Blackwater: A Short Story

In the essay, “How to Tell a True War Story,” Tim O’Brien tells several stories of war to illustrate to his readers the criteria for truth in storytelling. O’Brien offers his readers a guide to telling and determining war stories that are true, for the author, true does not necessarily

A true war story is rather difficult, if not impossible, to share when it goes beyond one’s imagination. Regarding such a story, one morally sound aspect about it is that it lacks morality or meaning to it. Extracting facts from a true war story is a daunting task because what seems to happen is what actually occurs. In what is to follow, I will tell one awful true war story.

Tim O’Brien’s “How to tell a True War Story”      According to the author Tim O’Brien, people tend to readily accept the ‘facts’ presented of what happened during a war. People do not consider the existence of fallacies regarding the actual stories of what happens in wars, few consider that the ‘facts’ of an incident often change through people’s words. The film ‘Saving the Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg features both facts and seemingness part of the war story. Since it is so difficult to fully describe a war using human language, Spielberg ended up revising his stories to make sense out of it. Spielberg included parts that did not occur or exclude parts that did occur in order to make their stories seem more credible. According

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.

While passage two also serves to inform about the different aspects that exists in the swamp, the author’s engaging tone is apparent in their constant use of listing descriptive adjectives to instill a sense of danger and awe of what an experience in the swamp would be like if one were to witness it themselves. Unlike in

The Rebirth of an American Solider Darkness surrounds the evening sky. The stars were peeking out from their dark home. It looked as if God took a straight pin, poked a sheet of paper with tiny holes. Crickets softly played their symphony as the world slept. James laid in his bunk, staring off into the darkness. He wondered what the day had in store for him. The night watchman quietly walked his route, like a thief in the night.

Title War stories are usually an emotional or depressing version of someone’s experience during their time in war. In Tim O’Brien’s short story, “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” and Youtube video, “How to Tell A True War Story” he expresses many of his emotions and his journey after he returned from combat. He explained how scary the war can be, encouraging you to stay away from warfare so you don't have to deal with the guilt he feels, and how depressing and how much his life has changed since returning from his deployment.

Jackson, Wyoming was typical small town America. You couldn't spit without hitting a building or several. Yet, unlike most small towns, Jackson was a thriving tourist destination as it served as a gateway to the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and National Elk Refuge. Though the town itself only hosted close to ten thousand souls. Compared to Miami, Jackson was quaint and serene, his own personal refuge. As sheriff his worst fear was the occasional drunk tourist or rowdy local, as opposed to a barrage of lead. He may still wear his vest, but at least he didn’t have to pop anxiety pills anymore. Well, at least now when he took them it wasn’t because of having lived in Miami.

Short Story Explicative Critique “How To Tell A True War Story” In Tim O’Brian’s short excerpt, How to Tell A True War Story, the narrator recounts his hardening experiances in the Vietnam War (1956-1975). O’Brian details the story of Rat during the war, and his experiances losing his best friend. Through the use of literary divices such as imagry, paradoxical ideas, as well as themes that juxtapose each other, O’Brian is able to deliver an effective message in reguards to the complex relationship between physical war and war stories. The use of imagery and discriptive language allows for a realistic experience for the reader, and ultimatly amplifies the audience’s percenption of the text. Additionally, paradoxies are included

The Battle Within Bowe Bergdahl The second season of the podcast series, Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig, an American Journalist, focuses on a soldier named Bowe Bergdahl, who, at the age of 19, enlisted into the Coast Guard. Bowe Bergdahl only lasted a couple weeks in training due to the fact

It was a day like any other, until Surai hears a piercing screech that slowly fades away. “Hey, did you guys hear that?” says Surai. “Yeah it sounded like a scream” replies Tooler. “I wonder who it was?” questions Mickey. All of them rush to the edge and discover nothing. They all say their goodnights and return to our rooms. They all go to sleep wondering who made that noise. The next day we wake up and find a load of people crowded on the deck. “It’s chaos” Surai says. Tooler goes up and asks Schmedrick what’s wrong. “Schmandon has gone missing, and a bunch of people thought they heard a scream last night” replies Schmedrick. Surai, Mickey, and Tooler then realize that it was Schmandon who made the scream last night. “I think that Schmandon

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

Struck I remember the rain, it was calm as it splashed against my kitchen window, while I waited for dinner to be served. It was a normal evening, my family and I gathered around the table ready to celebrate my grandparent's anniversary. My Dad had made a feast to feed all of Africa, over Labor day weekend to congratulate his parents on fifty years of marriage.

I felt a chill run through my body as I stood outside my car and watched the hazy water continuously rush over the sea wall and into the street. I began to step back as the water crept closer to the car’s tires. The water carried debris from boats and

Early in the morning, the sun rose like a flag on a flagpole. Mr. J. turned his alarm clock off, hopped out of bed, grabbed his coffee, got dressed and looked out his window. He could not believe what he saw...