More than just a war

As many of us have discovered, Tim O’Brien has a very distinct method of story telling, putting truth aside to get across the idea of the true impact of war on the soldiers that took part in it. O’Brien alludes to the idea that war is not simply a series of battles to reach a goal, but a life changing event than many cannot withstand mentally. Throughout the book there is a recurring theme of the telling of a story and the truth behind it. However, a good story, like he tells us, is not one that has a moral or some greater meaning behind it, but one so true that everyone believes it without a doubt in their minds.

Throughout the book, O’Brien has identified some of the stories he considers the best, and has shared his thoughts as a writer on what makes these stories so powerful. To me, it seems like every story he values has some representation of the war as a powerful moving force in one’s mind. Take for example the story of Mary Anne as the “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.” The majority of the story is incredibly moving and so much so, that it is seemingly believable. What does it for O’Brien in my perspective is the outcome of Mary Anne. In his mind, there seems to be only one thing that could have changed someone so greatly in such a small period of time: the war. What makes it such a powerful story is the fact that it presents the reader with an example of what the war can do to someone, outside of the physical harm and death one might normally think of.

Another example of his deep understanding of the war’s impact is the story of Norman Bowker. The story itself was so real and moving that he couldn’t put it out of his head for over a month. The central idea was that the war had affected Norman’s life so greatly, he was simply unable to return to regular life. The repetitive details of his routine emphasize his mind still stuck on the memories of the war. O’Brien later mentions that he realizes writing was his escape and that he took it for granted while others may have not been so lucky. Regardless, he attributes the intense effects of the war to Norman’s condition and admits that excluding these details of how the war left Norman was crucial to the story’s “truth” and didn’t give it justice when left out. Again, alluding to O’Brien’s connection between a true and powerful story and the impact of war.

Similar to the Norman Bowker story, O’Brien tends to emphasize his point about the  war by repeating certain sentences and phrases that have to do with his stories. In a way, this represents the idea of the war being such a powerful factor in one’s mind, that all one can do is retrace each memory over and over in their head until they are able to come to terms with it, reach out to someone else, or end up like Norman Bowker. While it is an interesting approach to writing, it serves to give the reader a sense of being in the war and an understanding of what one might go through physically and mentally.