A True War Story

As stated in the thesis, Timothy O’Brien also writes his short story, “How to tell a True War Story,” in the first person narrative, although the style in which he narrates is quite different than from the style in “A & P.’’ O’Brien, who was an actual soldier in the Vietnam War takes on more of an autobiographical approach to telling his “true war story.”

The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

Tim O’Brien uses two narrative techniques in “How to Tell a True War Story”. First he splits the story into three different sections. The first part being Rat Kiley writing his letter to Curt Lemon’s sister about the relationship they had. The next section is describing the correct way of writing a “true war story”. And the last is O’Brien looking back on stories and his story telling techniques. O’Brien separates the story into three different parts to give the reader an example of a story that is “true”. The next section would about the truth about writing a true story and the last section is his personal reflection on the whole situation. The other narrative technique is that O’Brien retells certain events. He retells how Curt Lemon died, he retells Mitchell Sanders telling a story, and he retells how women react when you tell them stories about the war. Tim O’Brien retells stories and

Have you ever been hesitant to share a true story because you suspected that it would appear as a fabricated anecdote to your audience? Well, most of the time we add bunch of things or change a true story to make it sound genuine to our audience. We live in a judgmental and complex world where lying has become a part of our daily lives. Because of this habit, it is hard to differentiate the truth from a fabricated lie. Since I was a child, my parents always talked about battle of Adwa and many events that took place centuries ago. It is always amusing to listen to those stories because it is about heroic act that most of the kings of Ethiopia accomplished. Although I heard different versions of these stories, I always tend to believe my parents’ version. The reason is not simply the credibility of my parents’, but the way it was presented. According to the short story, “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’ Brien, a true war story is hard to accept as true because some of the most agonizing parts are true, while some of the natural parts are not. Tim O’Brien’s narrative shows that a storyteller has the power to shape listeners’ views. We can change our perception because of the story teller, and neglect the fact that we are avoiding the actuality. Therefore by listening to different versions of a story, it will actually help the reader find greater truth of the story.

The short story that will be discussed, evaluated, and analyzed in this paper is a very emotionally and morally challenging short story to read. Michael Meyer, author of the college text The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, states that the author of How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O’Brien, “was drafted into the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart” (472). His experiences from the Vietnam War have stayed with him, and he writes about them in this short story. The purpose of this literary analysis is to critically analyze this short story by explaining O’Brien’s writing techniques, by discussing his intended message and how it is displayed, by providing my own reaction,

Throughout Tim O'Brien's short work "How to tell a true war story" O'Brien has two reoccurring themes. One is of the desensitization of the troops during their hardship regarding the events of the Vietnam War, and the other is of the concept of truth. Truth may seem simple enough to explain, but is in fact endowed with many layers. The story is chalked full of contradictions, as well as lies, and embellishments, and yet O'Brien claims that these are the truth. The truth, whether it be war or society's, is in fact a concept that can be conveyed many times and in many ways. Whereas each is independently untrue, the combined collaboration of these half-truths is in essence the only real truth.

In the text, “How to Tell a True War Story” Tim O’Brien expresses his thoughts about the true war story and how the war story is changed according to the person who tells it. Jon Krakauer illustrates Chris McCandless’s journey into the Alaskan wilderness and reasons for McCandless’s gruesome death in an isolated place, in his book “Into the Wild.” O’Brien relates introspection and a soldier’s war story by saying that the war story portrays the feelings of a soldier. A soldier’s war story is not the exact war story; it is the illustration of that particular soldier’s perception. Narrating a war story is not like inundating others with facts and numbers however, it is about the introspection of a soldier, because that soldier determines

Tim O’Brien uses the themes guilt and morality to portray the impact of war on the Vietnam soldiers. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” morality is evident throughout the whole chapter. At the beginning of the chapter, O’Brien tries to help the reader understand why people share war stories. O’Brien states, “you

Tim O’Brien, while having actually fought in Vietnam, did not write down entirely factual accounts of his experiences there. Due to this, the novel cannot be considered non-fiction and is instead distributed as a fiction title. This is not to say that the stories contained are not, to some degree, similar to what may have actually occurred to the author or other veterans. Many of the stories in the novel are inspired by actual experiences, but it is fiction.

Short story after short story, true or seem to be true, O’Brien demonstrates how hurt invaded each young soldier, and how difficult it was for each of them and together as a unit to get used to the environment and harshness of Vietnam. It was hard to cope with the war so the soldiers would joke about how their friends’ corpses look, rather than to deal with the brutality of death. For

Tim O’Brien reminds us that true war stories are never moral. A war story is true if it is obscene and evil, with no virtue. A true war story will have no examples of the way humans should behave (514). The contributing authors absolutely influence the perception of the war, their works are meaningful, powerful. Further, we have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight and a PBS documentary that took 10 years to complete to consider when forming our opinion. Personally, I am grateful for the influence media and writings have on perceptions of warfare. I am coming to understand my grandfather who served in the Navy and the biases he brought home from the war. While I disagree with them, I am beginning to see where they originate from and why even at the

In “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien, the main protagonist of the tale takes the reader on a captivating and riveting journey. A journey that is filled with guts, gore, and love. O’Brien demonstrates how war can be complex and a paradox in itself. Through O’Brien’s eyes the reader captivates what it is like to be present in a battlefield, and endure the hardships of war. The point of the story is gradually unveiled before the reader’s eyes, as O’Brien guides his audience through a forest of mysticism and doubt.

A characteristic of a true war story is that it is meant to convey an emotion or feeling. In “How to Tell a True War Story,” O’Brien writes, “It comes down to gut instinct. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe.” One of the emotions that Good Morning, Vietnam conveys is the conflicted feeling that most Americans had at the time regarding the government. The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial conflicts in America’s history.

In “How to Tell a True War Story” O’Brien looks for the relationships in between the events during a war and also the art of telling those events. O’Brien doesn’t have a clear idea of what a true war story. He talks about his buddy that was in Vietnam. His buddy`s name was Bob Kiley but everyone called him Rat. O'Brien talks about his friend Rat`s friend gets killed, So Rat sits down and writes a letter to the guy's sister.

I can’t believe it has already been a year since you left to fight in the war. I think a lot of people are still trying to emotionally recover from the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Sometimes, I find it difficult to imagine the times when America was peaceful. Doesn’t it seem like it was a while ago? Alright, enough about that. I don’t want to make you feel miserable thinking about how life used to be. I remember that in your last letter, you asked how Mother and Father are. It surprises me that you even have time to write to us! To be blunt, life is rough like the abrasive side of a sponge . . . all of our spirits wearing down over time as if we were the ones scrubbing plates every day. Unlike pre-war times, everything is being rationed - from clothing to