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Short Story Analysis: How To Tell A True War Story

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Short Story Analysis: How To Tell A True War Story
Philip Hotchkiss
Intro to Literature
Short Story Analysis Paper
October 5, 2009

“How to Tell a True War Story”

I found “How to Tell a True War Story” the most interesting short story we have read so far. Why? Because the story is true and so very real. The story paints such a vivid picture of war and what effects it has on the many men involved. The people are real people, the events are real events, and the story is a real story. It really drives home the point because war is such a big part of life today in which it is always going on. War is part of our past, we are in a war right now, and I’m sure we will have war in the future. It is almost inevitable in ones lifetime to not witness a war which is another reason why it hits so …show more content…
The story began with a six-man party that was to go up into the mountains to listen for enemy movement. They were ordered to be completely silent, not a sound among them unless they heard something which they then were supposed to radio back to base and let them no where to drop the bombs and heavy artillery. Sanders made it a great point to make sure that O’Brien knew that they were supposed to be invisible. They remained silent for one week and it is hard to imagine just being there and not to have made a sound among them. This just seemed to be asking for a mental breakdown. There they laid however for seven days. They were located in the mountains and it is an erie description of them being there. Sanders went deeper in detail mentioning a certain type of fog that just settled over the mountains. This fog was always there. It was as if a blanket was covering them or as it was raining cause everything was wet but no rain and the other thing was that they could not see their hand in front of their face. (pg.545) It was as if they had no eyes or ears for a week straight. One can imagine the kind of games your mind would begin to play. Eventually they begin to hear music and various voices. (pg.545) They thought it was the rock talking, but not only the rock the fog seemed to be talking too. (pg.545) You can assume that they started to freak out and …show more content…
He shows how much the human brain can handle. O’Brien recalls the story of Curt Lemon which seemed to be the overall story of this writing. War leaves such a great impression or imprint on ones mind and being. O’Brien remembers almost every little detail proving that war leaves that great of a mark on ones brain. He can see in his mind so vivid the funny half step from shade to light. It was twenty years later and he yet can still see Lemon’s face hanging from that tree with the sunlight hitting it. (pg.551) How everything changed in that instant. O’Brien includes this story and it shows how drastically things change. Goes from one second laughing and just playing catch, to seeing someone’s body mangled in a tree by a peculiar side step. Went from life to death in an
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