My initial reaction to the first couple pages were overwhelming due to the fact of all of the name dropping and the several names of characters that will most likely be important throughout the novel. I attempted to distinguish them now rather than later before it gets confusing.
Usually in a novel, the opening scene has a deeper meaning or a significance that is picked up towards the end of the novel. Knowing there might be some significance, I analyzed the first couple pages and pulled out that death and names are a reoccurring theme or motif. Everybody was dead and if you weren't, you probably had a disease or infection, specifically dysentery.
Personally, I wanna know from the get-go why Cacciato has gone AWOL and why the hell any human being would ever deem that walking from Vietnam to Paris is even remotely possible. Now, I know that Cacciato was referred to as Stupid in almost all ways imaginable, but my favorite was Doc simply stating "He's dumb, that's all." (6)
I am reading "July, July", another book by Tim O'Brien. It is not a war themed novel, as "Going After Cacciato" is, but it does take place in part during the Vietnam war with one character as a soldier in the war. I had the same reaction as you did to the first chapter of my book. I was introduced to twelve characters in less that twenty pages. To keep them all organized in my head I wrote down important facts about each one as you can see in my blog post. It may help you to do this too. Now that I have read further, I have learned more about the pasts of a few of the characters. I am sure O'Brien will explain the characters in your book in further detail as time goes on too. I am curious to see what other similarities our two books will have and to see if these books are similar to "The Things They Carried", another O'Brien book that I read for American studies in tenth grade.
ReplyDeleteEmily's suggestion about character tracking is a good one, as O'Brien frequently provides lots of characters to give us a variety of reactions to war. Could you provide some specifics about death and names?
ReplyDeleteTo second Mr. Brandt's suggestion, you might consider what he's walking away from, rather than what he's walking toward. Paris is also somewhat historically significant for Vietnam's history too, which might be important.
A suggestion: the font and color is a bit difficult to read. I like the background picture though.
Cooper, I am curious if there is a specific reason that the novel started in the middle of the war. If so, do you know what it is? Many times in movies the opening scene is the middle of a battle, which is normally done for a dramatic and hooking beginning. Do you think that is why it is done in this novel or do you believe there is a symbolic reason?
ReplyDeleteThe reason O'Brien started the novel in the middle of the war is due to his writing style. Throughout the novel he jumped around from past, present, future quite often and it was at some points difficult to comprehend. What happened often was an a recollection to an event that the reader hadn't been aware of and then a chapter or two later that event would be addressed.
DeleteThe reason O'Brien started the novel in the middle of the war is due to his writing style. Throughout the novel he jumped around from past, present, future quite often and it was at some points difficult to comprehend. What happened often was an a recollection to an event that the reader hadn't been aware of and then a chapter or two later that event would be addressed.
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