Fact and Fiction: O’Brien’s Vietnam

Assignment Overview

Tim O’Brien allows us to see a small bit a fictional Vietnam through the eyes of his characters in his short story “The Things They Carried” and he shows us two real Vietnams (1969 and 1994) from his own life experiences in his essay  “The Vietnam in Me.”  Each of these presents a slightly different view of Vietnam. For this assignment you will be using rhetorical strategies to persuade your readers that a difference exists between what they believe and what you want them to believe in a comparison/contrast  essay.

Assignment Objectives

Employ reading and analytical strategies to interpret literal and figurative language

Employ effective rhetorical strategies in the writing process

Incorporate research responsibly in the composition of essays

Assignment Directions

Before beginning, read “The Things They Carried,”  “The Vietnam in Me,” and Common Rhetorical Strategies.

Consider all three ideas of Vietnam we see from O’Brien (the fictional one from the short story, the one  from the past which he recalled in his personal essay, or the one he visited in present time in his essay).  Think about the similarities and differences of each, Do you believe they are all the same or do you think they are very different places?

• In a argumentative essay, you will respond to one of the two prompts below.  Choose one only.
• Show how all of O’Brien’s Vietnam portrayals are the same.
• Or, show how all of O’Brien’s Vietnam portrayals are the different.

The following requirements must be met in the essay:

Microsoft Word Document

MLA 9 formatting, in-text citations, and work cited page (See bottom of page for citation help)

Three to four paragraphs including intro w/thesis, body paragraph(s), and concluding paragraph

• Include at least one embedded and cited (in-text) quote from both of O’Brien’s works- “The Things They Carried” and “The Vietnam in Me.”
• Include a MLA9 formatted Works Cited page. See TLSH p. 198 for an example.