Annotated Bibliography

Hunter, Jeffrey. “Tim O’Brien (1946-).”  Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 211. (2006): 182-241.  Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 15 July 2011.

http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ2683950004

This resource provides in-depth analysis on all of O’Brien’s works, including many of those found in “The Things They Carried.” It contains biographical information for O’Brien, compares his writing style and subject matter to Ernest Hemingway, and compares him with others who write about war and Vietnam in general. There was a lot in here that I used as background information to help me understand O’Brien’s writing, even though I only used it directly in a few places.

Krstovic, Jelena. “Tim O’Brien (1946-).”  Short Story Criticism. Vol. 123. (2009): 82-190. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 15 July 2011.

http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ1584150003

This resource also provided in-depth analysis on all of O’Brien’s work.  This resource also had a very in-depth analysis on “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” and compares it to “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. I used this resource mainly as background information and to confirm some of my suspicions about the more far-fetched aspects of this story in particular.

Schmitt, Deborah.  “Tim O’Brien (1946-).”  Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 103. (1998): 130-177. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 15 July 2011. http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ3527750005

This resource provided biographical information about O’Brien, quotes from his interviews, and a large discussion about his treatment of his subject matter as far as how much is “true.” This text cites other critical examinations of O’Brien’s works, and therefore contained more far-reaching and eclectic interpretations than any of the other resources.  I used this resource for the quotes that it contains of O’Brien commenting on his own works.