Chapter 7: How to Tell a True War Story
Find a few of O'Brien's elements of a "true war story." (such as, "A true war story is never moral.") Why does O'Brien believe these elements are important to a "true" war story?
- One of O'Brien's elements of a "true war story" would be on page 66, "You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you." he included this in his selection because not all war stories are about heroes, and that people make mistakes. - Another of his elements is on page 74, "A true war story if truly told, makes the stomach believe" he most likely decided to include this element into his list because if a war story was real you wouldn't just believe it, you would also feel it or get an overwhelming sensation.
a) According to O'Brien, how do you tell a true war story? List the characteristics from his narrative. b) What does he mean when he says that true war stories are never about war? In what sense is a "true" war story actually true? That is, in O'Brien's terms, what is the relationship between historical truth and fictional truth?
a) - "A true war story is never moral" (65) - "You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you." (66) - "In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen." (67) - "In many cases a true war story cannot be believe. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility." (68) - "You can tell a true war story by the way it never seems to end. Not then, not ever." (72) - "In a true war story, if there's a moral at all, it's like the thread that makes the cloth. You can't tease it out. You can't extract the meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning. "(74) - "True war stories do not generalize. They do not indulge in abstraction or analysis... It comes down to gut instinct. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe" (74) - "Often in a true war story there isn't even a point, or else the point doesn't hit you until twenty years later..." (78) - "You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask." (79) b) - O'Brien is trying to explain the difficulty and opaqueness to war's experience. War is contradictory and not easily described in truth as readers are used to having it spelled out. - After reading the chapter I can gather that true war stories are never about war, they have a hidden deeper meaning to them. The storyteller adds details to hook the listener in and hopes that maybe one day they will understand the deeper meaning of the story. A true war story is hard to find because the storyteller will have details that didn't happen or over exaggerate what did happen. This creates a dishonest relationship between the storyteller and the listener/reader because they most likely haven't been put in a situation similar to that of the storyteller is describing. If the storyteller exaggerates the story and lies then the story isn't real for both the listener/reader and them. If the storyteller tells the truth then the listener/reader will probably second guess if the story is real, leaving it only real for the storyteller.
Why is the baby water buffalo scene more disturbing than the death of one of O'Brien's platoon members, Curt Lemon?
Compared to the death of Curt Lemon, the death of the baby water buffalo was more disturbing. Tim O'Brien explained the death of the baby water buffalo in more detail that allowed the readers to visualize what was happening in the scene. O'Brien described the death of troop member, Curt Lemon, in less detail than he did the death of the baby water buffalo. He did this on purpose because he didn't feel comfortable mentioning the details of his friend's death.
O'Brien explains that this story was "not a war story. It was a love story." In what sense is this a "love story"? Why?
O'Brien mentions "not a war story. It was a love story." after describing what had happened to his troop member, Curt Lemons. He wrote about his death in a peaceful and comforting way by focusing on the beauty and not the negative side. On page 67, "...when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms." O'Brien uses details of nature in a soothing way to describe the environment of his friend's death.
Why does this story begin with the line: "This is true." How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is "this" true?
Tim O'Brien, starters the chapter with the sentence "This is true." to draw in the reader. The sentence prepares the reader by making a clue that he is going to tell us how we can determine if a war story is true or exaggerated.