-
Exposition: Tim O'Brien tells the story
The stories Tim O'brien tells are all being told in Massachusetts in the late 1980s, 20 years after the Vietnam War. The stories all happened in Vietnam and they are things he lived through. Most of his stories are focused around the lives of other people. He mainly focuses on others to have a realistic story and does not follow the traditional story structure. -
Conflict: O'Brien gets Drafted
In the summer O'Brien recieves a letter saying that he is being drafted for te Vietnam War. At first he opposed this situation because he is against the motives of the war. He has complicationsabout fleeing to Canada so he will not serve. But the fear of shame stops him from doing it. Finally he accepts the situation and is drafted off. -
Rising Action: Each Soldier has Troubles
Once O'Brien is drifted he meets the men who arein his company. In great detail he describes the position each soldier has and the equipment they carry for that job. Along with the equipment, they carry tangible things that remind them of home. Most of these object signify a certain trouble or paranoia that they have. The trouble that they have affect the way they think and act during their time in the war. The troubles of the war also add on to the things that they carry in their minds. -
Falling Action: Returning Home
All the things Tim O'Brien experienced in the war stayed in his mind and followed him war. The graphics traumatized him and the way he coped with the trauma was through telling stories and reliving the moments. While he was drafted, like all the other soilders, he had problems of his own and upon his return the war had given him more problems. -
Turning Point: Returning to field
Years after the war O'Brien takes his daughter to Vietnam to the field in which his friend Kiowa died in. O'Brien returnedto share withhis daughter what the war meant and to give her an insight into his stories. His daughter not understanding the significance of the war shows us how someone not in the war cannot comprehend what the soldiers went through. O'Brien explains how different the setting is to explain how much time has past and how he is now at peace with the guilt of Kiowa's passing. -
Resoultion: Reminiscing
When O'Brien thinks back to the war he wonders various things. The wonders how different things would be if he had not been in that war. Even after 20 years have past, he relies memories with his stories and the memories of his companions. He shows honor for the fallen soldiers and the ones that survived, but that suffer from the trauma as well.
