What Is The Importance Of A Lie In Ambush By Tim O Brien

The Importance of a Lie

Three Important Messages Suggested in Tim O’Brien’s Ambush

Julianna Claire, an award winning poet once said, “War makes men act like fools, and makes fools pretend to be brave.” War is a very difficult and dangerous game. There must be a just cause to fight for, supporters on either side of the war, and clear plan on what the war ought to look like. Though, as much as countries plan their strategies and perfect their tactics, war never seems to go how people think it should. War creates heartache, makes countries question their governments, and changes the lives of the soldiers who fight in them. One such story that address the damages of war, is Ambush, by Tim O’Brien (1946). In this short story, Tim O’Brien tells a story of a young man fighting in Vietnam who kills a member of the Vietnam army. Robin Silbergleid, a neurosurgeon in Seattle, Washington, who minored in

At a young age, all kids are told that it is never okay to tell a lie. Parents tell their children that honesty is the best policy, and teachers tell their students that it is better to hurt someone with the truth, than to protect them with a lie. However, is it okay to lie if your nine year old daughter is asking about death? Is there an exception to the rule if the lie you are telling is to protect more than one person? Tim O’Brien writes, “It was a difficult moment, but I did what seemed right, which was to say, ‘of course not...’” (811). Tim O’Brien includes this line because this nine year old girl was not old enough to handle the truth that her father was capable of killing another human being. He lied to keep this relationship with his daughter in tact; because if she would have known the truth, then she may not have thought of her father in the same way ever again. Though everyone is taught at a young age that it is not okay to lie, sometimes it is the only, and most logical option one