I think it's important to recognize that while The Things They Carried is called a work of fiction, it is also semi-autobiographical. At least thats what my bit of research has told me. Unlike Cat's Cradle we know the narrator, Tim O'Brien, shares similarities with the author. O'Brien really did grow up in Minnesota, really did go to Macalester College, and really was drafted to fight in Vietnam. The stories he shares with us in the novel are as "true" as we want them to be. There is no clear distinction as to whether the O'Brien we're reading about is the O'Brien writing. Apparently this is called verisimilitude, or as O'Brien explains on page 80, "A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth." Does it matter if the narrative about Lemon and Rat ever really occurred? If the answer is important to the audience, than the answer is true because you're invested.
In the chapter curiously titled, "How to Tell a True War Story," O'Brien reveals that in the end it doesn't matter whether or not a war story is true, because that's not the purpose. The end goal is an emotional understanding. The tale of Lemon and Rat appears as a war story mainly because it is interwoven with this theme of what a true war story is, but in reality, O'Brien sees it as a love story. A love story whose truth will never be understood because there are so many parts and so many different interpretations. All the different details made to make us feel emotion, like the baby buffalo or Dave Jensen singing "Lemon Tree" while pulling their comrade's limbs out of the tree. In the end, isn't the story true if we believe in it? If while reading the story we lose sight of reality--even for a moment, then doesn't that make it real enough?
As we discussed in class, Tim O'Brien places himself in the book by relating to the main character. Similar names, occupation, home town etc. I think O'Brien places himself in the book because he wants the audience to feel more sympathy for the soldiers in the story. Placing himself in gives a different kind of meaning behind the emotions.
ReplyDeleteAlso there is more behind the novel than it is being just a war story and you picked up on that there is a love story intertwined in the book. The goal O'Brien is trying to reach is to have the audience experience different details at different emotional states.
I like the last sentence you have in this post. I had a similar thought when reading Cat's Cradle, if I believed the writing even if I was told the facts weren't true then I make myself believe it is a true story. It is all confusing when reading because without having the knowledge of manipulation, one would believe all that is written in a book.