"All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers."
             The dictionary defines a daydream as pleasant visionary usually wishful creation of the imaginations. We all are guilty of daydreaming. We do it during a long, boring lecture or even during a sermon at church. We envision ourselves being somewhere else then they place we must be. Some use it as an escape from the unpleasant place they are living in and envision them in a better situation. The theme of daydreaming is found in the story Going After Cacciato, written by Tim O'Brien.
             Going After Cacciato is about a young man's emotional journey during the Vietnam war. The young soldier takes an imaginary journey to Paris to find Cacciato, a soldier who left his troop. The reader learns in the story about the hardships and turmoil faced by a troop of American soldiers. One soldier in particular, was Paul Berlin. Because the war was traumatic, Berlin had to keep himself sane by daydreaming about a better life during the war. Berlin developed the character called Cacciato. During the course of the book, Berlin takes the reader on an exciting journey to find Cacciato, who had left his troop and was on his traveling to Paris. Cacciato's main function in the novel was to allow Paul Berlin to escape from the reality war and to imagine another life beyond the battle.
             To begin with, O'Brien used a unique style in discussing the journey of Cacciato. O'Brien wrote each chapter in either real time or fantasy time. At times, the reader might have found it difficult to identify with the difference between "real time" and "fantasy"
             discussed in the story. Firstly, Berlin's real time was full of fear and doubt. His real world was the actual war and all the misfortunes it brought. Because Berlin was on guard at the observation post for hours alone, he had no choice but to daydream. Berlin's daydreaming ...