The dictionary defines a daydream as pleasant visionary usually wishful creation of the imaginations. We all are guilty of daydreaming. We do it during a long, boring lecture or even during a sermon at church. We envision ourselves being somewhere else then they place we must be. Some use it as an escape from the unpleasant place they are living in and envision them in a better situation. The theme of daydreaming is found in the story Going After Cacciato, written by Tim O'Brien.

Going After Cacciato is about a young man's emotional journey during the Vietnam war. The young soldier takes an imaginary journey to Paris to find Cacciato, a soldier who left his troop. The reader learns in the story about the hardships and turmoil faced by a troop of American soldiers. One soldier in particular, was Paul Berlin. Because the war was traumatic, Berlin had to keep himself sane by daydreaming about a better life during the war. Berlin developed the character called Cacciato. During the course of the book, Berlin takes the reader on an exciting journey to find Cacciato, who had left his troop and was on his travel

ing to Paris. Cacciato's main function in the novel was to allow Paul Berlin to escape from the reality war and to imagine another life beyond the battle.

discussed in the story. Firstly, Berlin's real time was full of fear and doubt. His real world was the actual war and all the misfortunes it brought. Because Berlin was on guard at the observation post for hours alone, he had no choice but to daydream. Berlin's daydreaming turned into an adventure to Paris. Berlin used Cacciato as a means to escape from the atrocities of the war. Berlin would sit for hour's alone thinking in his head of Cacciato's next adventure. His creative imagination kept him sane from the war. Although he knew Cacciato's journey might have to end, Berlin still valued the adventure and the hope it brought to him. Berlin thought "even if it had to end, there was still pleasure of pretending it might go on forever"(16).

Also, Berlin stressed several times in the "real world" his hopes for a bright future. Berlin envisioned himself leaving the war and going home with honor. His expectations of what he wanted in the real world resembled some of the events that take place in his fantasy world with Cacciato. In Cacciato's journey, Berlin and the other members of the troop stop in Tehran. Going on in Tehran was an execution of a small, young boy. During the execution of the boy "there was a fly on the boy's nose", however, it was during "the dead of winter"(187). The fly would not leave the boy alone. The "boy kept shaking his head and blowing to get rid of it, but the fly stuck fast"(187). Like Berlin, the boy wanted to die with some dignity. The boy was shameful for the way he was departing. Berlin felt the same way about leaving the war. He

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Approximate Word count = 1176
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)