I believe that it is almost impossible to tell a “true” story. To tell a story in such a way that others experience the events in the story in the same way that the storyteller did, he/she must add details (that he/she may have in reality forgotten) to convey the emotions involved in the situation. It’s very difficult to remember all the details about something you did or something that happened to you and therefore storytellers must invent some of these details (often subconsciously) to convey meaning. If I were to tell a story about how I played in my tennis matches this past weekend, I know that I could not explain every point I played in full detail. But I can remember how I felt and I could tell a story about how my matches went in general. I’m sure that even though I may think that I am explaining things exactly as they happened, some details would be lost in translation and some would be created in my mind to convey how I felt at that particular moment in my match. But just because I remember details a little differently than they actually “truthfully” happened during my match, doesn’t mean my story doesn’t have validity. I don’t exactly remember the feel of the court under my feet, I don’t exactly remember the sound my sneakers made as I stretched out wide for a ball, and I don’t exactly remember the look on my opponent’s face as she hit a winner down the line, but adding in these details as I think I remember them would make for a much better, a much more engrossing story than just the cold hard facts would. If I just told you the scores, the entire emotional side of the story would be lost. In fact it wouldn’t be much of a story at all.
In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’ Brien may have written a fictional story, but I’m sure that the emotions are real. By writing a fiction, it was probably easier for him to convey the actual experiences he and others had during the war. I can imagine that during war, the line between reality and fiction is blurry and that it is hard to remember events exactly as they occurred. But the emotions stick with you and to convey these emotions to others who learn your story, you must add in those forgotten details as you believe they happened or so that they best convey the true feelings of the events described in your story. In the beginning of “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien dedicates the novel to some of its characters. This signifies to me that, although the characters themselves may be fictional, the emotions and values they represent and the things that they experience in the novel have truth.
I believe that the biggest reason we tend to place details into true events (true being how it was perceived by the person telling the story), most of the time subconsciously as you stated, is more for our sake then the sake of our audience. I think it is even more true when re-living the lives and emotions of those that have died. The reason is because in our own minds we must first make the story true. Unfortunately, as humans with a brain capacity that is limited, it is nearly impossible to remember every little detail, and thus convey every little emotion, in a story. So in order for us to convince ourself that we were there, that we saw this, that we felt that, we must finish the puzzle within our head by making the last few pieces. Once these details are in place we are able to convey a story with greater confidence for we truly believe that it happened in the way we tell ourselves it happened; even down to the little details. Once we do this we can convey the emotions to others.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that this is an important tool for us, because, in the case of remembering important people and events in our lives, we feel as if these memories are so important that we must have every detail in order to truly preserve the moment and the person in immortality.