Hey everyone,
We spent a lot of class last Thursday talking about the chapter in O'Brien's book called "How to Tell a True War Story." At the time, I said that Ambrose Bierce said some things that are very similar to what O'Brien says in this chapter. What O'Brien says aren't perfect copies, and Bierce's comments were said in a different context (responding to this guy named William Dean Howells, whose name probably isn't important to you), but I'm sure that you will quickly detect similarities, esp. when you remember that Bierce participated in and wrote a lot about war.
"Probability? Nothing is so improbable as what is true. It is the unexpected that occurs; but that is not saying enough; it is also the unlikely--one might almost say the impossible. . . . Considered from a viewpoint a little anterior in time, it was almost unlikely that any event which has occurred would occur--any event worth telling in a story."
"Fiction has nothing to say to probability; the capable writer gives it not a moment's attention, except to make what is related seem probable in the reading--seem true."
[Compare with O'Brien chapter mentioned, especially p. 68, as cited below):
"In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn't, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredibly craziness."
Bierce, "The Short Story," in The Opinionator, vol. 10, The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce.
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