‘‘Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?’’ is the story of Paul Berlin’s first night in the Vietnam War. Paul Berlin is terrified. He is in a strange, dark landscape. Earlier that day, he witnessed the death of one of his fellow soldiers, a death made even more terrifying by the medic Doc Peret’s assertion that…
Tag: Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Setting
Vietnam War The United States’ combat involvement in Vietnam began in 1964 with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. During the Cold War (the period of strained relations between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II), many in Washington were convinced that there…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Literary Devices
Metafiction Metafiction is fiction that takes fiction itself as one of its subjects. That is, metafictional texts not only tell a story but tell a story about the nature of storytelling. Metafictional texts often use this technique to explore the relationship between fiction and reality, as O’Brien does in ‘‘Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?’’…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Themes
Autobiographical Fiction Both ‘‘Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?’’ and Going After Cacciato are based on O’Brien’s experiences in the Vietnam War. O’Brien was drafted right after college, and he has said, ‘‘When the draft notice arrived after graduation . . . I thought about Canada. thought about jail. But in the end I could…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Characters
Paul Berlin Paul Berlin, the protagonist of the story, is a soldier in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War. Throughout the story, he is identified as ‘‘Private First Class Paul Berlin,’’ which emphasizes the way a soldier ceases to be an individual and becomes a member of the platoon. Paul Berlin’s father Paul Berlin’s…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? by Tim O’Brien – Summary
‘‘Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?’’ takes place during a night march that comes at the end of Paul Berlin’s first day in the Vietnam War. The story opens with the platoon moving slowly through the dark and stopping to rest. Paul Berlin brings up the rear, and as they rest, he retreats into his…