Tim O'Brien Biography

The journalist and writer Tim O’Brien has become synonymous with the American war in Vietnam. Neither an opponent nor a defender of the war, O’Brien’s books are clear-eyed but complex accounts of his own experiences in the battle zone. In O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried, he hesitates and prevaricates, starts one story only to interrupt it with a second, and mixes up chronology so that the characters die before they have been introduced. O’Brien’s voice is steely, cold and lucid, as if emotional engagement is impossible in such a hostile environment. (http://lion.chadwyck.com)
Tim O’Brien was born in Minnesota on October 1, 1946, the son of an insurance salesman and a primary school teacher. He has described himself as a lonely child, an overweight dreamer who amused himself with magic tricks. He studied at Macalester College, graduating with a BA in political science in 1968. (http://lion.chadwyck.com)
As soon as he left college, he was sent a draft notice, ordering him to fight in the Vietnam War. He spent a year in Vietnam between 1969 and 1970, winning a Purple Heart in the process. On returning from Vietnam, O’Brien began graduate course at Harvard University, specializing in Government and Politics. He secured an internship at the Washington Post and soon after became full-time journalist. (http://lion.chadwyck.com)
Tim O’Brien’s first-hand knowledge allowed him to write The Things They Carried, although sometimes the stories are confusing with regard to the timeline, they are graffic, heartfelt portrayals of what happened to him in Vietnam. His use of words and his vivid imagination puts you there with him. It allows you to live the experiences he lived through while there.
Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” is about a lot of things, namely how in the time of war, the men in his unit carried many things. Not just the physical things they needed to carry out their missions, but personal things, like photographs, lucky charms and most of all emotions. For instance, “In April/Lieutenant Jimmy Cross received a good-luck charm from Martha/smooth to the touch, it was a milky white color with flecks of orange and violet, oval-shaped, like a miniature egg.” (O’Brien, page 8). This was one of the things the Lieutenant held dear, since it was from Martha, who he dreamed of and envisioned along the Jersey Shore, where she says it came from. He used this and the photos and letters received from Martha, to keep him in touch with the world, he once knew, before the war. It took him away to a place he longed to be. But instead, it was his downfall. He was too busy daydreaming about Martha, when Ted Lavender was shot and killed. He had let his guard down and one of his men paid the ultimate price.
After Lavender’s death , “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence, Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” (O’Brien, page 16). So, not only did the men carry things, personal physical things, but emotional things, guilt, grief, shame, love and passion.
In the end, Lieutenant Cross, did love his men, he vowed to be a better Officer. Lieutenant discarded his personal things that reminded him of Martha. “/crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters. Then he burned the two photographs. (O’Brien, page 23).
This story is profound in that it describes in detail some of the things that these soldiers needed to get through this war. It also describes the emotions they went through. The pride they felt, the sorrow, the anger and most of all the memories which they will carry forever.
It is interesting to note, that in the beginning, when O’Brien was drafted, he wrestled with the idea of going to war. He was against the war. But like most patriots, he enlisted, went through boot camp, and went on to defend his country. When he came home, he was able to write about the many encounters he had and thus, we are now able to enjoy some of those stories.

Works Cited
O’Brien, Tim “The Things They Carried,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, New York (1990)
http://lion.chadwyck.com, Literature Online, July 23, 2010