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How to Tell a True War Story-Tim O’Brien

Summary

Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story (1990) is a story about love, memory, and sorrow. The story has nothing to do with war. Rather, it is about how the special ways through which dawn spreads when a person knows that they have to cross the river and enter the mountains, face their fears, and do things they are afraid of. The story explores the complicated relationship between storytelling and experience. The story is narrated from two perspectives. Half of the story is told by O’Brien, in his perspective as a soldier, as a repeat of various old Vietnam stories, while half of the story is narrated by his persona as a storyteller as a discussion about the art of storytelling. In summary, How to Tell a True War Story is about a anonymous narrator that talks about the actions and thoughts of Jimmy Cross in third person. Jim Cross serves as a lieutenant in an army unit that is on mission during the Vietnam war. Cross seems preoccupied with the letters that Martha sent him before joining the army. He dated the young lady before joining the army. He wonders whether she is a virgin or not. Cross thinks about the love he has for Martha, although the letters do not day of Martha feels the same way too.

The Theme of Truth

The theme of truth stands out as the overall theme in O’Brien’s story How to Tell a True War Story. In general, truth has to do with a fact of belief being accepted as true. According to O’Brien, something cannot be deemed true unless it feels as true. In this viewpoint, whether the action took place or not is not important because things happen all the time but that does not make them true. Towards the end, the audience feels disappointed and betrayed after realizing that Kiowa, Rat, and Mitchell Sander are not real but rather fictional creations. The author tries to pass across the message that despite the characters being made up, they carry with them great truth and meaning. True characters and stories do not necessarily need to fit perfectly into their character roles and narratives. In essence, the best way for the author to tell his Vietnam experience in the story is tell a story about the truth and not the happening truth. Tim O’Brien’s use of truth in this story indicates a shifting reality during war times. Without a doubt, O’Brien attempts to use story-truth to connect his audience with the subject of Vietnam. The attempt is unsuccessful because instead of connecting readers to the author’s experiences, it alienates them hence breaching the trust of writers and readers.

Setting

Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story setting is in the Vietnam War at a time when Curt lemon has just lost his life in the mountains. This marks the beginning of the conflict encountered throughout the play since Curt Lemon succumbed because of war and the jungles of Vietnam that are always filled with traps. This death made Rat to let his emotions get the better of him. Curt’s death is the main reason why Tim told his story in the first place.

Characters

How to Tell a True War Story employs both major and minor characters to tell the story and push forward O’Brien’s agenda. One of the main characters is Lieutenant Jonny Cross, who serves in Alpha Company. He was never in support of the idea to go to war and lead men, but instead, he concentrates on his newfound love for a girl named Martha. Elroy is a man whom O’Brien considers as his life hero. After O’Brien’s attempt at going to Canada, Elroy is the one that takes him in. Martha is Jimmy Cross’ Lieutenant love interest. They have only been to one date back in college and she sends him love letters and pebbles, to which him good luck in the war. Norman Bowker and Dave Jensen are also other main characters. Norman returned with seven medals from the war but he is tortured with the guilt of Kiowa’s death. He feels responsible for his death (Gallagher, 56). Dave Jensen is a soldier that served in the same platoon as O’Brien. Tim O’Brien is also a character in the text. The collection is a collection of O’Brien’s experiences before, during, and after serving as a soldier in the Vietnam war. Other supporting characters include Ted Lavender, Azar, Henry Dobbins, Bob “Kat Rilley, Mitchell Sanders, Lee, Kathleen, Mark Fossie, Essie Diamond, Mary Anne, Billie, Max, among others. The author does a good job of depicting them as the perfect supporting cast for the story. They play a critical role in expounding the theme of truth.

Plot

The plot in Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story is unlike any other. In the traditional sense it is not a story because it does not proceed in the usual chronological and straight path from the beginning to the end. Instead, it is a compilation of many shirt stories that interspeed with instructions has to do with true stories during the Vietnam War. The story starts begins with the words, “This is true” before narrating a story about his friend Rat who is writing a letter to the sister of his late friend. The letter can be described as long and heartfelt. Rat waits for reply for two months but unfortunately she never replies the letter. One cannot necessarily say that the story lacks flow because the events in the story relate to each other. Despite the stories being written in the form of a collection of the short story, they follow each other smoothly and there is no doubt that it is how the author intended them to be.

Works Cited

Gallagher, Molly J. “Opening a Trapdoor in Your Soul: Tim O’Brien’s Pursuit of a True War Story.” (2019).