coming of age: the vietnam war and tim o’brien. the war: why did it occur? -north vs. south...
TRANSCRIPT
COMING OF AGE:
The Vietnam War and Tim O’Brien
THE WAR: WHY DID IT OCCUR?
-North vs. South
-Containment
Controversy Over American Involvement
U.S. Ships Attacked
The Gulf of Tonkin Crisis 1964
Protesters and Draft Dodgers
- College sit-ins- Monks burn
themselves alive- People lay down
in front of tanks
Why They Protested
Called the war “immoral” & “none of our business.” Sound familiar?
Horrific and unprecedented war experiences Village burnings, mass raping, unexpected carnage and
landscape
Drafts vs. Volunteering Vietnam vs. Iraq
Being Drafted
Clip: Max gets drafted
What symbols can you see in this clip? What might these symbols represent? How can they connect to themes we think we might find in our War Unit?
CANADA
An unofficial count suggests 30-40,000 men left the United States to resist the draft.
Canada welcomed draft dodgers, which created more conflict.
Gary Pulsen
Desperate Ways of Dodging the Draft
Join the National Guard Go to college, seminary, or get married Purchase forged documents Tamper medical records: “wear lace
panties,” feign drug addiction, smoke cigarettes dipped in ink
Famous ‘Accused’ Draft Dodgers
The End of American Involvement
U.S. sent 8, 744, 000 troops; 50,000 lost in battle. Iraq War - 4259
April, 1975 America withdraws troops. In 1977, President Carter, in his first act as
President, pardoned draft resisters who traveled abroad or failed to register.
…Not Yet the End, However… Soldiers suffer major Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) Not discovered until after Vietnam
Most of those drafted were extremely young and inexperienced with the horrors of war
Found it hard to rationalize or explain the killing of Vietnamese and Americans alike
Tim O’Brien-Fought from ’68-’70.
-Came back and began to write fictional novels and stories based on his war experiences.
-Was 21 yrs. old when drafted.
The Things They Carried
“It’s not a collection of stories, but it is one long story with a beginning and an ending.”
Fictional, but the story teller is a character named Tim O’Brien.
Predictions… What are some major themes you think that
we might see when reading Tim O’Brien’s work?