Blending Reality and Fantasy in Going After Cacciato

1261 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Creative writing about war

Blending Reality and Fantasy in Going After Cacciato by O'Brien

As O'Brien's third novel, Going After Cacciato is one of his most acclaimed works. The book brings to the reader many chilling aspects of war while developing a connection between the reader and the narrator. After many years, Going After Cacciato still dominates over more recent war novels by providing a unique glimpse into the soldiers mind. O'Brien reflects upon his wartime experiences in Vietnam while successfully blending reality and fantasy in an original war story.

In the first chapter of the book, the relationship between the story and its title is quickly made. As the character who encites the chase, Cacciato embarks on the seemingly ludicrous journey to Paris. A voyage of eighty six hundred miles on foot is not one to be taken lightly. To get an idea of the distance that Cacciato is planning to transverse, imagine walking across the United States four times bringing only what one can carry. Paul Berlin, to whom Cacciato has divulged his travel plans, and his unit begin on a mission to retrieve Cacciato. Told from Berlin's viewpoint, the story is revealed from the experiences of a person who questions his own purpose in the war. The soldiers are literally walking away from the war as they follow Cacciato through the jungles of Vietnam. Paul's journey with the others is occasionally broken up by sudden lapses into the past. Such unexpected transitions have positive and negative affects on the reader. The latter result is immediate; the quick topic changes add an element of confusion as to what exactly is happening in the novel. However, the divisions also attribute to increased interest during these flashbacks as they break up the monotony of the mar...

... middle of paper ...

...he war. This war is not one only fought by weapons but is fought inside the soldier's mind. The minds, which O'Brien creates, reveal the convoluted aspects of war. Going After Cacciato succeeds because the story is written to create a link between the reader and the characters in a familiar, yet fictional world.

Works Cited

1. "O'Brien, Tim." Current biography Yearbook. 1995 ed.

2. "Tim O'Brien's Homepage, Novelist." 24 April, 1997. <http://www.illyria.com/tobhp.html> (10 May 1997).

3. Chisdes, Jonathan. "Moral Questions In Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato: How To Do Right In An Evil Situation." 10 August 1995. http://www.nightmare.com/~jon/cacciato2.html (9 May 1997).

4. Devine, Mary. "Love and War in the Land o' Lakes." MPLS-St. Paul Magazine Oct. 1994: 179.

O'Brien, Tim. Going After Cacciato. New York: Dell Publishing, 1978.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Philip Caputo's A Rumor Of War

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the war progresses, Caputo requests to go to a line company in the middle of November. This is a change from the “office” position he currently held where he was largely responsible for counting casualties. At this point, the romanticized visions Caputo had of war have been completely shattered and he goes into this transfer being fully aware of this. This change in viewpoint becomes even more clear when compared to the beginning of the novel where Caputo was intrigued by the romance and action of war. While readers would expect more action and typical war stories in this section of the book, Philip Caputo writes anything but. Caputo writes, “It went like that for the rest of the month. It was a time of little action and endless misery…Almost every hour of every night, the radio operators chanted, ‘All secure. Situation remains the same’ (1996: 240). Caputo repeats the phrase “All secure. Situation remains the same” five times throughout this single paragraph. Because of this, readers see the dull and mundane side of war that is often not talked about. In addition, Caputo continues to comment of the large amounts of waiting throughout the autobiography. When most think of the Vietnam War, they picture the “main events”. Similar to the numerous documentaries we watched in class, some of the main points of the war include: The first Indochina War, The Gulf of Tonkin, and the Tet Offensive. These documentaries all focused on these monumental events and because of this, the public perceives this war as the sum of these events. However, what many fail to consider the large gaps in time between these events. It is in these large gaps that little action occurred and most of the soldier’s time was spent waiting as Caputo depicted in this scene. In connection with

    Read More

  • Irony in Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story

    2118 Words  | 5 Pages

    In his short story, O’Brien unravels step by step the irony in the double meaning of truth, implied in this first statement, “This is true”, to the reader which is then woven through the entire story. By trying to characterize what constitutes a true war story, but never really achieving this goal, the true irony of his short story is revealed. Even though in some instances giving away his opinion explicitly, the sheer contradiction of honesty and reality becomes even more visible in an implicit way by following O’Brien’s explanations throughout the story while he deconstructs his first statement. The incongruity between his first statement and what is actually shown in his examples does not need any explicit statements to drive home his message.

    Read More

  • Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Typically, a novel contains four basic parts: a beginning, middle, climax, and the end. The beginning sets the tone for the book and introduces the reader to the characters and the setting. The majority of the novel comes from middle where the plot takes place. The plot is what usually captures the reader’s attention and allows the reader to become mentally involved. Next, is the climax of the story. This is the point in the book where everything comes together and the reader’s attention is at the fullest. Finally, there is the end. In the end of a book, the reader is typically left asking no questions, and satisfied with the outcome of the previous events. However, in the novel The Things They Carried the setup of the book is quite different. This book is written in a genre of literature called “metafiction.” “Metafiction” is a term given to fictional story in which the author makes the reader question what is fiction and what is reality. This is very important in the setup of the Tim’s writing because it forces the reader to draw his or her own conclusion about the story. However, this is not one story at all; instead, O’Brien writes the book as if each chapter were its own short story. Although all the chapters have relation to one another, when reading the book, the reader is compelled to keep reading. It is almost as if the reader is listening to a “soldier storyteller” over a long period of time.

    Read More

  • Going After Cacciato

    2712 Words  | 6 Pages

    In Tim Robbin's story Going After Cacciato, the main character, Paul Berlin, seeks to tell a story in which he and the gang attempt to catch the runaway soldier Cacciato, while at the same time trying to flee from the harsh environment of the Vietnam War, to Paris. Their journey eventually leads Paul Berlin to Iran where the crew of Paul Berlin, the Lieutenant, Doc Peret, Sarkin Aung Wan, and Stink Harris to name a few become stuck at the border of the country with absolutely no way of getting in because they seem to not have any passports. Captain Rhallon, who commands the Savaks takes it upon himself to question the group, consisting of Paul Berlin, the Lt, and Doc Peret. As the three are being interrogated, all seem to become engaged in the conversation as to what the true purpose of a soldier is. This scenario brings us to our main point, In Going After Cacciato there consist a number of arguments about purpose, the purpose of the soldier, of war, fear and self respect, and in the end, purpose in relation to where you are and what you are doing, it is a subject that consumes the entire story; with that said, Paul Berlin uses the Going After Cacciato storyline in order to directly relate his ideas of purpose to his own experiences and meaning of purpose within his reality of the Vietnam War.

    Read More

  • The Meaning of “Story-Truth” and “Happening-Truth”

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried has readers and critics alike scratching their heads with wonder about the meaning of “story-truth” and “happening-truth.” Although, he served in the Vietnam War from 1968 until 1970, he fabricates the events of the war throughout The Things They Carried. At the same time, he insists that the truth lies at the heart of the emotion in the story, an idea that many readers question. Furthermore, it is pointless for the reader to attempt to sort through the stories and differentiate between the “story-truth” and “happening-truth,” because it is nearly impossible. This tactic is one of O’Brien’s more ingenious writing methods. He does not want the reader to know the difference between the two because in his opinion that fact is irrelevant. O’Brien obviously thinks outside the box and has everyone questioning reality. However, this fact is truly ironic, because the point is not to care what type of “truth” it is, but to instead feel the raw beauty of the emotion and to accept it as the truth. While trying to define “story-truth” and “happening-truth,” a couple chapters in particular focus on the idea of truth, “How to Tell a True War Story,” “The Man I Killed” and “Good Form.” O’Brien believes that the most important thing for a reader is to experience the emotion of the story, be it “story-truth” or “happening-truth,” as long as the real emotion is conveyed and understood by the reader, then it is as true as it could possibly be.

    Read More

  • Hroors of War

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ome aspect of war, from battling with enemies to how battle spiritually destroys young men. The one positive point of this novel is how friends cared for one another when going through tragedies and stressful experiences. It also portrays how strong a soldier needs to be, in order for them to be in the war.

    Read More

  • The Effect of World War One on Domestic Life

    2731 Words  | 6 Pages

    allowed to do a lot more things and they no longer had to go out with

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying.&nbsp; All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times go by.&nbsp; This is similar to what war is like.&nbsp; In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair.&nbsp; There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of feel the same way about it.&nbsp; During the war the men experience many feelings, especially the loss of loved ones.&nbsp; These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital. &nbsp;Training camp was the first actuality of what war was going to be like for the men.&nbsp; They thought that it would be fun, and they could take pride in defending their country.&nbsp; Their teacher, Kantorek, told them that they should all enroll in the war.&nbsp; Because of this, almost all of the men in the class enrolled.&nbsp; It was in training camp that they met their cruel corporal, Himelstoss.&nbs most by him.&nbsp; They have to lie down in the mud and practice shooting and jumping up.&nbsp; Also, these three men must remake Himelstoss’ bed fourteen times, until it is perfect.&nbsp; Himelstoss puts the young men through so much horror that they yearn for their revenge.&nbsp; Himelstoss is humiliated when he goes to tell on Tjaden, and Tjaden only receives an easy punishment.&nbsp; Training camp is as death and destruction.&nbsp; Training camp is just a glimpse of what war really is.&nbsp; The men do not gain full knowledge of war until they go to the front line.&nbsp; &nbsp;The front line is the most brutal part of the war.&nbsp; The front line is the place in which the battles are fought.&nbsp; Battles can only be described in one word- chaos.&nbsp; Men are running around trying to protect themselves while shooting is in the trench with an unknown man from the other side.&nbsp; This battle begins with shells bursting as they hit the ground and machine guns that rattle as they are being fired.&nbsp; In order to ensure his survival, Paul must kill the other man.&nbsp; First, Paul stabs the man, but he struggles for his life.&nbsp; He dies shortly after, and Paul discovers who he has killed.&nbsp; The man is Gerald Duval, a printer.&n Having to deal with killing others is one of the horrors of war. The men who are killed and the people who kill them could have been friends, if only they were on the same side.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The other important battle leaves both Paul and Kropp with injuries.

    Read More

  • A Rumor Of War By Philip Caputo

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the autobiography A Rumor of War, Philip Caputo shares his experiences of the Vietnam War with the world. Caputo introduces the American people into this world they had never seen. What most Americans considered a "meaningless" war, was changed by Caputos perspective and his accounts. At the time Caputo released his book, most Americans were not aware of the damage it causes every soldier on that front line. The beginning of the novel introduces us to Caputo in his early twenties. Caputo enlists in the Marine Corps because he wants to show off his "meaningless" and find an adventure to get him out of his small town life. Caputo wanted to do something that would make him a hero. Caputo dreams, of returning home as an honorable man, and being applauded for his amazing work in Vietnam as he was a hero for this country. Unknowingly, when he does return he endures kaos of people resenting him and his fello...

    Read More

  • Analyzing Paul Berlin's 'Going After Cacciato'

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the history of literature, the quest for a goal has always been evident in an assortment of writing styles. A hero normally tries to obtain something or someone; whether it would fill a void in his life or if it was stolen from him, they would always try their hardest. However, in Going After Cacciato by Tim O’brien, Paul Berlin’s goal was aspiration and bravery. To many readers it was more than just a war story, it was a look into the minds of the soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War, and how some of the soldiers dealt with the things happening around them. Thomas Hardy said it best with this statement,“ A story must be exceptional enough to justify its telling; it must have something more unusual to relate than the ordinary

    Read More

  • Slavery In The Lambs Of War

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the story focuses mainly on the Blooms’, Mr. McManus introduces us to other interesting characters along the way. By doing this, we get a glimpse into the lives of not only victims of this horrible war but perpetrators and innocent bystanders as well. This helps to create a well rounded novel in which it is easy to become

    Read More

  • Psychoanalytic Perspective In The Things They Carried

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    O’Brien’s unique verisimilitude writing style fills the novel with deep meaning and emotion. Analyzing the novel through a psychological lens only adds to its allure. Understanding why characters act the way they do helps bring this novel to life. The reader begins to empathize with the characters. Every day, the soldiers’ lives hang in the balance. How these soldiers react to life-threatening situations will inspire the reader. Life has an expiration date. Reading about people who are held captive by their minds and who die in the name of war, will inspire the reader to live everyday as if they are currently in the

    Read More

  • In Another Country of Hemingway

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...is story, Hemingway brings the readers back the war and see what it caused to human as well as shows that how the war can change a man's life forever. We think that just people who have been exposed to the war can deeply understand the unfortunates, tolls, and devastates of the war. He also shared and deeply sympathized sorrows of who took part in the war; the soldiers because they were not only put aside the combat, the war also keeps them away from community; people hated them as known they are officers and often shouted " down with officers" as they passing. We have found any blue and mournful tone in this story but we feel something bitter, a bitter sarcasm. As the war passing, the soldiers would not themselves any more, they became another ones; hunting hawks, emotionless. They lost everything that a normal man can have in the life. the war rob all they have.

    Read More

  • The Man I Killed, By Tim O’Brien

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Behind every war there is supposed to be a moral—some reason for fighting. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. O’Brien relays to the readers the truth of the Vietnam War through the graphic descriptions of the man that he killed. After killing the man O’Brien was supposed to feel relief, even victory, but instead he feels grief of killing a man that was not what he had expected. O’Brien is supposed to be the winner, but ends up feeling like the loser. Ironically, the moral or lesson in The Things They Carried is that there is no morality in war. War is vague and illogical because it forces humans into extreme situations that have no obvious solutions.

    Read More

  • Ridley Scott's Use of Mise-en-Scene to Convey Atmosphere in the Opening Sequence of the Film, Gladiator

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    An example of this in the opening sequence is the music. Beginning calm and gently, the music then progresses to give the impression that the seemingly peaceful atmosphere is about to change. The scene is simplistic but this only adds effect as it offers contrast to what is about to come. The main character in the film, Maximus, is walking through a field running his hand among the long grasses. This could be perceived as a portrayal of the Roman Afterlife, or Elysium, an implication that the character is now dead. There are many small, detailed examples of mise-en-scene that aren’t perhaps noticeable at first. One is the laughter of small children in the background and the other is the wedding ring on Maximus’ finger. These are possibly representatives of the family of Maximus that during the film are murdered. This again adds to the idea that the setting is Elysium. Another theme that runs throughout is the use of the colour gold. This signifier is only seen briefly in the opening sequence in the form of Maximus’ gold wedding ring, but becomes more conspicuous throughout the rest of...

    Read More

More about Blending Reality and Fantasy in Going After Cacciato

Open Document