Where Have You Gone Charming 'By Tim O' Brien

In the short story Where Have You Gone Charming Billy, Tim O’ Brien, examines a conflict with the main character Paul Berlin and his internal fear of dying. The story takes place around 1965-1973 during the Vietnam War. It is Paul’s first day at the war and he has been fighting his anxiety. He has already seen one of the twenty-six soldiers in his platoon die of a heart attack because of tripping a mine bomb. Many soldiers continuously tell Paul to just get used to the fear of the jungle however he is not able to do it. Paul was not able to stop giggling and when remembering the death of poor Billy he thinks to himself “while later poor Billy Boy stepped on the mine, and how it made a tiny little sound-poof- and how Billy Boy stood there with