For this paper I want to compare the observation post in Tim O’Brien’s novel, Going After Cacciato, to the intercalary chapters of John Steinbeck’s, Grapes of Wrath. I feel that without those chapters a lot of the books meaning would be lost and in Grapes of Wrath it is very evident. Even though some people may say that those chapters in Grapes of Wrath were worthless and not needed, I completely disagree. The chapter about the turtle to some may be the stupidest thing they ever read, but to me it represented the Joad’s struggle to reach California safe and sound. The chapters are made to make the reader think and learn more about the background story. In Going After Cacciato, the observation post can throw the reader off a little bit at first but once you learn about how they are really just somebody writing Cacciato’s story, you understand alittle more. Without these chapters a lot of the books grounding would be lost along. I remember reading the chapters in Grapes of Wrath at first and thinking that they were useless, but now I look at them and think completely different. The ending of the book can change somebody’s view of the book very easily. I have found that in almost every book I have read. The ending of this novel can really throw somebody for a loop which is why I wish we learned the truth at the end of the story, not the beginning. When I read a book by Ellen Hopkins, called Identical, the entire time you are reading a story about twins. The entire time you are learning about their daily lives and how events in their past life shaped the way they are now. In the last couple of pages you learn that the one twin passed away in an accident years ago and the other twin had multiple persons disorder, when I read that I was stunned and really thrown for a loop, which is what I loved so much about the book and why I wished we waited until the end to learn about the truth of how the entire story is not true. I think this is a great way to get a reader hooked. Other than that a couple other people talked about how they think the entire story is completely fake and just somebody sitting in a hospital with post-traumatic stress, which happened often in the Vietnam War due to the guerilla warfare, getting all of his thoughts, fears, and stress onto a written document. Also to truly understand this book we must understand the history of the Vietnam war and how it created many problem on the soldiers. I think Tim O’Brien is also writing this story because he is getting out his anger about the war along with regrets. He is basically writing all of his problems down on paper and covering it up with other names. Because he was so scared to go into war, he showed that artistically by covering up his story with characters. Yet again making the novel have an even deeper meaning. I am not the type of person to read novels, due to my opinions on war, but this book had so many layers, I enjoyed it. I have found that in almost every book I have read. The ending of this novel can really throw somebody for a loop which is why I wish we learned the truth at the end of the story, not the beginning. When I read a book by Ellen Hopkins, called Identical, the entire time you are reading a story about twins. The entire time you are learning about their daily lives and how events in their past life shaped the way they are now. In the last couple of pages you learn that the one twin passed away in an accident years ago and the other twin had multiple persons disorder, when I read that I was stunned and really thrown for a loop, which is what I loved so much about the book and why I wished we waited until the end to learn about the truth of how the entire story is not true. I think this is a great way to get a reader hooked. Other than that a couple other people talked about how they think the entire story is completely fake and just somebody sitting in a hospital with post-traumatic stress, which happened often in the Vietnam War due to the guerilla warfare, getting all of his thoughts, fears, and stress onto a written document. By comparing the two books, one that I really enjoyed and another I really did not I seem to find a happy medium, which I think is great. . I feel that without those chapters a lot of the books meaning would be lost and in Grapes of Wrath it is very evident. Even though some people may say that those chapters in Grapes of Wrath were worthless and not needed, I completely disagree. The chapter about the turtle to some may be the stupidest thing they ever read, but to me it represented the Joad’s struggle to reach California safe and sound. The chapters are made to make the reader think and learn more about the background story. In Going After Cacciato, the observation post can throw the reader off a little bit at first but once you learn about how they are really just somebody writing Cacciato’s story, you understand alittle more. Without these chapters a lot of the books grounding would be lost along. I remember reading the chapters in Grapes of Wrath at first and thinking that they were useless, but now I look at them and think completely different.