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Summary Of How To Tell A True War Story

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“How to Tell a True War Story” If you died today, who would remember you tomorrow? A true war story is not meant to be told about war and the perpetual series of events that happened in Vietnam. It’s about the special way the main character Rat Kiley in Tim O’Brien’s short story , “How to Tell a True War Story” faced the loss of his friend Curt Lemon. It’s a story about how Rat Kiley’s troop mates also witnessed the horrific beauty war constructs, but mostly it’s about how war doesn’t have a true story the ending is a mystery filled with infinite possibilities. Indirect characterization and personification expressed in Tim O’Brien’s, “How to Tell a True War Story” shows how insanity drives a person to act out …show more content…

First person narrative is used to state, “He shot it in the hindquarters and in the little hump at its back. He shot it twice in the flanks. It wasn’t to kill; it was just to hurt”(O’Brien 5). This shows how Rat Riley tortures the baby buffalo repeatedly to express his sorrow. This also shows he was torn by the fact he would never see his friend Curt Lemon again and hoped the baby buffalo felt the same pain he felt. Rat says, “ Jesus Christ man, I write this beautiful fucking letter, I slave over it, and what happens? The dumb cooze never writes back” (O’Brien1) This shows insight on how cross Rat Riley is at Curt’s sister for not writing him back. It also shows how Rat is left in despair with only insanity to remember. Tim O’Brien also used personification as a literary device to create a display of insanity. Nature and scenery was expressed through human characteristics to show delusion in Mitchell Sanders mind. Mitchell Sanders says, “ All these different voices. Not human voices though. Because it’s in the mountains. Follow me? The rock- it’s talking. And the fog,too,

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