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?