In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, the narrator describes fleeing toward Canada, but then he decides to accept his draft notice and go to war. What word does he use to describe himself (at the end of the chapter entitled "On the Rainy River") when he makes the decision to go to war?
a. Bloodthirsty
b. Coward
c. Dangerous
d. Patriot
More trivia...
a. Bloodthirsty
b. Coward
c. Dangerous
d. Patriot
More trivia...
Tim O'Brien
author profile
born
October 01, 1946
gender
male
place of birth
Minnesota
website
genre
Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction
about this author
Tim O'Brien had matriculated at Macalester College. Graduation in 1968 found him with a BA in political science and a draft notice.
O'Brien was against the war, but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the Woods.. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon, A Co., 5th Batt. 46th Inf., as an infantry foot soldier. O'Brien's tour of duty was 1969-70.
After Vietnam he became a graduate student at Harvard. No doubt he was one of very few Vietnam veterans there at that time, much less Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) holders. Having the opportunity to do an in...more
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avg rating: 4.01
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| 56 distinct works
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More books by Tim O'Brien…
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The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien avg rating 4.15 — 17,906 ratings — published 1990 22 editions |
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In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.71 — 2,559 ratings — published 1994 11 editions |
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Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.85 — 1,911 ratings — published 1975 18 editions |
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If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.80 — 890 ratings — published 1973 14 editions |
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Tomcat in Love by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.34 — 709 ratings — published 1998 8 editions |
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July, July by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.35 — 600 ratings — published 2002 8 editions |
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The Nuclear Age by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.41 — 254 ratings — published 1986 6 editions |
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Northern Lights by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.29 — 196 ratings — published 1920 4 editions |
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Naked Vinyl by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.67 — 3 ratings — published 2002 3 editions |
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Tennessee by Tim O'Brien avg rating 3.50 — 2 ratings — published 1990 8 editions |
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"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil. "
— Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried)
— Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried)
tags:
war
32 people liked it
"That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth."
— Tim O'Brien
— Tim O'Brien
"A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth."
— Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried)
— Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried)
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