O 'Brien's How To Tell A True War Story'

"How to Tell a True War Story" gives detailed insights on how difficult it must be to experience war, let alone rehash the memories once they have passed. War stories have been a part of many cultures since the beginning of time, in which the leaders and soldiers would regale their battles to earn status and glory among their people. He makes statements that the narrator is almost as important as the actual story itself as the narrator can change how we are effected by a story by changing the perception on what happened. There are also many references to death, which is an inevitable outcome of war. It is always an underlying circumstance but the matter in which it is relayed can determine how the listener feels. There are also different versions of truth, which he feels are all worth considering.

The concept about how to tell a true story is stated by O'Brien that when telling a war story, the truth is of utmost importance--but what matters more is whether or not it is believed. He states that it needs to be believed “in the stomach”, which I relate to a gut feeling. A lot of this is based on the storyteller themselves. If there are many generalizations, especially in war stories, it tends to seem untrue,

O’Brien mentions that the significance of a story is whether you believe it or not. This is an accurate summary for this entire chapter. O’Brien leads us through tales within his story that reflect the truest truth, but also perceptions of truth. In his story, the man died from sunlight, carrying him up and exploding him into a tree. In his story, the man died from stepping on a land mine and being blown apart. Both are true, but one is a perception, but that does not make it any less true. I think this can be applied to life in general—go with your gut. There is a reason that phrase is a cliché, but O’Brien conveys to us that that is the general way to know if what you hear is