Sunday, January 29, 2012

How to Tell a True War Story

In my opinion, I liked this chapter the best because if you think about it, it is completely true. Knowing mulitple people who have served in a war, I started to realize that some of the stories they told me might not be true. "A true story is never Moral. A true war story cannot be believed in many cases. You can tell a true war story by the way it never seems to end. A true war story never generalizes. And, you can tell a true war story by the questions you ask," (O'Brien 68-83), this goes to explain that you will never learn something from a war story and it should not contain very much detail, otherwise it is most likely not all true. This chapter means the most to me not for a reason pertaining to the book, but more for the fact that my younger brother will be attending The United States Military Academy at West Point next year. As we discussed in class, "War changes people," and not always for the better, so I am curious how my little brother will act in a couple years. At this point in the story, I would have to say that Mary Anne is my favorite character because she is a perfect example of how war changes people.
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5 comments:

  1. Ian PierceJanuary 30, 2012 at 10:29 AM

    I agree, The chapter also shows that pretty much, just about anyone can go into the war. I like how fast Mary Anne went from being miss high school cheerleader to miss I wanna kill people. It was such a quick change.

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  2. Liz FalatachJanuary 30, 2012 at 10:29 AM

    I also liked this chapter. I liked it because it is believable. I liked that there were so many ways that you can tell a true war story. I agree that it makes you realize that you just don't know if war stories are true. I guess you have to be there to really know what happened.

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  3. Kelsey QuinnJanuary 30, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    This was my favorite chapter as well. I agree with what Tim O'Brien was saying about war stories. (How they don't have a moral and are generalized.) I like how he uses different stories to make his point and makes you think and question what you are reading.

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  4. KevinJanuary 31, 2012 at 6:52 PM

    I think truth doesn't fill in the emotional blanks in a war story. People exaggerate in emotional stories often to get their point across and to fill in moments forgotten or missed at the moment of happening.

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  5. Sydney PiechaFebruary 1, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    I agree, Mary Anne is my favorite character as well. I think that the theme "war changes people" can relate to anybody. Whether they are a soldier, a family member of a soldier, or just a bystander.. war changes everybody.

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