Realistic human beings tend to not care for stories. Like the narrator points out on pg. 83, (in the most annoying chapter EVER!) you feel cheated if told a story and it never really happened. "Without grounding reality, its just a trite bit of puffery." Then why read stories?
We read stories not only because a teacher says to, but for entertainment. With a really good story, we may take some value or lesson away from it. With war stories, I believe we are suppose to take away an understanding of war or maybe just hope that it will soon end. Shortly followed by the quote of being cheated, it is also stated "a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Absolute occurence is irrelevant." The truth is what we want to hear, especially in a war story. Putting myself in the characters shoes', I would want to hear that a buddy attempted to save the lives of those around him, rather that they all got blown to pieces by a gernade. I wouldn't care if it happened or not, to believe those around me are willing to risk their lives for mine grants me hope. In war, soliders need some sort of hope for a positive outcome. If a solider hasn't witnessed this for his or herself, they would need a story to hold on to. Without hope, there is no reason to be a brave soilder, because all is lost anyhow. I think this is what the author is trying to explain to us, or he is just trying to makes us all hate him!
I think this novel is less about war and more about the human condition. Think about it, how many passages are actual about combat or strategy? We are almost exclusively presented stories of men at odds with themselves and their environment.
ReplyDelete"How to Tell a True War Story" might be the most integral chapter in the book because it explains O'Brien's reasoning for the novel--truth does not lie in fact but in emotion.
The quote "a true war story does not depend on that kind of truth. Absolute occurrence is irrelevant" is not a contradiction (O'Brien 83). Our author is saying that a true war story is not about war, it's about the soldiers' humanity and the ability to communicate those human feelings.
O'Brien does not want us to take away a lesson, just a feeling of loss and emptiness that encompasses war. "A true war story is never moral" (O'Brien 68). This is why, in a true war story, the soldier cannot jump onto the grenade to save his comrades.
So... what's a "realistic human being"?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I entirely follow what you are communicating above? I agree that "hope" is something that is carried throughout the text, but so is despair. I wonder, then, if you are still desiring the "grounding reality" that O'Brien continually reveals as only ever "puffery"?
(Note: please proofread!)