Tim O Brien Research Paper

Tim O’Brien was born in Austin, Minnesota on October 1st, 1946. His mother was an elementary school teacher, his father an insurance salesman, and he had a younger sister and brother. His mother taught his the mechanics of writing while his father encouraged reading. His father was an alcoholic, and mercilessly teased young O’Brien. O’Brien found comfort in baseball and in performing magic. In the article “Tim Obrien (1946 - )” it states, “O’Brien… moved at the age of ten with his family to Worthington, Minnesota, a town of approximately ten thousand people located on Lake Okabena in the southwest part of the state and the setting for some of his stories” (“Tim O’Brien (1946 - )”). In 1968, O’Brien graduated from Macalester College as a political science major. …show more content…
In August of 1968, much to his dismay, O’Brien was drafted into the army. He served in Vietnam for thirteen months, during which he was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for Valor. These were not the last of his awards. After the war, O’Brien reenrolled himself at Harvard University for a Ph.D. in government. He never finished with his degree because he left on several occasions to pursue different writing opportunities. He worked as a journalism intern and national affairs reporter for The Washington Post. O’Brien finally left Harvard in 1977 to become a full-time writer. During his writing career, he was awarded many different literary prizes. O’Brien is married to Meredith Baker and has two sons. He currently lives in central