Ship Me Home Book Report

Written by Tim O 'Brien, “If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home,” is a nonfictional story of a soldier as he battles the physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional challenges that come with being on the frontline of war as an American soldier. With his personal account and presentation of events from a sensate perception, O 'Brien takes the readers through the pain and fear that many American soldiers went through as they fought during the Vietnam War. Its sheer rawness enables the readers to relive the emotive and physical pain of war without being without diluting it with perceptions. It is a book that stirs reflections into how wars, not only the Vietnam War, are fought by our men in uniform despite the fact the fact that book itself does not bear any semblance of being reflective. It sets the readers on a journey and allows them to form their own opinions about wars rather than telling the story from one perspective. The Vietnam War was one of the most tasking wars ever fought by the American soldiers in the 20th century. Many soldiers lost their lives and limbs as they …show more content…
As a soldier-survivor, it is both a wish and a resignation to fate and gives a mental picture of emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual challenges the soldiers go through. Dying in a combat zone is inevitable. It is the fate that soldiers like O 'Brien has resigned to. However, they only have one wish: box me up and ship me home. It is a spiritual wish. To capture such a wish and challenges involved in fighting a war like the Vietnam War without falling into the temptation of being highly opinionated and subject is difficult. However, it is a fete that O 'Brien has successfully achieved with a personal memoir that shows the angst and pain of soldiers. It is a narrative with a fictional plot yet it is