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Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried. “About Tim O’Brien: A Profile”. O’Brien primarily a writer of fiction Vowed to stop writing fiction in 1994; a few months later, published a famous essay in the NYT describing his return to My Lai, site of a four hour massacre

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Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried

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  1. Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried

  2. “About Tim O’Brien: A Profile” • O’Brien primarily a writer of fiction • Vowed to stop writing fiction in 1994; a few months later, published a famous essay in the NYT describing his return to My Lai, site of a four hour massacre • From 1969-1970, O’Brien was an infantryman in the Quang Ngai province; his platoon was stationed in My Lai a year after the massacre

  3. Background on Tim O’Brien • Then and now, he could feel evil in My Lai • In the NYT cover story, O’Brien draws parralels between the “guilt, depression, terror, shame” that infects his Vietnam experience and present life • Contemplates suicide • O’Brien writes in the article, “Last night suicide was on my mind. Not whether, but how.”

  4. Background on Tim O’Brien • Born in 1946 • Raised in small-town Minnesota • Father was an insurance salesman • Mother an elementary school teacher • As a child, O’Brien was lonely, overweight, and a “dreamer” • Practiced magic tricks

  5. Background on Tim O’Brien • Had political aspirations going into college • Became a political science major at Macalester • Attended peace vigils and war protests • Planned to join the State Department to reform its policies

  6. Background on Tim O’Brien • Drafted as an infantryman upon graduation • Seriously considered deserting to Canada • Now thinks it was cowardly not to desert to Canada, but in 1968, he feared the disapproval of family and friends

  7. Tim O’Brien, after the war… • Received a Purple Heart after being wounded by shrapnel from a hand grenade • Pursued a doctorate at the Harvard School of Government • Began writing his first book, If I Die in Combat, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, while at Harvard

  8. Tim O’Brien, after the war… • If I Die in Combat published in 1973 • Became national affairs reporter for The Washington Post • Writes several more books including The Nuclear Age in 1985 and TTTC in 1990. • TTTC finalist for Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award

  9. Tim O’Brien, after the war… • Latest novel, In the Lake of the Woods • Considers this his best work yet • Writes every day, all day; known for being meticulous, fanatical • Some editors and critics suggest he should move on from Vietnam • Will most likely continue to write about the war

  10. Love and War • His books are universal • War stories as much as love stories • O’Brien says, “I’ve had the twins of love and evil. They intertwine and intermix. They’ll separate, sometimes, yet they’re hooked the way valances are hooked together. The emotions in war and in our ordinary lives are, if not identical, damn similar.”

  11. Tim O’Brien Then and Now

  12. Note: • Information taken from Ploughshares, the Literary Journal at Emerson College • Written by Don Lee (http://www.pshares.org)

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