Works Cited Page

1. http://www.illyria.com/tob/tobbio/html

2. Grolier, Amy. The New Book of Knowledge. 21 vols. Danbury: Grolier, 2002.
3. http://biography.jrank.org/pages/4637/O-brien-Tim.html
4. O’Brien, Tim. “How to Tell a True War Story.” The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.71. Print.

Autobiography: Tim O’Brien

This American contemporary writer was born William Timothy O’Brien in Austin, Minnesota, 1946. He was born to an insurance salesman and a schoolteacher. He grew up in Austin and in Worthington, Minnesota, and attended Macalester College in St. Paul. After graduation in 1968, O’Brien was drafted. “He considered refusing to serve in the Vietnam War but believed it was wrong for someone with his advantages to dodge service while the armed forces filled up with disadvantaged young people. O’Brien saw battle as an infantryman Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 and was awarded a Purple Heart after receiving a shrapnel wound near My Lai” (Grolier ). “His awards are as followed: National Book award, 1978; National Endowment for the Arts award; Bread Loaf Writers Conference award,; Heartland Award, 1990; Melcher Book Award, 1991” (3. ) O’Brien’s wartime experiences shaped his values and perceptions. He used the violence and battle to from his stories of victory and Valier. Tim uses his wartime experience for his great works in the book we read in class, The Things They Carried. This book has such great details of everything to what the soldiers carried to the how soldiers sometimes “lose it” and just shoot anything moving. Shooting at anything moving seems like that would be more common than the exception during the war. “They blow away trees and glee clubs and whatever else there is to blow away” (O’Brien 71).

After discharge from the army, O’Brien attended Harvard for graduate studies in government and worked as a reporter for the Washington Post. In 1973, he published his first book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Although he invented the dialogue, O’Brien calls the work war memoir since it describes his experience in Vietnam. He left Harvard in order to work full time as a novelist. In 1975, he published Northern Lights, a novel, Going After Cacciato, was published. This novel won the National Book Award in fiction. O’Brien has also written The Nuclear Age in 1985 and The Things They Carried in 1990. “Tim O’Brien is now a visiting professor and endowed chair at Southwest Texas State University where he teaches in the Creative Writing Program” (1.)

Tim O’Brien’s work greatly influenced work because he was in the Vietnam War. He was involved in the My Lai massacre; which I would think a lot of nightmares come from that. Maybe he has so many dreams about the war he just writes about it. I think being in a situation, like the Vietnam War, that he could write so many books and short stories.

I have search a few places in the YC library, well, I need to keep looking. I didn't find what I am looking for. I am looking at cults in America.

I searched a few internet sites: Cult Killer: The Rick Rodriquez Story

www. americansc.org.uk/online/cults.htm

I think these are credible.

Lisa Manning

Historical Event Research

The conflict known as the Vietnam War (1957-75) was centered in the publically-divided country of Vietnam. “It was fought between the Communist-ruled north and the non-communist south” (Grolier). So, we as American’s tried to prevent the spread of communism, by aiding to the South Vietnamese (Vietcong). “U.S leaders also feared that all of the Southeast Asia might fall to the Communists if they were victorious in South Vietnam” (American Experience PBS).

In March 1969, one tragic episode in the pages of American military history is the massacre at My Lai. This city is located on the central coast of Vietnam, Quang Ngai Providence. There were a group of young men from all around the country; black, white, and Mexican in a platoon group called Charlie’s Company. It was voted as on of the best platoon’s during that time. Most of the young men in the group felt it was there duty to serve their country. Some of the young men came from generations of WWII and the Korean War. Their captain was named Captain Madina, who was loved and respected by his soldiers; although, he wanted his platoon to be called the “death squad” (American Experience, PBS). Their plan was to kill the North Vietnam and place an ace of spades on them as their calling card. The soldiers brought candy and cakes to the young children of Vietnam, they were trusted. The mothers were asked of their children if the American soldiers were killers, they answered no. As, the war continued on the civilians of Vietnam grew tired of the American soldiers, grew tired of the war. Soon, the boys of the Charlie Company started getting killed one by one. Whether it was booby traps, mines, or sniper fire the soldiers were getting injured. “Where do you put your feet, that choice, is life or death” (Tim O’Brien, American Experience, PBS). After almost 2 months of this, the boys were going weary.

Soon, the order came to Captain Cally, that there were many North Vietnamese soldiers were in the next village over and to attack with everything you’ve got. The boys of the Charlie Company started shooting, all of them, into the village. When the smoke cleared, they found dead woman caring children, old men, and babies. The report came across that 567 civilians were killed. This was a mistake.

I wanted to relate this historical event to the chapter in Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, How To Tell A True War Story. Tim O’Brien comments on the massacre at My Lai, but he also talks about Quang Ngai City in this chapter. “A deep pinkish red spilled out on the river” (68). The boys start to hear the mountain talk, the monkey, and the grass. They hear strange music; it makes most of the soldiers go crazy. “The guy’s can’t cope. They lose it. They get on the radio and report enemy movement-a whole army, they say-and they order up the firepower. They call in air strikes” (71).

This is the same story but told differently. In the historical event, the town of My Lai was also called Pinksville because there were so many shades of pink. The soldiers kill every civilian in both stories, whether it was a mistake or a platoon gone mad.

This research has helped me to understand this chapter because I think it was a real piece of history. Tim O’Brien, claims he was there. This is a sad point of history and it is a real side to war. This is a great correlation between history and our story we read.

Work Cited

1. http:// www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexerience/films/mylai/player
2. O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell A True War Story”. The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 68,71. Print.
3. Grolier, Amy. The New Book of Knowledge. 21 vols. Danbury: Scholastic Library, 2004.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Topic Proposal

1. What is the guiding question for your analysis of the text? What do I want to learn more about? What war is this book talking about? Is this WWIII? What could the war be all about? Oil? Money? I want to learn about what countries are involved in this war, how the world got to this point, and how it may end. Could this be about religion and lose of freedom? It seems that war has always been etched into our history.
2. What topic do you plan to research that will help you answer your guiding question? Well, I would look at some kind of war topic. Perhaps the holocaust. War and slavery were involved with the holocaust. I need to look into a family or person who survived this terrible tragedy and learn from that. I don’t know if Anne Franks would be a good place to start. I don’t know if I am even going into the right direction. But, Anne Franks could give me some great correlations between her and Offred; some similar stories. Could there be some tokens? A black market? I don’t know.
3. Why did you choose this topic? How will it help you better understand Atwood?

The war is why all of this is happening to the girls; wanting to get pregnant, the secrets, and the Commander. How the world got to this point. It is interesting to correlate between fiction and nonfiction. To relate the two is strange. I think this could help me to better understand Atwood because during war, people do things to survive.