Argument: In his criticism, Froelich states that the novel Going After Cacciato gives the true realities of war through the experiences of the main characters in the story. He believes that O'Brien described the events in way that actual veterans of the war would. He also appreciates the technique where O'Brien combines the confusion in the story where the characters go back and forth between actuality and imagination. He would go onto agree that the book was well deserving of the National Book Award it received. Evidence: "…it innovatively combines experiential realism of war with surrealism, primarily implemented in the fantasy journey of escape by the novel's protagonist, thoughtful and sympathetic soldier Paul Berlin." Thoughts: I would go onto agree with all of the claims that Froelich made in his criticism. I believe that the way O'Brien explained the events, as if a veteran was telling the story, brought much life to the novel and characters. He showed true confusion, emotions, and thoughts that shows how truly harsh war is and was in Vietnam.

Argument: In Going After Cacciato Tim O'Brien uses a method of utilizing personal experiences and feelings to provoke more real like emotions and ideas from the characters. Evidence: "…Tim O'Brien develops themes such as true courage, loneliness, and psychological effects of war by using narrative techniques, such as recounting thoughts and emotions of characters, in order to emphasize their fantasies, confusing, and obsessions. Thoughts: I believe that this is a very accurate claim because the story does have much more emotion in the style of writing O'Brien chose. If the novel was written in a different way like in a way with less true attachment or feelings the book would've lost its feel and would not have been as big a success.