Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
"Going After Cacciato" is a novel by Tim O'Brien that explores the psychological effects of the Vietnam War through the pursuit of a soldier named Cacciato, who has deserted his unit with an audacious plan to walk from Vietnam to Paris. The narrative follows a squad of soldiers, led by a weary lieutenant, as they are ordered to track down Cacciato amidst the chaos of war and the oppressive environment of monsoon rains.
As they journey through rice paddies and mountains, the narrator, Paul Berlin, experiences a transformation in his perception of Cacciato, initially viewing him as foolish but gradually feeling a mixture of pity and admiration for his naive quest for freedom. The soldiers' interactions reveal the complexities of camaraderie, duty, and the burden of military expectations, juxtaposed with moments of introspection and humor.
Throughout their pursuit, Cacciato remains a tantalizing yet elusive figure, often teasing his pursuers with signs of his presence. As the squad faces both physical and emotional challenges, they grapple with the absurdities of war and the idea of escape. The story culminates in an ambiguous moment that leaves readers questioning the nature of pursuit—both literal and metaphorical—and the realities of choice and freedom in the context of conflict.
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Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
First published: 1976
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: October, 1968
Locale: Vietnam, near its Laotian border
Principal Characters:
Cacciato , a seventeen-year-old U.S. Army deserterLieutenant Corson , the officer leading the squad pursuing CacciatoPaul Berlin , the narrator, an enlisted man sympathetic to CacciatoDoc Peret , a squad medicStink Harris , a bitter and violent enlisted man
The Story
The title alludes to a character who only exists as an off-stage presence throughout this story, which opens as two soldiers tell their weary lieutenant that Cacciato (an Italian word meaning "hunted") has left and plans to walk from Vietnam to Paris. Although the officer is almost immobilized by dysentery, age, alcohol, and disbelieving incomprehension of Cacciato's plan, military discipline triumphs over his inertia. He orders Cacciato's squad to pursue the deserter. The seven men set off in the ceaseless rain toward the Laotian border to the west.
As the group crosses the flat rice paddies and begins its ascent into the mountains, Paul Berlin, the narrator, becomes fixed on the object of their pursuit. The squad consensus is that Cacciato is outstandingly dumb: childish, immature, stupid, and unrealistic. As Cacciato's presence continues to hang just out of reach—a figure glimpsed on the trail above, a chocolate wrapper found on the trail, traces of a camping place—Berlin begins to feel pity and affection for him, and eventually a kind of wonder at Cacciato's simple-minded and single-minded plan of escape.
Doc Peret, the nurturing member of the squad, reasonably and compassionately counsels his ill officer to let Cacciato go, to declare him missing in action and let his plan fall flat under the weight of its own foolishness. The lieutenant orders the men to persist, in spite of his weakness and distaste for the hunt. Stink Harris, a member of the squad, is maliciously delighted by the decision.
The men climb mountain after mountain, and Cacciato walks before them, making no attempt to hide or evade his pursuers. He waves at them from the trail. Although they cannot hear him because of the thunder of the monsoon storm, he shouts cheerfully at them, apparently unaware of the seriousness of his actions. His pursuers marvel at his stupidity. Berlin begins to hope for their quarry's escape but has a frightening vision of Cacciato being murdered. He hopes for a miracle but knows that the realities of war are likely to strike Cacciato down.
As they near the border, that magical line beyond which the squad will not go, Cacciato begins to jettison the trappings that both made him a soldier and protected him. The followers find his dogtags, armored vest, helmet, entrenching tool, and ammunition. Disarmed, he offers himself to their view.
In his eager rush to catch Cacciato, now tantalizingly close, Stink triggers a booby-trap set by Cacciato. The entire squad endures the humiliation of terror as the trip-wire turns out to be connected only to a harmless smoke grenade—a practical joke. The lieutenant understands the prank to be a message from Cacciato meaning that he could have killed them all but chose not to.
The lieutenant sends Oscar Johnson to parley, but Cacciato refuses to come back. Doc Peret once again suggests letting him go. Berlin fantasizes about the improbable possibility that Cacciato might actually escape on foot to Paris. As the rains end and the sun comes up, the lieutenant orders the men to deploy to capture Cacciato. Berlin complies, reluctantly, but the story ends as he first whispers, then says, then shouts the ambiguous exclamation, "Go." It is not clear whether he is speaking to Cacciato, or to himself.
Bibliography
Beidler, Philip D. American Literature and the Experience of Vietnam. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1982. A classic study of Vietnam War literature. Contains a chapter-length study of Going After Cacciato and If I Die in a Combat Zone.
Gilman, Owen W., and Lorrie Smith, eds. America Rediscovered: Critical Essays on Literature and Film of the Vietnam War. New York: Garland, 1990. A collection of critical essays that includes two important chapters on Going After Cacciato. Catherine Calloway examines the way O'Brien problematizes reality, while Robert M. Slabey discusses O'Brien's style.
Herzog, Tobey. Tim O'Brien. New York: Twayne, 1997. An excellent introduction to O'Brien's work, with a helpful bibliography. Chapter 3 offers a discussion of the themes and structures of Going After Cacciato.
Kaplan, Steven. Understanding Tim O'Brien. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. Kaplan provides an overview of O'Brien's career before turning to chapter-length analyses of his major works. Annotated bibliography.
Schroeder, Eric James. Vietnam, We've All Been There: Interviews with American Writers. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1992. A collection of interviews with important writers of the Vietnam War. The chapter on O'Brien offers an important, often-quoted interview in which O'Brien discusses the roles of memory and imagination in fiction.