Romanticism in Tim OBriens Going After Cacciato Essay -- Going After

Romanticism in Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato       Critics of Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato have examined its narrative technique (see Raymond) and its position in literature as metafiction (see Herzog).   Still other critics have commented on the motif of time (see McWilliams) and the theme and structure (see Vannatta).   On the last point, critics find the structure of the novel is fragmented to reveal the nature of the United States' involvement in Vietnam.   Unfortunately, this fragmentation makes the novel appear structurally weak.   Critics have found no unifying element to the parts to affirm the sense of wholeness readers feel after completing O'Brien's novel.   Nevertheless, the reader senses that the seemingly random construction of the novel serves to underscore the random nature of the Vietnam war.   However, to lightly dismiss O'Brien's organization as simply fragmentary does great disservice to this American author.   A critical examination of a traditional element found in American Literature since its inception--the symbolic use of Nature--unifies Going After Cacciato and places the work firmly in the Romantic tradition.   Just as Romanticists have always relied upon Nature to unify and add substantial depth to their novels so, too, has O'Brien.   Specifically, a different element of Nature appears in each of the sections of the novel.   The novel divides into three distinct parts: the observation post chapters, the recollected history chapters, and the chasing Cacciato chapters.   In the observation post chapters, Nature is represented by the sea.   In the recollected history chapters, Nature is represented by the land and the fresh water.   In the chasing Cacciato chapters, Nature becomes ... ....   Nevertheless, the defeat by the land provided O'Brien with a refreshingly new revitalization of the traditionally romantic motifs of water and land, while also exploiting the ambiguous nature of war.         Works Cited       Herzog, Tobey C.   "Going After Cacciato: The Soldier-Author-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Character Seeking Control."   Critique 24 (Winter 1983): 88-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   96.    McWilliams, Dean.   "Time in Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato." Critique 29 (Summer 1988): 245-255.    O'Brien, Tim.   Going After Cacciato.   New York: Delta/Seymour   Ã‚  Ã‚   Lawrence, 1978.    Raymond, Michael W.   "Imagined Responses to Vietnam: Tim   Ã‚   O'Brien's Going After Cacciato.   Critique 24 (Winter 1983).    Vannatta, Dennis.   "Theme and Structure in Tim O'Brien's Going   Ã‚   After Cacciato."   Modern Fiction Studies 28 (Summer 1982):   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   242-246.