Tim O'Brien, the author of many war novels and short stories such as The Things They Carried, is a worldly man whose many influences include his love of learning, his special bond with his family and his experiences during the Vietnam War. Tim's unique writing style, known as verisimilitude or blending fiction and nonfiction, lends itself to stories that are almost autobiographical in nature, but Tim makes changes to make the writing more interesting. Tim uses the aptly named character of Tim O'Brien to express the connections between himself and his character namesake. Over the course of the many short stories in The Things They Carried, O'Brien directly and indirectly compares many important aspects of his own life, such as his childhood and family life, his military experiences, and his love of education to that of his character Tim O. "Brien. Tim O'Brien lived a happy life with his family growing up in Worthington, Minnesota. He went to Macalester College in neighboring St. Paul's Minnesota and earned a full scholarship to get a bachelor's degree at Harvard, and he was living his dreams. Until the day he received his draft notice in the mail, O'Brien had been drafted into the Vietnam War and, just like the character Tim in the book. 'O'Brien, The Things They Carried, O'Brien had been stripped of his dreams and innocence Through the experiences of the character Tim, O'Brien represents his experiences and feelings about the Vietnam War and d. other aspects of his life In this way, O'Brien's art imitates his life as he writes about things that actually happened to him or those around him. The style that Tim writes with is known as Verisimilitude or fiction grounded in reality, this style of writing allows O'Brien to connect directly...... middle of paper ...... author, veteran TimO'Brien". Gale VirtualReference Library. Gale Cengage Learning, February 6, 2014. Moncevic, Mirela. “Not Just a Vietnamese Author: July, July 2002: 1-3. Gale Biography in Context. . The Things They Wore New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Smith, Jack: For Tim O'Brien, the Vietnam War remained a crucible in his fiction, but the power of imagination and memory, as well as “our elusive inner worlds,” also loom large” The Writer July 2010: 16. Gale biography in Context. Web March 26.. 2014.