'How To Tell A True War Story By Tim O' Brien
Justina Ferrante
Professor Helff
WRT 201-048
October 7th, 2013
“How to Tell a True War Story” In the short story, “How to Tell a True War Story,” the implicit problem that is created about the story by its first line, “this is true,” is that the readers may think the line is sarcasm and not believe the information being said. The readers will question if the story is true or not. Throughout the story the narrator says how many war stories are not true so I do not know what to believe. The author, Tim O’Brien, says that nothing can be believed to be true, which makes the story ironic. He says, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true” (95). I would think that this story is not true after that being said. …show more content…
It was sad to read that he died the way he did while he was in the middle of having fun with his best friend, Rat Kiley. Rat had to see his best friend blown up by a booby trap right in front of him. Tim O’Brien states they had to “shinny up and peel him off” (295). That would have been really hard for Rat to peel his best friend off from a tree. The whole situation is sad because no one wants to see a close friend of theirs die like that but I was not shocked by it. Many people in the war develop close friends and at some point have had to see them die right in front of their eyes. It is tragic thing, but it is something that comes with entering a
Professor Helff
WRT 201-048
October 7th, 2013
“How to Tell a True War Story” In the short story, “How to Tell a True War Story,” the implicit problem that is created about the story by its first line, “this is true,” is that the readers may think the line is sarcasm and not believe the information being said. The readers will question if the story is true or not. Throughout the story the narrator says how many war stories are not true so I do not know what to believe. The author, Tim O’Brien, says that nothing can be believed to be true, which makes the story ironic. He says, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true” (95). I would think that this story is not true after that being said. …show more content…
It was sad to read that he died the way he did while he was in the middle of having fun with his best friend, Rat Kiley. Rat had to see his best friend blown up by a booby trap right in front of him. Tim O’Brien states they had to “shinny up and peel him off” (295). That would have been really hard for Rat to peel his best friend off from a tree. The whole situation is sad because no one wants to see a close friend of theirs die like that but I was not shocked by it. Many people in the war develop close friends and at some point have had to see them die right in front of their eyes. It is tragic thing, but it is something that comes with entering a