Going After The Truth

            In honor of the AP Lit and the seminar project, I will be criticizing Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien. The protagonist of the novel, Paul Berlin, uses his imagination to deal with the horrors he experiences in the Vietnam War. He imagines that he and his fellow soldiers are chasing a deserter, Cacciato, from Vietnam to Paris, France. Obviously, they didn’t actually do this, so I will criticize Going After Caccito from the perspective of Kierkegaard.

            In Sophie’s World, Gaardner writes that Kierkegaard meant to say, “Only these truths are 'true for me'” (Gaardner 374). One question Kierkegaard might ask is what is Berlin’s truth, and how could his truth be different from the other characters of the novel? It is obvious that Berlin’s truth is different from everyone else’s; On the first page, the narrator says, “Billy Boy had dies of fright, scared to death on the field of battle…” (O’Brien 1). Berlin imagines that Billy Boy Watkins literally dies of fright on the battlefield, but later in the novel we learn the truth; he died after stepping on a land mine. Berlin even imagines a fictional woman, Sarkin Aung Wan!

            However, Kierkegaard might also ask why Berlin’s truth is so different? Berlin imagines an alternate death for Billy, a trip to Paris, and a beautiful woman in order to cope with the terrible events of the war. Berlin’s father offers Berlin this piece of advice before he heads to Vietnam: “You'll see some terrible stuff, I guess.  That's how it goes.  But try to look for the good things, too.  They'll be there if you look.  So watch for them” (O’Brien 63).  Berlin’s father instructs him to see a different truth than the other soldiers, to watch for the “good things.” Indeed, Berlin does not remember the horrible sights he sees during the war. He does not remember the mutiny of his commanding officer Lieutenant Martin or the actual death of Billy Boy Watkins. He leaves his imagination to create his own truth: a trip to Paris and even a beautiful woman. His truth may diverge from reality, but at least he found the truth for him.

Works Cited

Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World. New York: Berkely Books, 1994. Print.

O’Brien, Tim. Going after Cacciato. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print.