How To Tell A True War Story by Tim O´brien

The narration of real events blended with fictional additions, and vice versa, is inconsequential compared to how the moral of each story resonates with the reader. Plots and ideas get made up in order to “get at the real truth” (O’Brien 81). The ““story-truth” has little to do with the reality of war. Instead, the onus is on the reader to determine the value of the work in her own life, to make sense of the connections arising from intense conflict” (Smith 116). The stories become true depending on the varying emotional response of the reader, coming alive under the canopy of personal experience and individual reaction.

Through Tim O’Brien’s storytelling structure, specific details, and vivid imagery, the blurring of the lines between truth and fiction successfully exemplifies the story larger in meaning as it becomes an integral part of the narrative itself. As the story starts off, there is grave uncertainty that exists everywhere with O’Brien’s way of storytelling of the Vietnam War experience. This uncertainty helps to establish the blurring of the fiction and truth as readers fail to get an idea of what is believed to be factual. The author begins the story with a short intro of Jimmy Cross and his beloved Martha. However, Martha did not love Cross the way he had loved her.

Whereas ‘Suicide in the Trenches’ in the Trenches didn’t use as many different techniques and did not use them as effectively. I think the title of ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ was particularly effective in the way it was used ironically. The way Owen talked to the reader as if they would never be able to understand unless they were there created a major impact on the reader. Another way the poem was so effective was how the different similes Owen used could be interpreted differently by different readers. For all the reasons listed above I belive Wilfred Owen was more successful in delivering a poem that made the reader take note of the theme and the impact of war.

It tells of the emotional and physical hardships of war and how the many men in Vietnam coped with these hardships. The importance of using literary devices and characters to accentuate a theme makes the reader not only more interested in the story, but more engaged in the reading of the story so that the reader can picture what is happening. In his captivating story “How to Tell a True War Story,” author Tim O’Brien delineates that the theme of both the physical and emotional isolation of war can be used to create a war story through the fictional representation of Tim O’Brien, and his astute use of verbal irony and point of view. The character, Tim O’Brien, plays a very important part in “How to Tell a True War Story.” Here is a quote from Tim O’Brien in the story. "It happened nearly twenty years ago, but I sti... ... middle of paper ... ...ation of war is dealt with by other soldiers.

Tim O’Brien tells the true story of Rat experiences of the war changing his life. Bob Kiley, a soldier that everyone called Rat experienced a type of warfare that caused him a personal type of madness. O’Brien believes that Rat’s true experiences began when he lost his friend Lemon. Lemon and Rat was playing catch when Lemon stepped on a booby-trap. Today, people have counselors and support systems to assist them with deal with the death of a partner in war.

O’Brien moves the reader from the short and simple statement “This is the truth” to the conclusion that, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nohting much is ever very true” (O’Brien, 428). These two statements frame the entire irony of the story, from its beginning to its end. Almost like the popular saying “A wise man admits that he knows nothing.” Works Cited O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed.

This provides a dramatic contrast in mood, setting and action from the harmonious peace of the sanctuary section. The 'natural cycle of things' that Jim has been so in tune to has disappeared with the disturbance and destructive nature of war. Throughout the latter half of the novel, during which Jim is caught like a fly in the web of war, the layers of discontent are evident - disharmony is a constant theme. This is made far more apparent through the way in which Malouf uses Jim as a reference to the old world, when everything was ordered and followed a pattern. Jim was there because of the unnatural act of war, but as 'a kind of private reassurance for himself alone', there is 'the presence of the birds'.

The diction that Owen ha... ... middle of paper ... ...ry a soldier tells is the truth. It also contradicts what is portrayed in movies. O'Brien makes the reader question the truth behind war in a way that Owen is not able to. In fact his entire book is dedicated to unraveling a true war stories. The similarities and differences between O'Brien's book and Owen's poem help convey a single message.

Curt was killed by stepping on a rigged mortar round while playing a game with Rat Kiley. His body was blown into pieces and thrown into the tree that Rat and him were playing under. This is a very gruesome and horrific scene that the soldiers had to experience but O’Brien sees it differently. ... ... middle of paper ... ... burdens will always be a part of war and O’Brien portrays how bad it can affect certain people. The Things They Carried is a famous novel that depicts the truths of war.

The lighthearted irony quickly transitions into dark satire with the use of dramatic irony, the setting, and situational irony to mock the glorification of war and introduce reality. In dramatic irony, the audience knows what is going to happen, but the characters do not. The names of the characters in Remarque's novel have certain meanings that correlate with what they experience. The first light-hearted and ironic account is Himmelstoss's name. "After a couple of days Himmelstoss comes up to us.