ipl-logo

True War Story

939 Words4 Pages

The theme of “How to Tell a True War Story” is war, the true stories, and how it is perceived to those who don’t understand it. Author O’Brien really shows the readers the true meaning of war and its truths and lies. O’Brien does this by giving a gung-ho story, and a tear jerking story of how it is easily told in a lie, and then explain what truly happens. “How to Tell a True War Story” gives insight on how telling a story should be told and how to identify a false story to a true story. Truth plays a great role, in fact the truth is used to underlie what really happened and what the soldiers thought happened. The truth creates a conflict in the story, such as when the men heard the music playing in the jungle; that music is not really what …show more content…

War is not about coming home a hero, it is the survival of your life and when you’re there; there is no way out, hence don’t listen to stories given about the great stories because it may be a lie. In addition, O’Brien says that a true war story “is never moral. It does not instruct nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior…you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil” (O’Brien 347). This quote proves the fact that we are born to expect events such as war to be an honor, however it is a hell; if it sounds too good to be true than it is a true war …show more content…

O’Brien shows the different methods of telling a story. For example, he uses the story of a man who jumps on a grenade to save three others, hence it is easy to tell this story and for others to believe it because it is heroic and great. However, he then brings up an alternate story of how a man jumps on the grenade but all the others die as well. O’Brien proves a point, most people would believe the first example this shows that ultimately a lie can be "truer than the truth." O’Brien is trying to teach the readers to be more open minded and think, ask questions, and verify. O’Brien is not trying to give the readers a story of war; he wants to give an accurate telling of particular stories, teaching readers the truths and lies to a story, and finally the way people fail to accept the truth and decide to take a lie, no matter how accurate the story

Show More
Related
1782 Words | 8 Pages

But Tim O’brien flips those ideas upside down using the chapter “How To Tell A True War Story” in The Things They Carried. The reader learns of a young man whose best friend dies in war, and how he writes a letter to the sister about his life, only to never get one in return. Throughout this chapter, the reader learns how truly contradictory the idea of a “true war story” really is. With a reflective and didactic tone, Tim O’brien effectively teaches those who have not fought in a war how to tell a true war story-- that “a

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

In the short story, “The Man I Killed,” O’Brien focuses on this to show that everyone fighting in a war has a story. He spends the story describing the man he killed and searching for justification of his actions. He carries around guilt with him because of it, and his fellow soldiers try to help him justify and come to terms with his action by saying things like, “You want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down= you want that? I mean, be honest,” (126) and “Tim, it’s a war.

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

(page 68). This is why Tim O’Brien writes the way he does. He wants the reader to believe his story and get a sense of what war is truly

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

Storytelling has such a large impact on all stages of life. Stories are told to teach a lesson, give hope, or get someone through a hard time. Tim O’Brien uses storytelling in his book, The Things They Carried, to teach lessons from war, and help readers understand about the baggage people bring to war. The publisher section of this novel has this warning in it, "This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author's own life all incidents, names, and characters are imaginary” (O'Brien).

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

In Tim O’Brien’s THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, there is a chapter called How to Tell a True War Story. In this chapter, he states how you should never trust a “true war story” because many aspects go into a war story. He characterizes them; at the end of the day, you are the listener and should be skeptical. Ask questions and be curious.

Read More
886 Words | 4 Pages

O'Brien shows us that "In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn't, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness." (pg. 71).

Read More
939 Words | 4 Pages

The physical nature of war makes it nearly impossible for the soldiers to communicate their experiences to those living outside of the combat zone. Communication in war is different than how civilians communicate and that makes it impossible for the soldiers to escape their guilt by telling their stories to others. In war language becomes sharper and everything is in code however, after coming home the soldiers realize there are new codes that have been put in place that no one taught them. During the war the men try writing letters to those closest to them in an effort to express themselves, but are ultimately disappointed when the recipients fail to respond or do so in a way that minimizes their suffering. The war story that their civilian

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Firstly, both of the authors’ stories end with the protagonists surviving the war, but making them feel regretful and unworthy of living. O’Brien survives after being a soldier during the

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

This quote epitomizes the trauma caused by war. O’Brien is trying to cope, mostly through writing these war stories but has yet to put it behind him. He feels guilt, grief, and responsibility, even making up possible scenarios about the life of the man he killed and the type of person he was. This

Read More
512 Words | 3 Pages

(O’Brien 53) O’Brien uses this quote to emphasize the importance of how the story happened versus how the story was perceived and remembered. This helps show that story-truth is truer than

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

“How to Tell a True War Story” and “Ambush” are stories that both explore on topics: truth, the real definition of a true war story, and the role of truth. O 'Brien starts off “How to Tell a True War Story” with “This is true.” Starting this story with such a bold sentence not only makes it seem more true, but to some extent, it acts as a comfort statement to the narrator’s own doubts, as if there were unspeakable uncertainties and lies of the narrator. The title of this story also comes into play, with a meta-fictional name “How to Tell a True War Story”, as if it were a guide, a manual, having a true war story tell the readers how to tell a true war story. However ironically, towards the middle of the story, us as

Read More
1413 Words | 6 Pages

In The Things They Carried, O’Brien’s story-telling method is an attempt to show that the lines between fiction and reality are often not that far. Even though the names or details may not be fully accurate, this does not change the fact that they are a reality for many. Additionally, he challenges the importance that we place on war and links it to a storytelling aspect because he’s pointing out that not every story has a moral to it. With tragic events, we typically want some sort of meaning behind them, some sort of assurance that the incident was not for nothing. However, this is not always true, as a character “Yeah, well…I don’t see no moral”…

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

Telling a true war story can be hard to do, because soldiers are tempted to change some traumatic aspects to make the story easier to comprehend, and not so traumatic for the listener. For the readers who prefer the brutal and gruesome stories,

Read More
1609 Words | 7 Pages

And in the end, of course, a true war story is never about war. It's about sunlight. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow.

Read More

More about True War Story

Related Topics

Open Document