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If you like wars Tim O'Brien is a many who gives the inside look at the Vietnam War. His books are not too short book not to long. The language in the book is very simple and easy to understand. He connects with the reader very well and can make one believe he is in the war. One of the books you must read is The Things They Carried. It is a very good book filled with many tales from the war. His stories maybe short but the stories are very meaningful.
My experience with Tim O'Brien was overall pretty positive. His message is often very clear, but the plot can be a little confusing due to the contrast between flashbacks and the present time. However, the themes and topics discussed are full of content and opportunity to craft a thesis around. His novels are a nice size to read, not too long. I highly recommend The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato if you are interested in books taking place in times of war. The only struggle is that no other novels of his center around war. However, other books can be used to craft a thesis that is deeper than just time in war. I highly recommend Tim O'Brien because his books move along fairly quickly and the characters are captivating. Tim O'Brien has many novels to choose from, allowing you to have many paths to take your thesis. Analyzing his message, which can appear simple, is helpful in order to create a intricate thesis. Tim O'Brien is a nice author for a level 2 student, I recommend him.
O'Brien writes about the Vietnam War in his novels and if wars interest you, than I highly recommend Tim O'Brien. His books are decent in length, about 250-350 pages or so but they are not overpowering. His plots are great, very interesting and one can develop a thesis from his works without much of a problem. Going After Cacciato was my favorite book of his and I strongly recommend it. As a Vietnam veteran, O'Brien gets to the point about war and points out the realities and horrors that come along with being a soldier. Tim O'Brien is a very good author and I strongly recommend him for those that have an interest in war.
Tim O'Brien is a pretty sick author. His books are hardly ever longer than 300 pages. Because he personally fought in Vietnam, he is able to include wiked realistic facts about the war. Finding a common theme in 3-4 of his books is pretty eas, because every book he writes is used as an allegory that represents his experience fighting in Vietnam. Yea, I'd recommend him.
O'Brien looks into the Vietnam War and the issues before, during and after the war. The books are decent in length and pretty easy to understand but also have complex ideas about war and the feelings that go along with it. If you are not interested in war then I would not recommend these books because the books that I read were very similar. The Things They Carried was a great book and I would definitely recommend it. I think that the plot and themes are very interesting, however throughout the books the plot and themes can become repetitive so if you have very little interest then I would not recommend it.
For my author thesis I used Tim O'Brien's novels. I read If I Die in A Combat Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, In The Lake of the Woods, and The Things They Carried. Finding the thesis is like making orange juice. If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried are very similar, so all you have to do is pour the orange juice out of the bottle. The final novel, however, is different from the other two, thus it is like having to squeeze the orange juice yourself because finding a connection between the novels is harder. O'Brien talks about the Vietnam War and the hardships of the soldiers.
His language is easy to understand and very straight forward in terms of O'Brien trying to get his point across. However, it is somewhat hard to keep up with his constant change between different scenarios and time frames. For example, in In the Lake of the Woods, O'Brien goes from the past, what is going on in his life, and the past, what happened to him already. This makes it hard to understand why different parts of his life have to do with the current life he is living. However, when I looked at the big picture to try and see different themes, it helped to know how is earlier years effected his latter years. Also, as an author he writes in a way that could reflect on himself and not just on what he is thinking at that time. Tim O'Brien was a fun author to read and write about.
Tim O’Brien writes very clearly and uses understandable language. Since his literature isn’t very difficult, his messages and themes are very noticeable and easy to work with. Once I found my theme after reading his books it was very easy to find specific examples supporting my theme. I feel like if I where to have picked a different theme, it would still have been easy to discover different examples making the process a lot easier and more enjoyable. I do recommend Tim O’Brien as an author for the Author Thesis essay.
O'Brien is a very convincing author. Although his writing may seem simplistic on the surface, if the reader digs a little deeper the stories are very rewarding. I read “In the Lake of the Woods”, “Going after Cacciato”, and “The things they Carried”. Although they all had to do with war, they are not “war stories” as O’Brien explains himself. If you attempt to craft a thesis around war and the meaning behind it, you might find that O’Brien’s values differ greatly from a romantic style of writing. War is full of contradictions, like how it brings people closer to life and death simultaneously. He also writes in such a style, that truth is interwoven with fiction, and the writing is a swirl of the past and present tense. This makes his books much more interesting, and the reading process seems a lot quicker.
After reading three books by Tim O'Brien, I was amazed at his skill in literature. The Things They Carried, the first book I read, displayed the conditions and hardships soldiers faced when in the war, and told of unbelievable stories. Second, I read In the Lake of the Woods, which focused on a single character instead of an entire platoon, showed the effects after one returned from the war. O'Brien's skill in creating a complex protagonist was well proved in this story. My third and favorite book, The Nuclear Age, follows a man who has never been to Vietnam, but the fear of nuclear war has haunted him for his entire life. This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life because of the incredible development in the character that is William Cowling. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, even if you're not reading it for the Author Thesis. As for the author himself, I believe Tim O'Brien is an amazing writer, with unparalleled skills in creating complex characters and amazing story lines. If you are considering conducting your Author Thesis for Tim O'Brien, I highly suggest you do.
Jack (Brown) The author Tim O'Brien's books are very easy to understand and not very long. Most of them are focused on either life inside war or life for veterans. I read The Things They Carried, Nuclear Age, July July, In The Lake In The Woods, and Northern Lights. Almost all of these books had similar themes, so making a thesis statement was not very difficult. However a lot of his books do not have deeper meanings, they are fairly straight forward. This created some troubles when trying to develop a big enough higher realization and a so what. Other then this small problem Tim O'Brien was a very smart choice for my author thesis. If I were to attempt this project again next year I would probably still choose O'Brien.
Julia (Brown) I would highly recommend Tim O'Brien as your author for the American Author Thesis Project. Going into this project, I never would have thought I would pick an author who writes about war. I am not particularly interested in war at all but O'Brien focuses more on the feelings that go along with it. I read 6 books of his: The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, The Nuclear Age, In the Lake of the Woods, Northern Lights, and Tomcat in Love. Each book was not very long at all (all about 300 pages) and the language was easy to understand. Most had very good plots and the way in which O'Brien illustrated the lives and development of the central men in each story was very interesting. Personally, it was extremely easy for me to find a common theme throughout his novels and I enjoyed doing so. Overall, O'Brien's books are not only good for connecting in a paper, but they are also just great novels. Going After Cacciato, especially, is now among some of the best books that I have ever read.
Tim O'Brien's novels were interesting and informative. They talked about the Vietnam war and his experiences fighting in it. The books are not too long or difficult to read and comprehend, however they offer an insight into many major events from the war and American history during the '60s and '70s. I would recommend reading The Things they Carried as it has many short stories that are not only helpful for the paper but are also genuinely good reads. I would recommend him to anyone with an interest in the Vietnam war or wants to have an enjoyable author for their author thesis.
Reading the novels of Tim O'Brien was a perfect choice for my American Author Thesis project. His novels all share common themes, which are easily identifiable. His most famous novel The Things They Carried is a necessary read to complete the Author Thesis for O'Brien. In addition, books such as Going After Cacciato, July, July, In the Lake of the Woods, and Northern Lights are good-reads. All of the novels contain several apparent thesis's. Try to avoid The Nuclear Age. The novels are not too long in length, and they are fun to read. Many of O'Brien's books leave you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. A common trait of his novels is War (he fought in Vietnam), so if you dislike war, Tim O'Brien is not the right author for you. In addition, O'Brien's writing and language is easily understandable, as his first novel was published in 1975. Overall, Tim O'Brien is a great choice for this wonderful project.
O'Brien writes interesting stories about the war, which are full of symbols and motifs. However, some of his books are very disappointing. For my authors thesis, I did the books: The Things They Carried, Going after Cacciato, and The Nuclear Age. The first two books are very intriguing, while the last one was one of the worst books i've read in my life. The Things They Carried contains lots of points on his life as a soldier. Going After Cacciato has an interesting plot twist in the end. However, The Nuclear Age is almost completely plot driven, except for the beginning and the end of the book. In the end, if you are doing Tim O'Brien, choose your books carefully.
Tim O'Brien is an author I would recommend to most readers. His books were mainly about life during or after the Vietnam War and they are written well. They are relatively easy to understand and are very engaging. I read The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods by O'Brien and I liked each one of them. They had unique plots but there were many similarities between them which made writing the paper easier. Overall, O'Brien's books were very good to read and I was able to write about them, so I would recommend him to anyone who wants to do him for the Author Thesis.
The author I chose was Tim O’Brien. I chose him because of the stories he wrote on the Vietnamese war and because I thought they sounded interesting. the books I chose where The Nuclear Age, The Things They Carried, and If I Die in A Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Out of the three books, The Nuclear Age was the outlier of the bunch. Unlike the other book, The Nuclear Age was not a story filled with analysis about human nature or about a soldier fighting in the war, but a story that revolves around a plot. However, the books were easy to connect to, so I would recommend Tim O’Brien to rising sophomores. My advice would be to research reviews of a novel before you chose it.
Nick(Dubé) Overall, O'Brien is a great pick for an author thesis paper. The reading is easy and enjoyable. There is also a obvious theme making the writing and gathering of quotations easy. I recommend reading The things They Carried, Northern Lights, In the Lake of the Wood, and Going After Cacciato.
Nick (Dubé) I enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien. The books are easy to read and good. Also there is a very obvious theme to the books which makes writing fairly easy. If you enjoy war stories or adventure books I strongly recommend O'Brien.
For me, choosing Tim O'Brien was a positive experience. If you are into war novels and more specifically the Vietnam War novels then O'Brien would be a great choice for you. Some parts of his novels can be a little graphic and depressing but thats nothing new to the war genre. O'Brien has plenty of material to write about. There are many different ways to go when writing about his novels. Also his books are a great medium length. Not to long nor too short.
Although some may be discouraged by Tim O’Brien’s focus on war, his books are actually very interesting. They are structured around main character’s experience in war, which are described through different stories about himself and the people he meets. I really enjoyed his writing style since the various stories made the books easy to remember and an enjoyable read. Further, he tries to keep his books concise and his language easy to comprehend, which I also liked. However, I would make sure to choose your books carefully when dealing with O’Brien. Though he is an author who is known for his war novels, he also has a few books that are not about war. It is important to choose novels that relate and connect to each to make synthesizing them for yourself at the end. As long as you do that, you will be in good shape.
After reading, analyzing, and writing about six of his novels, Tim O’Brien has become one of my favorite authors. His themes of war throughout all of his novels are strong and thus you can easily create common themes between the novels. The language is easy to understand and I often found myself reading two hours at a time because I couldn’t put the book down. He uses many deep metaphors throughout his novels and thus you can skim the surface or dig very deep into the figurative language used to craft deep analysis of the author. In addition to being good to write about, O’Brien influenced my values and taught me a lot about my perspective on war. Overall, O’Brien is a superb author who is great to write about and can even teach you a little bit about yourself in the process.
This year, I have read six novels by the author Tim O’Brien. As you may know, his book The Things They Carried was an assigned reading for students in 2011. That was that the year the old Wellesley High School building was demolished, and students and faculty moved into a brand new school. Students were asked to recall all of their old memories and lessons they learnt in that old school and to ‘carry’ those ideas into the new school. Holding on to the past and learning from prior experiences is a fundamental theme throughout many of his books. In general, O’Brien’s works focus upon the themes of morality, regret, and loss. All of them in some way tie back to O’Brien’s past as a Vietnam War veteran. Within it, he describes the general state of fear and uncertainty that descended on the world during the 1960s and 1970s. (Which also helps you to understand the context of the Cold War period, which your parents lived through and it is also a unit you will study in-depth in history class). To be honest, Tim O’Brien can sometimes write abstrusely; so don’t try to comprehend every sentence he writes. It seems as if some sentences were randomly thrown onto the page! However, many of his messages were relatable to everyday life, so I highly recommend that you choose him as your author.
I thought that he was interesting and good for everyone that is interested in topics relating to war and /or biographies but this was not something I am interested in so I didn't enjoy these books although they were good. I wish I had taken more time to decide on my author instead of just the first one that I got a good review. The books were a good length and not too easy or too hard. They can get confusing at times but that masks for good quotes to analyze when it comes to your essay.
I enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien but I believe you should only read his books if you have some previous interest in war stories and stories about large endeavors. At least my experience was that these stories will not make you a war story reader in the future. I read The Things They Carried, Northern Lights, In the Lake of The Woods, and Going After Cacciato. My favorite was The Things They Carried because it provided the most background knowledge about war and kept me interested throughout. I would not recommend reading Northern Lights if I could choose again. Overall, I enjoyed Tim O'Brien and believe he was relatively easy to find a constant theme for. Many lessons learned in these stories are relatable to daily life and can be used as inspiration, as many first hand accounts and stories can be very inspirational.
Tim O'Briens books are fascinating, fun, and interesting. Each one has a different story but each have the same key themes that go along with war and the horror of war. Having key themes, is very helpful when writing a paper that is mostly based upon themes. His books are easy to read, but they also make you think beyond war and beyond what the pictures of war you might have. He shows you a different perspective of war that is very interesting. His books opened me up to a new idea of soldiers, what their lives are really like. But most importantly the role of love in war. His storys are love and death story with an added bit of horror and adventure. Tim O'Brien puts himself into the books as a character so it makes you believe the story is completely real. Some books of his I would recommend is "If I Die In Combat Zone", "Northern Lights", and "The Things They Carried". If you like adventure, an easy read, clear themes and a great author, then Tim O'Brien is for you
Tim O'Brien blends his past experiences of combat with historical occurrences during the war in Vietnam to create an environment of horror, darkness, and suffering. Personally, I find interest in war-related novels and movies, so I enjoyed reading and making an analytical argument about O'Brien's novels. I would not recommend O'Brien for the American Author Thesis if you do not like violence and horror. Many of the themes O'Brien touches upon involve death, destruction and dehumanization. It is important to realize that his novels are short and concise. O'Brien writes in an understandable manner, and as a result of this, the reading process is not too tedious. This author will keep you awake late at night until you are sweating as you finish the final grueling pages of a mesmerizing chapter. Tim O'Brien has become one of my favorite authors, which is why I highly recommend him to those ready for a great experience. He has changed my outlook on literature, I hope he will for you too.
Tim O’Brien’s novels follow various soldiers during their time in the Vietnam War. He is a very good war novelist due to his time fighting in Vietnam. If you are into war novels, I highly recommend choosing O’Brien as your author. His novels are easy to read and have multiple themes, which gives you more options when it comes time to choose a theme to write about. I recommend the novels The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods. In addition, O’Brien writes novels in which the characters do not take part in the war. I read The Nuclear Age which was very good and still had similar themes with the other books. However, I would say that if you do not enjoy reading about war and the effects it has on the soldiers, O’Brien is not the author for you. His books can be gruesome at times and very depressing.
Without a doubt Tim O’Brien is excellent at conveying his Vietnam war experience through his novels, but there’s more to his novels than a good war story. O’Brien's war experience only enhances already the phenomenally written novels that reach into the deeper meanings behind personal growth and interpersonal relationships. O’Brien thoughtfully incorporates his knowledge about war experiences through several of his characters, which provide an excellent base to pull out many themes. Another positive note about O’Brien is how he discusses the life of soldiers as they return from the war through his novels In the Lake and of the Woods and Northern Lights. If you’ve already read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and enjoyed the novel I would highly recommend O’Brien’s war based novels as well. There are many similarities between Unbroken and several of O’Brien’s books because of the many parallels between Louie Zamperini's hero’s journey and that of O'Brien's protagonists in his novels. Overall I would highly recommend O’Brien to be considered as a choice considering the surplus of thematic messages common in all of his novels and the amazing insights he shares from his own life experiences.
I found Tim O’Brien novels fascinating and climactic, but I think that if you do not like war or are not good with gory descriptions then I would not recommend his novels for you. These novels do not hide any of the truth no matter how gruesome. He writes about his time during the Vietnam War, and all of his experiences before and after the Vietnam War. Since I am fine with all of these things I found the books very intriguing and tense, because you aren’t sure who is going to make it out of the situations he is put into. There are also times when he leaves the war and it seems he can never really leave, it was almost like he left apart of him back in Vietnam. Although his style of writing might be different because he do not always hid the gruesome details of war, I still recommend this book to all readers that can handle these gruesome details.
Tim O’Brien’s novels are informative and exciting to read. He takes the reader into the perspective of a soldier using specific details to convey their experiences as well as his own during the Vietnam War. There are many themes that are constantly seen through each book. He also uses the perspective of regular civilians who have been affected by the war in Nuclear Age and In the Lake of the Woods. Some of his other titles include: Going After Cacciato, If I die in a Combat Zone, and the Things they Carried. All of these novels are very fun to read, as O’Brien illustrates to the reader every detail of a soldier’s experience. Although, if you are someone who dislikes blood, killing or any other disturbing images seen in war, I would not recommend Tim O'Brien for you. He constantly displays violent images to stress certain themes within each novel. To all who can handle these images, I highly recommend him.
Tim O’Brien’s novels are eye opening and interesting to read. He bring the reader into the minds of soldiers during the Vietnam War. He draws from his time as a soldier in Vietnam to create highly realistic and shocking images that leave a deep impression on the reader. Furthermore, he also illustrates how war affects civilians in books such as July, July and In the Lake of the Woods. Other great titles that I enjoyed were Going After Cacciato, The Things They Carried, and If I Die in a Combat Zone. Throughout all of these books there are common themes that make the writing of your Author Thesis far less stressful. Over all I feel that Tim O’Brien’s novels are a wonderful choice for Author Thesis.
If you don't like war or violence this author may not be for you. However, O'Brien's novels provide an interesting perspective on the vietnam war. He tells the story of the Vietnam war but he does so by expressing the feelings and thoughts of his protagonists. O'Brien tries for a broader sense of reasoning in his books and does not simply tell stories of his heroics at war. O'brien's novel In the Lake of the Woods shows the mental toll that the Vietnam War takes on both its veterans and civilians who had a connection to the war. Furthermore, O'Brien integrates the action and chaos of the war into his novels as well. This aspect of his books provides his audience with excitement and they are continually drawn into scenes of great conflict during war. All in all I enjoyed my time with Tim and think that, whatever type of person you are, Tim may be the author for you!
Delving into the grit of the works of my author, I had different thoughts about the themes of Tim O’Brien’s novels. Originally, I had thought that the novels would mainly touch upon the literal aspects of war and conflict and would have minimal substance. I was very wrong. Emphasizing on the themes of not only war and conflict, but storytelling and moral dilemma, O’Brien creates exciting works of art that are thrilling and engaging to read. I read “Going After Cacciato”, “The Things They Carried”, and “In the Lake of the Woods” and I had a great experience analyzing these works. I loved examining the characters, discovering new perspectives to perceive who they are and how Vietnam affects them. I loved digging deeper into the raw themes and dredging for how these themes connect to the other novels, the world, and life itself. With action and humorous satire, O’Brien succeeds in creating a thrill-ride for all mature audiences.
I truly enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien's novels and would have read them on my own outside of school. He possesses an astounding capability of taking a situation that most people will never experience (combat in Vietnam) and somehow crafting the mindset and emotions of the soldiers in a way that is relatable to the reader. All three books that I read (The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, Going After Cacciato) contained some elements of surrealism, leading me to question what actually happened and what didn't. This did not take away from any overarching themes; rather the questionable narrators made them even more present. Although the plots of his books widely vary, he consistently and vividly portrays the mental and emotional toll of war on combatants. (There is a fair bit of gore in some parts so I would not choose him if that bothers you.) Overall, I would recommend Tim O'Brien for Author Thesis if you want an unapologetic portrait of war and the human mind.
Tim O'Brien's books provide an interesting look at how lives are affected by the Vietnam War. If you are not interested in the military at all, O'Brien is not for you. However, if you are, I'm sure you'll love his books. He doesn't hold back on his brutal portrayal of combat, so be prepared. His writing can be a little unclear and confusing, but that's also what makes his writing so realistic and understandable to even a civilian audience. His plots are less of conventional plots and more of a vehicle for his larger main ideas, so if you're looking to get invested in highly-character driven works, I recommend a different author. O'Brien's books are not too long or dense, and full of great quotes to analyze, as he's very liberal with his usage of metaphors and figurative language. I feel that if military history interests you, Tim O'Brien is a great choice for your author thesis paper, and I certainly don't regret choosing him for mine!
Tim O'Brien's brilliant depictions of the fluctuations of trust and loyalty within relationships astounded me for the entire duration of the reading process. The artistic details of combat and death sometimes may be overwhelming, but they remain loyal to truth and will not stray from the harsh realities of war. The lack of censorship in his novels amounts to many truths about our human nature and about the terrors of psychological trauma. If you desire to discover aspects of human emotion and wish delve into your unknown anxieties, I highly recommend reading The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, and Going After Cacciato. These three novels illustrate breathtaking experiences of soldiers in times of crisis, and are composed of elegant characters and themes that contribute to a wide variety of reader interpretations. His novels are all of a perfect length, if that is a factor in your decision, and all contain a myriad of themes to choose from for your paper. I would most definitely consider Tim O'Brien, as you will exit the author thesis process with a greater knowledge of the human experience and of our own human nature.
I really enjoyed reading Tim O'Briens works and liked the way he writes his novels. His description of the Vietnam war really gives the reader what it was like for an American soldier fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. The novels that I read were "The Things They Carried" and "Going After Cacciato". O'Briens graphic description of the Vietnam war in general makes us question reality and fiction as his main theme is storytelling. Tim O'Brien is a good choice because of the amount of themes he gives the reader and his amazing storytelling about the experiences of a soldier in Vietnam.
Tim O'brien went in depth about the Vietnam war, using very symbolic stories that are easy to write about in your paper. The themes are very straight forward and actually interesting. O'briens best book I would say is The Things They Carried. I'm not a big fan of reading, but this book was actually really enjoyable and left me want wanting to read more each night. The only downside to Tim O'biren is once in a while there will be a really symbolic chapters That will require you to dissect it a lot and figure out it's meaning, but once you discover the meaning,there will be endless evidence for your paper. Highly recommend Tim O'brien.
At first, I had trouble choosing an author for the American Author Thesis. When I heard about Tim O’Brien, I knew that studying an author who wrote war novels would be great to analyze and relate between other books. I’m a big fan of War Novels, so I knew he was the right choice for me. O’Briens novels consisted of stories of love, trust, and regret all based in the time of the Vietnam War. Throughout his novels, the main characters faced problems and were forced to deal with situations that wouldn’t necessarily benefit everyone, or save them all either. Ultimately, Tim O’Brien is a good author to choose if you are a fan of war novels, but be prepared to work hard to connect his various works in an effective way.
Tim O’Brien’s books follow the lives of multiple soldiers before, during and after their experiences in the Vietnam War. I read the books "The Things They Carried", "In the Lake of the Woods" and "Going After Cacciato" in that order. In all three of these books, there are many consistent themes. I found that his writing is easily comprehendible but there are many different plot lines that are sometimes confusing to understand. When reading, you need to pay full attention to the themes and symbols along the way because they will show up later. Also, I would not recommend Tim O’Brien for your author thesis if you do not enjoy horror and violence. He depicts many different scenes that are bloody, gory and dehumanizing. O’Brien does not hold back from going into detail about horrific ways that soldiers die in his books. Overall, I really enjoyed reading his books and learning about the Vietnam war through the perspective of a soldier that fought in it. I recommend Tim O’Brien because it made the author thesis process less stressful and more enjoyable.
I was hesitant to chose Tim O’Brien as my author at first because I usually do not enjoy war stories or stories about history. But I was pleasantly surprised by O'Brien's novels. His books are much more than just stories about battles in war. The books are about people who have to experience trauma and horror and a myriad of emotions in such an unsafe environment. O’Brien does a great job of describing how war affects soldiers psychically and mentally. In “If I Die In a combat zone” He describes a soldier's life from entering the war till returning home from it. Its very interesting to see how the war changes the character's mental state throughout their time in service. I enjoyed writing about O'Brien's novels because there was many themes you could pick from such as guilt and determination, and there was good connections between his books. I would highly recommend O’Brien to anyone doing the Author Thesis.
Tim O’Brien writes about soldiers experiences during the Vietnam war, but also focuses on their lives before and after the war. I read The Things they Carried, Going after Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods. All three novels pertain to the Vietnam war, and it was interesting to read about what went on in a soldier's mind during a war. The plot was sometimes difficult to follow because O’Brien switches between stories and time periods, so it required close reading to understand. Tim O’Brien was a good choice because I felt that there were several common themes throughout all the books I read; I had many options for what to write about in my paper.
Now that you have written your essay, we ask that you reflect on the reading portion of the experience and write 100-150 words about your author.
Think of what you write as advice for someone next year and beyond, someone who (like you were doing last fall) is thinking about choosing your author - and maybe even the same three books - to read for the assignment.
43 comments:
If you like wars Tim O'Brien is a many who gives the inside look at the Vietnam War. His books are not too short book not to long. The language in the book is very simple and easy to understand. He connects with the reader very well and can make one believe he is in the war. One of the books you must read is The Things They Carried. It is a very good book filled with many tales from the war. His stories maybe short but the stories are very meaningful.
My experience with Tim O'Brien was overall pretty positive. His message is often very clear, but the plot can be a little confusing due to the contrast between flashbacks and the present time. However, the themes and topics discussed are full of content and opportunity to craft a thesis around. His novels are a nice size to read, not too long. I highly recommend The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato if you are interested in books taking place in times of war. The only struggle is that no other novels of his center around war. However, other books can be used to craft a thesis that is deeper than just time in war. I highly recommend Tim O'Brien because his books move along fairly quickly and the characters are captivating. Tim O'Brien has many novels to choose from, allowing you to have many paths to take your thesis. Analyzing his message, which can appear simple, is helpful in order to create a intricate thesis. Tim O'Brien is a nice author for a level 2 student, I recommend him.
O'Brien writes about the Vietnam War in his novels and if wars interest you, than I highly recommend Tim O'Brien. His books are decent in length, about 250-350 pages or so but they are not overpowering. His plots are great, very interesting and one can develop a thesis from his works without much of a problem. Going After Cacciato was my favorite book of his and I strongly recommend it. As a Vietnam veteran, O'Brien gets to the point about war and points out the realities and horrors that come along with being a soldier. Tim O'Brien is a very good author and I strongly recommend him for those that have an interest in war.
Tim O'Brien is a pretty sick author. His books are hardly ever longer than 300 pages. Because he personally fought in Vietnam, he is able to include wiked realistic facts about the war. Finding a common theme in 3-4 of his books is pretty eas, because every book he writes is used as an allegory that represents his experience fighting in Vietnam. Yea, I'd recommend him.
O'Brien looks into the Vietnam War and the issues before, during and after the war. The books are decent in length and pretty easy to understand but also have complex ideas about war and the feelings that go along with it. If you are not interested in war then I would not recommend these books because the books that I read were very similar. The Things They Carried was a great book and I would definitely recommend it. I think that the plot and themes are very interesting, however throughout the books the plot and themes can become repetitive so if you have very little interest then I would not recommend it.
For my author thesis I used Tim O'Brien's novels. I read If I Die in A Combat Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, In The Lake of the Woods, and The Things They Carried. Finding the thesis is like making orange juice. If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried are very similar, so all you have to do is pour the orange juice out of the bottle. The final novel, however, is different from the other two, thus it is like having to squeeze the orange juice yourself because finding a connection between the novels is harder. O'Brien talks about the Vietnam War and the hardships of the soldiers.
His language is easy to understand and very straight forward in terms of O'Brien trying to get his point across. However, it is somewhat hard to keep up with his constant change between different scenarios and time frames. For example, in In the Lake of the Woods, O'Brien goes from the past, what is going on in his life, and the past, what happened to him already. This makes it hard to understand why different parts of his life have to do with the current life he is living. However, when I looked at the big picture to try and see different themes, it helped to know how is earlier years effected his latter years. Also, as an author he writes in a way that could reflect on himself and not just on what he is thinking at that time. Tim O'Brien was a fun author to read and write about.
Tim O’Brien writes very clearly and uses understandable language. Since his literature isn’t very difficult, his messages and themes are very noticeable and easy to work with. Once I found my theme after reading his books it was very easy to find specific examples supporting my theme. I feel like if I where to have picked a different theme, it would still have been easy to discover different examples making the process a lot easier and more enjoyable. I do recommend Tim O’Brien as an author for the Author Thesis essay.
O'Brien is a very convincing author. Although his writing may seem simplistic on the surface, if the reader digs a little deeper the stories are very rewarding. I read “In the Lake of the Woods”, “Going after Cacciato”, and “The things they Carried”. Although they all had to do with war, they are not “war stories” as O’Brien explains himself. If you attempt to craft a thesis around war and the meaning behind it, you might find that O’Brien’s values differ greatly from a romantic style of writing. War is full of contradictions, like how it brings people closer to life and death simultaneously. He also writes in such a style, that truth is interwoven with fiction, and the writing is a swirl of the past and present tense. This makes his books much more interesting, and the reading process seems a lot quicker.
After reading three books by Tim O'Brien, I was amazed at his skill in literature. The Things They Carried, the first book I read, displayed the conditions and hardships soldiers faced when in the war, and told of unbelievable stories. Second, I read In the Lake of the Woods, which focused on a single character instead of an entire platoon, showed the effects after one returned from the war. O'Brien's skill in creating a complex protagonist was well proved in this story. My third and favorite book, The Nuclear Age, follows a man who has never been to Vietnam, but the fear of nuclear war has haunted him for his entire life. This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life because of the incredible development in the character that is William Cowling. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, even if you're not reading it for the Author Thesis. As for the author himself, I believe Tim O'Brien is an amazing writer, with unparalleled skills in creating complex characters and amazing story lines. If you are considering conducting your Author Thesis for Tim O'Brien, I highly suggest you do.
Jack (Brown) The author Tim O'Brien's books are very easy to understand and not very long. Most of them are focused on either life inside war or life for veterans. I read The Things They Carried, Nuclear Age, July July, In The Lake In The Woods, and Northern Lights. Almost all of these books had similar themes, so making a thesis statement was not very difficult. However a lot of his books do not have deeper meanings, they are fairly straight forward. This created some troubles when trying to develop a big enough higher realization and a so what. Other then this small problem Tim O'Brien was a very smart choice for my author thesis. If I were to attempt this project again next year I would probably still choose O'Brien.
Julia (Brown)
I would highly recommend Tim O'Brien as your author for the American Author Thesis Project. Going into this project, I never would have thought I would pick an author who writes about war. I am not particularly interested in war at all but O'Brien focuses more on the feelings that go along with it. I read 6 books of his: The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, The Nuclear Age, In the Lake of the Woods, Northern Lights, and Tomcat in Love. Each book was not very long at all (all about 300 pages) and the language was easy to understand. Most had very good plots and the way in which O'Brien illustrated the lives and development of the central men in each story was very interesting. Personally, it was extremely easy for me to find a common theme throughout his novels and I enjoyed doing so. Overall, O'Brien's books are not only good for connecting in a paper, but they are also just great novels. Going After Cacciato, especially, is now among some of the best books that I have ever read.
Tim O'Brien's novels were interesting and informative. They talked about the Vietnam war and his experiences fighting in it. The books are not too long or difficult to read and comprehend, however they offer an insight into many major events from the war and American history during the '60s and '70s. I would recommend reading The Things they Carried as it has many short stories that are not only helpful for the paper but are also genuinely good reads. I would recommend him to anyone with an interest in the Vietnam war or wants to have an enjoyable author for their author thesis.
Andrew (Brown)
Reading the novels of Tim O'Brien was a perfect choice for my American Author Thesis project. His novels all share common themes, which are easily identifiable. His most famous novel The Things They Carried is a necessary read to complete the Author Thesis for O'Brien. In addition, books such as Going After Cacciato, July, July, In the Lake of the Woods, and Northern Lights are good-reads. All of the novels contain several apparent thesis's. Try to avoid The Nuclear Age. The novels are not too long in length, and they are fun to read. Many of O'Brien's books leave you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. A common trait of his novels is War (he fought in Vietnam), so if you dislike war, Tim O'Brien is not the right author for you. In addition, O'Brien's writing and language is easily understandable, as his first novel was published in 1975. Overall, Tim O'Brien is a great choice for this wonderful project.
O'Brien writes interesting stories about the war, which are full of symbols and motifs. However, some of his books are very disappointing. For my authors thesis, I did the books: The Things They Carried, Going after Cacciato, and The Nuclear Age. The first two books are very intriguing, while the last one was one of the worst books i've read in my life. The Things They Carried contains lots of points on his life as a soldier. Going After Cacciato has an interesting plot twist in the end. However, The Nuclear Age is almost completely plot driven, except for the beginning and the end of the book. In the end, if you are doing Tim O'Brien, choose your books carefully.
Tim O'Brien is an author I would recommend to most readers. His books were mainly about life during or after the Vietnam War and they are written well. They are relatively easy to understand and are very engaging. I read The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods by O'Brien and I liked each one of them. They had unique plots but there were many similarities between them which made writing the paper easier. Overall, O'Brien's books were very good to read and I was able to write about them, so I would recommend him to anyone who wants to do him for the Author Thesis.
The author I chose was Tim O’Brien. I chose him because of the stories he wrote on the Vietnamese war and because I thought they sounded interesting. the books I chose where The Nuclear Age, The Things They Carried, and If I Die in A Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Out of the three books, The Nuclear Age was the outlier of the bunch. Unlike the other book, The Nuclear Age was not a story filled with analysis about human nature or about a soldier fighting in the war, but a story that revolves around a plot. However, the books were easy to connect to, so I would recommend Tim O’Brien to rising sophomores. My advice would be to research reviews of a novel before you chose it.
Nick(Dubé) Overall, O'Brien is a great pick for an author thesis paper. The reading is easy and enjoyable. There is also a obvious theme making the writing and gathering of quotations easy. I recommend reading The things They Carried, Northern Lights, In the Lake of the Wood, and Going After Cacciato.
Nick (Dubé) I enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien. The books are easy to read and good. Also there is a very obvious theme to the books which makes writing fairly easy. If you enjoy war stories or adventure books I strongly recommend O'Brien.
Robert (Dube)
For me, choosing Tim O'Brien was a positive experience. If you are into war novels and more specifically the Vietnam War novels then O'Brien would be a great choice for you. Some parts of his novels can be a little graphic and depressing but thats nothing new to the war genre. O'Brien has plenty of material to write about. There are many different ways to go when writing about his novels. Also his books are a great medium length. Not to long nor too short.
Although some may be discouraged by Tim O’Brien’s focus on war, his books are actually very interesting. They are structured around main character’s experience in war, which are described through different stories about himself and the people he meets. I really enjoyed his writing style since the various stories made the books easy to remember and an enjoyable read. Further, he tries to keep his books concise and his language easy to comprehend, which I also liked. However, I would make sure to choose your books carefully when dealing with O’Brien. Though he is an author who is known for his war novels, he also has a few books that are not about war. It is important to choose novels that relate and connect to each to make synthesizing them for yourself at the end. As long as you do that, you will be in good shape.
After reading, analyzing, and writing about six of his novels, Tim O’Brien has become one of my favorite authors. His themes of war throughout all of his novels are strong and thus you can easily create common themes between the novels. The language is easy to understand and I often found myself reading two hours at a time because I couldn’t put the book down. He uses many deep metaphors throughout his novels and thus you can skim the surface or dig very deep into the figurative language used to craft deep analysis of the author. In addition to being good to write about, O’Brien influenced my values and taught me a lot about my perspective on war. Overall, O’Brien is a superb author who is great to write about and can even teach you a little bit about yourself in the process.
This year, I have read six novels by the author Tim O’Brien. As you may know, his book The Things They Carried was an assigned reading for students in 2011. That was that the year the old Wellesley High School building was demolished, and students and faculty moved into a brand new school. Students were asked to recall all of their old memories and lessons they learnt in that old school and to ‘carry’ those ideas into the new school. Holding on to the past and learning from prior experiences is a fundamental theme throughout many of his books. In general, O’Brien’s works focus upon the themes of morality, regret, and loss. All of them in some way tie back to O’Brien’s past as a Vietnam War veteran. Within it, he describes the general state of fear and uncertainty that descended on the world during the 1960s and 1970s. (Which also helps you to understand the context of the Cold War period, which your parents lived through and it is also a unit you will study in-depth in history class). To be honest, Tim O’Brien can sometimes write abstrusely; so don’t try to comprehend every sentence he writes. It seems as if some sentences were randomly thrown onto the page! However, many of his messages were relatable to everyday life, so I highly recommend that you choose him as your author.
I thought that he was interesting and good for everyone that is interested in topics relating to war and /or biographies but this was not something I am interested in so I didn't enjoy these books although they were good. I wish I had taken more time to decide on my author instead of just the first one that I got a good review. The books were a good length and not too easy or too hard. They can get confusing at times but that masks for good quotes to analyze when it comes to your essay.
- Sydney wohl
I enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien but I believe you should only read his books if you have some previous interest in war stories and stories about large endeavors. At least my experience was that these stories will not make you a war story reader in the future. I read The Things They Carried, Northern Lights, In the Lake of The Woods, and Going After Cacciato. My favorite was The Things They Carried because it provided the most background knowledge about war and kept me interested throughout. I would not recommend reading Northern Lights if I could choose again. Overall, I enjoyed Tim O'Brien and believe he was relatively easy to find a constant theme for. Many lessons learned in these stories are relatable to daily life and can be used as inspiration, as many first hand accounts and stories can be very inspirational.
Tim O'Briens books are fascinating, fun, and interesting. Each one has a different story but each have the same key themes that go along with war and the horror of war. Having key themes, is very helpful when writing a paper that is mostly based upon themes. His books are easy to read, but they also make you think beyond war and beyond what the pictures of war you might have. He shows you a different perspective of war that is very interesting. His books opened me up to a new idea of soldiers, what their lives are really like. But most importantly the role of love in war. His storys are love and death story with an added bit of horror and adventure. Tim O'Brien puts himself into the books as a character so it makes you believe the story is completely real. Some books of his I would recommend is "If I Die In Combat Zone", "Northern Lights", and "The Things They Carried". If you like adventure, an easy read, clear themes and a great author, then Tim O'Brien is for you
Scott Johnson
Mrs. Maxwell
English 21
Tim O'Brien blends his past experiences of combat with historical occurrences during the war in Vietnam to create an environment of horror, darkness, and suffering. Personally, I find interest in war-related novels and movies, so I enjoyed reading and making an analytical argument about O'Brien's novels. I would not recommend O'Brien for the American Author Thesis if you do not like violence and horror. Many of the themes O'Brien touches upon involve death, destruction and dehumanization. It is important to realize that his novels are short and concise. O'Brien writes in an understandable manner, and as a result of this, the reading process is not too tedious. This author will keep you awake late at night until you are sweating as you finish the final grueling pages of a mesmerizing chapter. Tim O'Brien has become one of my favorite authors, which is why I highly recommend him to those ready for a great experience. He has changed my outlook on literature, I hope he will for you too.
Tim O’Brien’s novels follow various soldiers during their time in the Vietnam War. He is a very good war novelist due to his time fighting in Vietnam. If you are into war novels, I highly recommend choosing O’Brien as your author. His novels are easy to read and have multiple themes, which gives you more options when it comes time to choose a theme to write about. I recommend the novels The Things They Carried, Going After Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods. In addition, O’Brien writes novels in which the characters do not take part in the war. I read The Nuclear Age which was very good and still had similar themes with the other books. However, I would say that if you do not enjoy reading about war and the effects it has on the soldiers, O’Brien is not the author for you. His books can be gruesome at times and very depressing.
Without a doubt Tim O’Brien is excellent at conveying his Vietnam war experience through his novels, but there’s more to his novels than a good war story. O’Brien's war experience only enhances already the phenomenally written novels that reach into the deeper meanings behind personal growth and interpersonal relationships. O’Brien thoughtfully incorporates his knowledge about war experiences through several of his characters, which provide an excellent base to pull out many themes. Another positive note about O’Brien is how he discusses the life of soldiers as they return from the war through his novels In the Lake and of the Woods and Northern Lights. If you’ve already read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and enjoyed the novel I would highly recommend O’Brien’s war based novels as well. There are many similarities between Unbroken and several of O’Brien’s books because of the many parallels between Louie Zamperini's hero’s journey and that of O'Brien's protagonists in his novels. Overall I would highly recommend O’Brien to be considered as a choice considering the surplus of thematic messages common in all of his novels and the amazing insights he shares from his own life experiences.
I found Tim O’Brien novels fascinating and climactic, but I think that if you do not like war or are not good with gory descriptions then I would not recommend his novels for you. These novels do not hide any of the truth no matter how gruesome. He writes about his time during the Vietnam War, and all of his experiences before and after the Vietnam War. Since I am fine with all of these things I found the books very intriguing and tense, because you aren’t sure who is going to make it out of the situations he is put into. There are also times when he leaves the war and it seems he can never really leave, it was almost like he left apart of him back in Vietnam. Although his style of writing might be different because he do not always hid the gruesome details of war, I still recommend this book to all readers that can handle these gruesome details.
-Tom Perry
Tim O’Brien’s novels are informative and exciting to read. He takes the reader into the perspective of a soldier using specific details to convey their experiences as well as his own during the Vietnam War. There are many themes that are constantly seen through each book. He also uses the perspective of regular civilians who have been affected by the war in Nuclear Age and In the Lake of the Woods. Some of his other titles include: Going After Cacciato, If I die in a Combat Zone, and the Things they Carried. All of these novels are very fun to read, as O’Brien illustrates to the reader every detail of a soldier’s experience. Although, if you are someone who dislikes blood, killing or any other disturbing images seen in war, I would not recommend Tim O'Brien for you. He constantly displays violent images to stress certain themes within each novel. To all who can handle these images, I highly recommend him.
Tim O’Brien’s novels are eye opening and interesting to read. He bring the reader into the minds of soldiers during the Vietnam War. He draws from his time as a soldier in Vietnam to create highly realistic and shocking images that leave a deep impression on the reader. Furthermore, he also illustrates how war affects civilians in books such as July, July and In the Lake of the Woods. Other great titles that I enjoyed were Going After Cacciato, The Things They Carried, and If I Die in a Combat Zone. Throughout all of these books there are common themes that make the writing of your Author Thesis far less stressful. Over all I feel that Tim O’Brien’s novels are a wonderful choice for Author Thesis.
If you don't like war or violence this author may not be for you. However, O'Brien's novels provide an interesting perspective on the vietnam war. He tells the story of the Vietnam war but he does so by expressing the feelings and thoughts of his protagonists. O'Brien tries for a broader sense of reasoning in his books and does not simply tell stories of his heroics at war. O'brien's novel In the Lake of the Woods shows the mental toll that the Vietnam War takes on both its veterans and civilians who had a connection to the war. Furthermore, O'Brien integrates the action and chaos of the war into his novels as well. This aspect of his books provides his audience with excitement and they are continually drawn into scenes of great conflict during war. All in all I enjoyed my time with Tim and think that, whatever type of person you are, Tim may be the author for you!
Delving into the grit of the works of my author, I had different thoughts about the themes of Tim O’Brien’s novels. Originally, I had thought that the novels would mainly touch upon the literal aspects of war and conflict and would have minimal substance. I was very wrong. Emphasizing on the themes of not only war and conflict, but storytelling and moral dilemma, O’Brien creates exciting works of art that are thrilling and engaging to read. I read “Going After Cacciato”, “The Things They Carried”, and “In the Lake of the Woods” and I had a great experience analyzing these works. I loved examining the characters, discovering new perspectives to perceive who they are and how Vietnam affects them. I loved digging deeper into the raw themes and dredging for how these themes connect to the other novels, the world, and life itself. With action and humorous satire, O’Brien succeeds in creating a thrill-ride for all mature audiences.
I truly enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien's novels and would have read them on my own outside of school. He possesses an astounding capability of taking a situation that most people will never experience (combat in Vietnam) and somehow crafting the mindset and emotions of the soldiers in a way that is relatable to the reader. All three books that I read (The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, Going After Cacciato) contained some elements of surrealism, leading me to question what actually happened and what didn't. This did not take away from any overarching themes; rather the questionable narrators made them even more present. Although the plots of his books widely vary, he consistently and vividly portrays the mental and emotional toll of war on combatants. (There is a fair bit of gore in some parts so I would not choose him if that bothers you.) Overall, I would recommend Tim O'Brien for Author Thesis if you want an unapologetic portrait of war and the human mind.
Tim O'Brien's books provide an interesting look at how lives are affected by the Vietnam War. If you are not interested in the military at all, O'Brien is not for you. However, if you are, I'm sure you'll love his books. He doesn't hold back on his brutal portrayal of combat, so be prepared. His writing can be a little unclear and confusing, but that's also what makes his writing so realistic and understandable to even a civilian audience. His plots are less of conventional plots and more of a vehicle for his larger main ideas, so if you're looking to get invested in highly-character driven works, I recommend a different author. O'Brien's books are not too long or dense, and full of great quotes to analyze, as he's very liberal with his usage of metaphors and figurative language. I feel that if military history interests you, Tim O'Brien is a great choice for your author thesis paper, and I certainly don't regret choosing him for mine!
Tim O'Brien's brilliant depictions of the fluctuations of trust and loyalty within relationships astounded me for the entire duration of the reading process. The artistic details of combat and death sometimes may be overwhelming, but they remain loyal to truth and will not stray from the harsh realities of war. The lack of censorship in his novels amounts to many truths about our human nature and about the terrors of psychological trauma. If you desire to discover aspects of human emotion and wish delve into your unknown anxieties, I highly recommend reading The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods, and Going After Cacciato. These three novels illustrate breathtaking experiences of soldiers in times of crisis, and are composed of elegant characters and themes that contribute to a wide variety of reader interpretations. His novels are all of a perfect length, if that is a factor in your decision, and all contain a myriad of themes to choose from for your paper. I would most definitely consider Tim O'Brien, as you will exit the author thesis process with a greater knowledge of the human experience and of our own human nature.
I really enjoyed reading Tim O'Briens works and liked the way he writes his novels. His description of the Vietnam war really gives the reader what it was like for an American soldier fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. The novels that I read were "The Things They Carried" and "Going After Cacciato". O'Briens graphic description of the Vietnam war in general makes us question reality and fiction as his main theme is storytelling. Tim O'Brien is a good choice because of the amount of themes he gives the reader and his amazing storytelling about the experiences of a soldier in Vietnam.
Tim O'brien went in depth about the Vietnam war, using very symbolic stories that are easy to write about in your paper. The themes are very straight forward and actually interesting. O'briens best book I would say is The Things They Carried. I'm not a big fan of reading, but this book was actually really enjoyable and left me want wanting to read more each night. The only downside to Tim O'biren is once in a while there will be a really symbolic chapters That will require you to dissect it a lot and figure out it's meaning, but once you discover the meaning,there will be endless evidence for your paper. Highly recommend Tim O'brien.
American Author Thesis Review
At first, I had trouble choosing an author for the American Author Thesis. When I heard about Tim O’Brien, I knew that studying an author who wrote war novels would be great to analyze and relate between other books. I’m a big fan of War Novels, so I knew he was the right choice for me. O’Briens novels consisted of stories of love, trust, and regret all based in the time of the Vietnam War. Throughout his novels, the main characters faced problems and were forced to deal with situations that wouldn’t necessarily benefit everyone, or save them all either. Ultimately, Tim O’Brien is a good author to choose if you are a fan of war novels, but be prepared to work hard to connect his various works in an effective way.
Tim O’Brien’s books follow the lives of multiple soldiers before, during and after their experiences in the Vietnam War. I read the books "The Things They Carried", "In the Lake of the Woods" and "Going After Cacciato" in that order. In all three of these books, there are many consistent themes. I found that his writing is easily comprehendible but there are many different plot lines that are sometimes confusing to understand. When reading, you need to pay full attention to the themes and symbols along the way because they will show up later. Also, I would not recommend Tim O’Brien for your author thesis if you do not enjoy horror and violence. He depicts many different scenes that are bloody, gory and dehumanizing. O’Brien does not hold back from going into detail about horrific ways that soldiers die in his books. Overall, I really enjoyed reading his books and learning about the Vietnam war through the perspective of a soldier that fought in it. I recommend Tim O’Brien because it made the author thesis process less stressful and more enjoyable.
I was hesitant to chose Tim O’Brien as my author at first because I usually do not enjoy war stories or stories about history. But I was pleasantly surprised by O'Brien's novels. His books are much more than just stories about battles in war. The books are about people who have to experience trauma and horror and a myriad of emotions in such an unsafe environment. O’Brien does a great job of describing how war affects soldiers psychically and mentally. In “If I Die In a combat zone” He describes a soldier's life from entering the war till returning home from it. Its very interesting to see how the war changes the character's mental state throughout their time in service. I enjoyed writing about O'Brien's novels because there was many themes you could pick from such as guilt and determination, and there was good connections between his books. I would highly recommend O’Brien to anyone doing the Author Thesis.
Tim O’Brien writes about soldiers experiences during the Vietnam war, but also focuses on their lives before and after the war. I read The Things they Carried, Going after Cacciato, and In the Lake of the Woods. All three novels pertain to the Vietnam war, and it was interesting to read about what went on in a soldier's mind during a war. The plot was sometimes difficult to follow because O’Brien switches between stories and time periods, so it required close reading to understand. Tim O’Brien was a good choice because I felt that there were several common themes throughout all the books I read; I had many options for what to write about in my paper.
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