How To Tell a True War Story Essay Example for Free

How To Tell a True War Story EssayThe chapter How to Tell a True War Story tells various stories by different characters, on which the author, Tim OBrian comments through metafictive statements such as a true war aloneegory is never moral. Through this short base within the book, the author offers the opportunity to understand the art of writing nigh War. The story with the baby overawe is an excellent example of the sophisticated implementation of OBrians ideas about how to tell a true war story. I will envision each of the authors instructions with regard to the story and analyze why this story is a true war story according to the author. The author has told it forward -many times, many versions, but now tells what actually happened. This immediately raises the question, why the author failed to tell the true story before it might be the case that it was too awkward for him to tell. afterwards all a soldier tortured an innocent animal, while the others were watching hi m without intervening.In this sense OBrians metafictive statement about bewilderment proves to be accurate in this case. Furthermore the fact that Curt stinker played catch with Rat and was dead instantly after it, indicates emotional detachment of the author and the reader is left with many questions about this single sentence How did this happen so quickly? Why is the author so emotionally spaced from his death? Is it really what happened or is it what seemed to happen? After all if somebody dies in a war, it seems so quick and the factual and emotional truth is seriously to separate.It might real well be the case that the description about Lemons death is skewed because what seems to happen becomes its own happening since Lemon died so unexpectedly, the author tells it in a way he felt it to happen. One moment alive another moment dead already. After Rats best friend died, he deals with his sorrow and emotional pain by torturing a harmless animal, a baby buffalo. His penur y wasnt to kill, it was to hurt. After opening a can of C rations for the buffalo, he took careful aim and shot off an ear.Then he shot twice in the flanks. At the end he shot off a tail and shot in the left front genu. Although this is evil and obscene serviceman behavior, nobody said much. Even the author describes the event emotionally isolated, without having a moral or suggesting proper human behavior. He merely explains what happened, without offering abstractions or analysis. While Rats deeds seem to be morally wrong and very cruel it is hard to extract the meaning. One really has to look under to surface to unravel the deeper meaning.Seemingly the torture of the animal is uncalled-for but it is the only way Rat can deal with the loss of his best friend. He is angry at the whole world for loosing him after all he is only a kid. The story in this sense is not about war at all we had no description of the foe who killed Rat or any combat action. We are left with the sorrow and pain that the war caused. In this sense a true war story is never about war. Its about sunlightlove and memory. All in all it is clear that almost every statement about how to tell a true war story is implemented in this single story.