietnam war. When he began writing again, he quickly readapted to an autobiographical style of writing. These wartime stories are what has made O'Brien one of the leading writers today. His style is often compared to other factfiction writers; such as Hemmingway, Fitzgerald and Faulkner (Myers, 144). It is said by critics that O'Brien uses a lot of the same plot ideas as used by these other famous wartime authors. Even though similar plots are used, O'Brien uses his own experiences to make the stories realistic and inspirational. The same basic themes runs throughout all of O'Brien's stories. According to Thomas Myers, all of O'Brien's work contains these basic principles: "the continual interplay of fact and imagination in fiction and in life; the compulsive, absurd, noble quest for human truth; the difficulty in defining and obtaining the elusive quality of courage; and ongoing hum
He also touches on the fear he faced as he grew from a naive young boy into a war-torn man. Each chapter is in itself a short story. "(Meyers, 153) Unfortunately, The Nuclear Age did not have as much heart as the rest of O'Brien's works. Another carried drugs to help him escape the war. In this story, O'Brien uses pieces of his own experiences to shape the thoughts and emotions displayed by Paul Berlin. This award is what won O'Brien the title of a war time novelist. This novel reached mixed criticism. " While serving in the South China Sea, O'Brien wrote poetry and short vignettes about what he was experiencing. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe. All of these soldiers had special memories that they carried with them while fighting. Others, such as the "love letters" Jimmy Cross carried, were ways for the soldiers to forget where they were and what they were doing. That is part of why this book is able to draw so much attention from the reader. This autobiography is an account of a soldier facing death and searching for courage. O'Brien claims that the entire novel is fictitious, yet he pays specific attention to the smallest details and he dedicates it to the men who turn out to be the main characters. Like his first novel, the main character is a young man who is unhappy and scared about what is happening in Vietnam.
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Acceptance Essays
