O’Brien,Tim.“How to Tell a True War Story.”

“How to Tell a True War Story”

1) What implicit problem is created about the story by its first line, “This is true”? How is the notion of “truth” problematized throughout the story and subject to irony?

When someone says “this is true” it makes me think that something they said was not true. It is hard to tell what the “truth” throughout the story is. O’Brien states, “You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask” (295). He is answering the question that everyone is thinking.

3) How are you affected by the description of Curt Lemon being blown up in paragraph 17, 98 and 105?

I though Rat was telling the truth in paragraph 17 about Lemon. O’Brien states how they “shinny up and peel him off” (295).  It would be hard for someone to peel their best friend from a tree. O’Brien says in paragraph 105 “if I could ever get the story right” (295). Rat himself says how he is not telling the truth I start to think what really happened to Lemon

5) What emotions did you feel as you read about the shooting of the water buffalo? How does paragraph 75 achieve these effects?

It was hard for me to believe the shooting of the water buffalo. I was shock at first. I then realized what a great story teller Rat was and thought that might have not occurred. So, it was hard for me to feel any type of emotions.

7) Trace the narrator’s comments about what constitutes a true war story. What do you think these competing and contradictory ideas finally add up to?

O’brien first statement about a true war story it is “never moral” (288). Rat thinks that one should not be “uplifted” after hearing a true war story (288). The second statement about a true war story is that “it’s difficult to separate what happened to have seemed to happen” (289). This justifies Rat reasoning for not being able to remember what really happened to Lemon. Also the third statement about a true war story is that it “cannot be believed” (289). Many people who come home from the war like to make up stories about things that didn’t happen. The fourth statement about a true war story is that “it never seems to end” (291). Rat told more than one story of how Lemon died. He had stories for days. Rat then explains that “if there’s a moral at all, it’s like the thread that makes the cloth” (292). Rat is saying that it is very hard to find a moral in a true war story if there is even one. O’Brien states, “You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask” (295). Throughout the story O’Brien says “This is true.” Answering ones question even step he made.

8) Characterize the narrator. Why must be repeatedly “keep on telling” his war story?

The narrator is using the example of Lemon to show how to tell a true war story. He tells how Lemon dies in more than one way. He keeps repeating “keep on telling” because there is always more to the story. Also, thoughtout the story O’Brien says “this is true.” This means that everything he states is true. The fourth statement about a true war story is that “it never seems to end” (291). So, if something never ends then one must “ keep on telling” his story.

9) Consider O’Brien’s use of profanity and violence in this story. Do you think they are essential or merely sensational?

I think the use of profanity is “merely sensational. Sometimes when people use profanity they think this is a way of expressing their true feelings. There is not much profanity used. So I wouldn’t say that it something Rat uses a lot. When he does use profanity it is to make one understand his point he is trying to make. O’Brien says “Jesus Christ, man, I write this fucking letter, I slave over it, and what happened?” (288). Rat uses profanity sensational about the situation he is in. He is upset because Lemon’s sister never writes him back.

Works Cited

O’Brien,Tim.“How to Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9^th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 287-296. Print.