Paris Symbol in Going After Cacciato

For most of the novel, Paul Berlin and his fellow soldiers are trying to travel to Paris. Paris is significant in the history of Vietnam, both because France once occupied Vietnam as a colonial power (affecting all its political turmoil since) and because it’s the city in which Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho negotiated peace in Vietnam in 1973. (Paris has also hosted many peace negotiations—the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, for example). While the purpose of the soldiers’ mission to Paris is supposedly to track down Cacciato, a soldier who’s gone AWOL, it’s clear from very early on that the soldiers also want to go to Paris—a beautiful, peaceful city without any of the dangers they’ve become accustomed to in Vietnam. Paris symbolizes a physical place of security and ease, and also a state of mind in which the soldiers are untroubled by their trauma and guilt. It doesn’t take long for the soldiers to discover that Paris simply isn’t this place, however: there’s no way to run from one’s own psychological problems.

Paris Quotes in Going After Cacciato

The Going After Cacciato quotes below all refer to the symbol of Paris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Fantasy, Magical Realism, and Storytelling Theme Icon

He would go to Europe. That's what he would do. Spend some time in Fort Dodge then take off for a tour of Europe. He would learn French. Learn French, then take off for Paris, and when he got there he would drink red wine in Cacciato's honor.

Related Characters: Paul Berlin, Cacciato

Related Symbols: Paris

Page Number and Citation: 48

Explanation and Analysis:

Then they were falling. Paul Berlin felt it in his stomach. A tumbling sensation. There was time to snatch for Sarkin Aung Wan's hand, squeeze tight, and then they were falling. The road was gone and they were simply falling, all of them, Oscar and Eddie and Doc, the old lieutenant, the buffalo and the cart and the old women, everything, tumbling down a hole in the road to Paris.

Related Characters: Paul Berlin, Lieutenant Corson, Sarkin Aung Wan, Oscar Johnson, Eddie Lazzutti

Related Symbols: Paris, Tunnels

Page Number and Citation: 76

Explanation and Analysis:

Spec Four Paul Berlin: I am asking for a break from violence. But I am also asking for a positive commitment. You yearn for normality—an average house in an average town, a garden, perhaps a wife, the chance to grow old. Realize these things. Give up this fruitless pursuit of Cacciato. Forget him. Live now the dream you have dreamed. See Paris and enjoy it. Be happy. It is possible. It is within reach of a single decision.”

Related Characters: Sarkin Aung Wan (speaker), Paul Berlin, Cacciato

Related Symbols: Paris

Page Number and Citation: 318

Explanation and Analysis:

"I guess it's better this way," the old man finally said. "There's worse things can happen. There's plenty of worse things."
"True enough, sir."
"And who knows? He might make it. He might do all right." The lieutenant's voice was flat like the land. "Miserable odds, but—"
"But maybe."
"Yes," the lieutenant said. "Maybe so."

Related Characters: Paul Berlin (speaker), Lieutenant Corson (speaker), Cacciato

Related Symbols: Paris

Page Number and Citation: 336

Explanation and Analysis:

Paris Symbol Timeline in Going After Cacciato

The timeline below shows where the symbol Paris appears in Going After Cacciato. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...soldiers, has departed. A soldier named Doc Peret tells Corson that Cacciato has gone to Paris. Corson seems to understand what Doc is saying, since he repeats the word “Paris,” pronouncing... (full context)

...to discuss Cacciato’s disappearance. Corson asks Berlin if it’s true that Cacciato has gone to Paris, and Berlin replies that it is. Cacciato, he adds, is a fool—a simple-minded idiot who... (full context)

...he watches, Berlin recalls Cacciato looking through an old atlas, plotting out his walk to Paris. (full context)

...his skull exploding, throwing blood everywhere. Then, he imagines “a miracle”—Cacciato succeeding in walking to Paris. Berlin turns to Doc, and mentions that Cacciato “did some pretty brave things.” Doc nods,... (full context)

...walks, he wonders if it might not be possible that Cacciato could make it to Paris—perhaps there’s a one in a million chance. The squad loses sight of Cacciato, and they... (full context)

...He still wants to believe that Cacciato could succeed in his plan to walk to Paris. “Yes, it could be done,” he tells himself. Suddenly, it begins to rain. (full context)

...“won some medals.” Next, he fantasizes about visiting Europe, where he’ll learn French and explore Paris “in Cacciato’s honor.” He maintains that it’s possible for a soldier to walk to Paris. (full context)

...One day, while she’s walking with Paul Berlin, she asks him if they’re traveling to Paris. Berlin replies that they might be—anything is possible. Sarkin is overjoyed by Berlin’s response, and... (full context)

...of calm and peace during the war. He thinks about the soldiers’ attempt to reach Paris, and wonders how “they might have found a way.” (full context)

...a way to keep her in the group, and reminds him that they could see Paris together one day. She weeps, knowing that Berlin will never be able to change Corson’s... (full context)

...up Berlin and his fellow soldiers, taking them “down a hole in the road to Paris.” (full context)

...Sarkin asks Berlin—whom she’s begun to call “Spec Four”—if they’ll walk through the streets of Paris together, and Berlin insists that they will, soon enough. Sarkin asks Berlin if it’s necessary... (full context)

...which way Cacciato went, and Sarkin, smiling slightly, points toward the railroad station—“The way to Paris.” (full context)

...Paul Berlin imagines telling his friends and family the story of how Cacciato walked to Paris. He imagines the objections his friends will have—don’t you need passports to enter a foreign... (full context)

...life in the city of Cholon, where her family is from. They still talk about Paris, and Sarkin continues to fantasize about walking though Paris with Berlin. Without telling his friends,... (full context)

...but nothing he says seems to work. Corson mutters, “send me a card from Paree” (Paris). (full context)

Rhallon asks Doc about his soldiers’ mission, and Doc explains that they’re traveling to Paris to hunt down Cacciato. Rhallon nods—if Cacciato is indeed a deserter, he says, then he... (full context)

...tells the soldiers to admit that it is impossible to walk all the way to Paris. The soldiers do so. (full context)

...village overlooks the sea, which makes Berlin think of the future, of escape, and of Paris. (full context)

...pass by the Danube. “It was easy,” the narrator maintains. Berlin is excited to reach Paris. He imagines clean, neat rooms and beautiful buildings. He considers that the war in Vietnam... (full context)

It is April, 1969, and the soldiers are in Luxembourg, boarding a train for Paris. The train ride is only four hours—a fact that baffles Paul Berlin, who’s been thinking... (full context)

...to a close, and Berlin looks through his window to see the outer city of Paris. There are farms and old buildings, many of which have been destroyed in the chaos... (full context)

Berlin, Sarkin, and the other soldiers leave their train and begin their stay in Paris. Berlin notes that the city looks strangely blurry—as though he’s in a dream. But Berlin... (full context)

One day, Sarkin suggests that she and Paul Berlin move into an apartment in Paris. Berlin is interested in this idea, but he insists that he has to capture Cacciato... (full context)

In the coming days, Berlin and Sarkin look for apartments in Paris. Some are “impossible,” while others are both charming and affordably priced. They eventually find an... (full context)

...fellow soldiers. Berlin is planning to tell them that he and Sarkin are moving to Paris permanently and abandoning the search for Cacciato. But before he can explain himself, Eddie tells... (full context)

The chapter begins with the soldiers and Sarkin walking through the streets of Paris, away from their hotel. Berlin asks the soldiers why they need to leave Paris. Doc... (full context)

The next morning, the soldiers begin their search. They take maps and divide Paris into sections. Corson refuses to search the city—in part because of his health, and in... (full context)

...“The next morning he found Cacciato.” Berlin is walking through Les Halles (a neighborhood of Paris) when he sees Cacciato walking through the streets, looking healthy and happy. Berlin follows him... (full context)

...she and the soldiers have traveled for six months and about 8,600 miles to reach Paris—by coincidence, this is the same number of American lives that have been lost in Vietnam... (full context)

Berlin remembers Cacciato, who left the other soldiers, saying he would go to Paris. Berlin remembers the day that he and his fellow soldiers chased Cacciato into the mountains,... (full context)

...it becomes clear that Doc is talking about Lieutenant Corson. He and Sarkin have left Paris, taking with them everything in the apartment were Berlin and Sarkin were planning to live.... (full context)

...they discuss Cacciato’s desertion, and the possibility that Cacciato would have succeeded in walking to Paris. The odds of such a thing are “miserable.” Nevertheless, it’s possible that Cacciato could make... (full context)

Going After Cacciato

Tim O’Brien

Paris Symbol Analysis

Paris Quotes in Going After Cacciato

Paris Symbol Timeline in Going After Cacciato