1. Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried," written in third person? How does this serve to introduce the rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience of the novel when O'Brien switched to first person, and you realized the narrator was one of the soldiers?
2. In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative of the war? Which items stay with you?
Respond to one of the two questions, and then respond to the response of another student.
You can also respond to these questions for “On a Rainy River” instead:
ReplyDelete1) How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story?: “This is the one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone.” What effect do they have on you, as a reader?
2) Why does O’Brien relate his experience as a pig declotter? How does this information contribute to the story? Why go into such specific detail?
3) At the story’s close, O’Brien almost jumps ship to Canada, but doesn’t: “I did try. It just wasn’t possible.” What has O’Brien learned about himself, and how does he return home as a changed person?
or these from "How to Tell a true War Story"
ReplyDelete1) Why does this story begin with the line: “This is true.” How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is “this” true?
2) Find a few of O’Brien’s elements of a “true war story.” (such as, “A true war story is never moral.”) Why does O’Brien believe these elements are important to a “true” war story?
3) In what sense is a “true” war story actually true? That is, in O’Brien’s terms, what is the relationship between historical truth and fictional truth? Do you agree with his assessment that fictional truth and historical do not need to be the same thing?
4) According to O’Brien, why are stories important? In your opinion, what do we,
as people, need from stories – both reading them and telling them?
6) O’Brien explains that this story was “not a war story. It was a love story.” In what sense is this a “love story”? Why?
7) O’Brien says that “none of it happened. None of it. And even if it did happen, it didn’t happen in the mountains, it happened in this little village on the Batangan Peninsula, and it was raining like crazy….” If O’Brien is not trying to communicate historical fact, what is he trying to communicate? Why change the details? What kind of truth is he trying to relate, and why is this truth set apart from historical truth? Is it OK that this “true” war story may or may not be entirely true?
8) ‘How to tell a true war story’ was obviously a very important chapter in the novel, but also one of the most confusing. What should the reader take away from a chapter like this?
9)"By telling stories, you objectify your experience," O'Brien writes. "You pin down certain truths" (157). Describe at least one truth you feel O'Brien pins down.
"How to Tell a true War Story"
ReplyDelete1) Why does this story begin with the line: "This is true." How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is "this" true?
This line is very important for the flow of the story. It is mostly to convince the reader that the story in the chapter is true, but it also prepares the reader for something that is supposed to be stronger, as it is real and it really happened. However, the "truthness" to this story is somewhat relative. The true war story is, according to Tim O'Brien, "never about war. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen." And following this reasoning (and the fact that Tim O'Brien states it), the story in this chapter is "a true war story that never happened." This means that the event itself never happened, but the facts on it did.
1) Why does this story begin with the line: “This is true.” How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is “this” true?
ReplyDelete“How to Tell a True War Story” begins with the line “This is true.” Basically it’s to convince and make the readers sure the story he is about to tell is really true, with no exaggerations. When people tell stories each person tells it in a slightly different way, and some little lies are put into the story, so he wants to convince the reader it is a totally true war story. It prepares me as a reader because I expect a real “big” story, a real true war experience story. O’Brien show that the person that is telling the story has the power to “persuade” his listener into believing in the story he his telling. O´Brien says that although this story is true it never happen. So its is not always one hundred percent true.
Luis, what I was thinking about this beginning of the story is that it makes the reader a bit confused. It generates confusion by making the reader think back and reflect if what was said before was really true. I mean, I stopped to think and asked myself if this book was even true. Therefore, I believe that it could create a variety of different perspectives of the book.
ReplyDeleteIn the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative of the war? Which items stay with you?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the most shocking item carried by a soldier was a tranquilizer. Ted Lavender carried marijuana and tranquilizers to calm himself down. This was so surprising due to the fact that they were in a war. I paused to think a little bit about how this could be explained and I came up with an idea that is was the only way that he forgot his problems. The drugs and tranquilizers served as a method of calming him down and forgetting his fears of war.
I do not carry a specific item, but I began to carry a small note given to me by a special person. I keep this paper in my wallet and I open it whenever I feel that I am sad. I really don't know. It seems to make me forget my problems. Sort of the same way that Ted carried his drugs and tranquilizers to feel better.
Matheus,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the idea that Ted Lavender carried drugs and tranquilizers to feel better as well as to relief his fears. Coincidently, I also carry a note written by someone I care a lot, which I take everywhere and read it always when I'm not happy. This note makes me forget whatever is making me sad, which could also be the purpose of drugs and tranquilizers carried by Ted Lavender in the war.
8) ‘How to tell a true war story’ was obviously a very important chapter in the novel, but also one of the most confusing. What should the reader take away from a chapter like this?
ReplyDeleteHow to tell a true war story explains the reader that a war story is never totally accurate. O'Brien claims that some lies are necessary to make it believable, because in most cases the "crazy" aspects are true, and the normal ones are not (page 68). These normal information is added to make the story more credible and trustful, otherwise people would not even accept it. The reader should, from now on in the book, never trust every detail presented on a war story. Even though in most situations is difficult to tell what have happened and what haven't, one must be skeptical enough to separate what might be right or not.
Matheus,
ReplyDeleteI think that what you made is a very interesting observation, and he definitely does carry it because he wants to forget problems, but you cannot really blame him since even you admitted that you carry something that makes you forget your problems. Unfortunately for him, he does not have such a note and has to take drugs instead. So it wasnt realyy surpising to me as it was relatable(not with drugs off course).
4) According to O’Brien, why are stories important? In your opinion, what do we,
ReplyDeleteas people, need from stories – both reading them and telling them?
In my opinion, us people need some sort of emotional reaction to a story in order to really take something from it. We can't simply read or tell a story because it happened but still has no real meaning to it. A stor ymay be funny or sad but both trigger an emotiona lresponse from the receptor of the story. Like when O'Brien talks about how the old ladys favorite story was the one of the baby water buffalo. It was her favorite because it caused a great impretion to her emotionally. The story doesn't necesarily have to be true, but what matters is that the listener or reader makes an opinion based on his emotions towards that story.
Larissa,
ReplyDeleteThe point you make is very true. Can we really trust O'Brien during this book? But remember on what he also says, the story must cause some sort of emotional reaction to the reader and sometimes by being completely honest, it won't really impress the reader. Maybe it is more important for the reader to be affected emotionally by a story with some lies than to have the reader read a story that won't interest him much.
4) According to O’Brien, why are stories important? In your opinion, what do we,
ReplyDeleteas people, need from stories – both reading them and telling them?
According to O’Brien war stories are important because they make you relate to how the people behaved and felt, even though he knows that they never will know. That is also why O’Brien believes that it doesnt matter if a war story is true or not, as long as it encourages emotions inside of you. We learn a lot from stories, even if they are not true, because every story has a moral and if we understand this moral and the concept of the story, we can expand our knowledge of the events happening around us. When we tell a story to someones as well, it may also be inspiring and you can also feel powerful for being able to create or recreate an event, kind of like creating life, and the more believable the story is the better your feeling of accomplishment for being able to tell such a story is.
Also stories give a feeling of reality and fairytale, the realization that we live in world where there are no redoes. When you are telling a story and tumble over your own words, you can retell that part so that everybody understands it clearly. In life once you stumble you can get up again but you cannot prevent yourself from falling again. Stories are very important to keep us conscoius of our surroundings and not become detatched from reality itself.
Alvaro, I agree when you say that we need an emotional reaction to a story in order to take something from it. I think that to take something from a story it has to be relatable. If you hear a story that is about ants fighting among each other to prove their strength, you may relate to the characters, and take something from the story, giving it a special meaning to you. I think that reading, telling, and inventing stories give you, as a person a wide scope of life, one you cannot achieve otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSir Michael Isensee:
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you said. I think that O'Brien dosn't really talk about true stories. He bases hios storys on true facts, and then tells the stories. However, if he is transmitting the same message that the story talks about, it is perfectaly ok. On top of that, the version of the story changes naturally, as it is passed from mouth to mouth, and each person has their own opinion, hence, changing the story slightly as it goes on. That is why i don't think that stories that do not follow wxactly what happened are lies.
Miss, Uncle Jamal is ME (MATHIAS BROTERO)
ReplyDelete1) How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story?: “This is the one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone.” What effect do they have on you, as a reader?
ReplyDelete- When I first read these sentences, I became immediately curious as to what he was going to talk about. More than that, I began imagining what could possibly have happened to him that he wouldn't have wanted to share before writing the book. I imagined that he must have done something he was very ashamed of, and from that moment on I read the chapter just waiting to feel his shame and disapointment. Indeed, when he did not bail out of the country, I felt bad for him, although it was pretty obvious that he hadn't done that in reality.
1)How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story?: “This is the one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone.” What effect do they have on you, as a reader?
ReplyDeleteI think that when he says that, on top of the fact that he makes the reader very cuorious, he makes him feel special, as he is reading a unique peice of writting, something that was never expressed. He also expresses it in first person, giving more intimacy between the reader and himself. That also makes the reader feel more connected to the author.
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ReplyDeleteChristian,
ReplyDeleteThat was a very insightful comment of yours. I agree with your line of thought, as I shared the same curiosity to find out what his shame and disappointment were. This chapter contains a very interesting story, and one that is essential to the book, as it is the story of the author's biggest shame: the one of actually going to war. That is probably what led him to write this book anyways.
4) According to O’Brien, why are stories important? In your opinion, what do we, as people, need from stories – both reading them and telling them?
ReplyDeleteAccording to O’Brien, stories are important for those who have never experienced a war and probably never will. Stories appeals to one’s emotions allowing these people to relate to those who participated in the war. O’Brien knows that people have no idea of what war is like and thinks that emotions are the only way to relate because humans have basically the same emotions.
I believe that people need an emotional connection to a story 3in order to understand the true meaning behind it. Merely reading or telling facts aren’t the same as having a true connection to the story and actually taking something from it. I don’t think it matters if the story is true or not, what matters is the reader’s understanding of the story based on his or her emotions. For example, fables are certainly not true but if one is able to relate to the characters, he or she will have a greater understanding of the moral behind the story. But as O’Brien says on page 74, “You can’t extract the meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning”; this means that if one doesn’t emotionally relate to the story, the individual will not be able to understand the true meaning of the story. The stories that cause us stronger emotions are the ones we are going to remember and re-tell. Because different people relate more to different parts of the story, the story may change according to the teller that makes all stories unreliable. The baby buffalo story was one of the war stories that made O’Brien’s “stomach believe” page 74 and “made her [old woman] sad” page 80. Stories may teach us new things, motivate us to act, remind us of good memories or things to avoid, etc.
Uncle Jamal (Mathias),
ReplyDeleteI agree to everything you said because I felt basically the same way with O'Brien's opening sentences. Instantly, I was curious to know what he was about to tell and I was also very excited as if he were to tell me a deep secret. It was as if he was my friend and he was about to finally tell me something he was hiding for a long time.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1) How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story?: “This is the one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone.” What effect do they have on you, as a reader?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the opening sentences prepare the reader for the story by making him/her aware about the content. They also arouse a certain curiosity of what will happen, and automatically make the reader create assumptions. In addition, when the author says that “This is the one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone.”, it made me feel as if it was a secret, something special that was never told before, made me anxious about the chapter. It creates a certain will to continue reading. It also made me feel as if I would feel the author's feelings and thoughts as well, just like a diary.
Matheus, I agree with what you said about Ted Lavender carrying the tranquilizers and marijuana as a way to forget his problems, especially war itself. Many individuals today turn to alcohol and other methods to forget their problems as well. Many have their own little item that'll help as well, which is a positive way to cope with issues.
ReplyDelete1) Why does this story begin with the line: "This is true." How does that prepare you, as a reader, for the story? In what sense is "this" true?
ReplyDeleteThe story begins with the statement "this is true" to call upon everyone's attention and to convince them that the story he is about to tell is true. It's not something made up, it's something serious and that really happened. At first that made me think the book would be a very intense war story, telling stories about all the battles and the horrible things that happen throughout war. What the book is really about is of the memories and thinks the soldiers really did carry with them emotionally or physically. Later on in the book I started questioning which parts were true and which ones are not, he sometimes says when something is not true but we never know if he is "lying" about other things he wrote.
Christian, I agree with what you commented because I also expected a huge secret or something he was REALLY ashamed of to happen. And I just didn't know what to expect. As Luis also said his true shame was going to war. Which I think also many other people had that same shame. Of having had to endure fighting in the war for so long and doing things they really didn't want to do.
ReplyDelete2. In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative of the war? Which items stay with you?
ReplyDeleteThe item that was the most suprising was the bible Kiowa carried. It is very ironic to bring a bilbe to the war, because the bible is something divine that talks about Jesus and God. I would never bring a bible to was with me. At most I would bring a cross, but not the bible. The bible is to be treated with respect becausen in it are Jesus' words. Also the pantyhole caught a lot my attention, because I would have never taught someone would bring a pantyhole to remenber about someone. Normally someone would bring a picture.
I agree with Christian, becaus I also felt the same way. I was curios to know what he was going to talk about. I imagined he didi somethnig he regreted about and was writing the book to relieve the pressure.
ReplyDeleteYORMIN MARTINEZ
ReplyDelete1. Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried," written in third person? How does this serve to introduce the rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience of the novel when O'Brien switched to first person, and you realized the narrator was one of the soldiers?
I think that the authorn wrote in third person the the novel in order to be able to express to us diffrent points of views and tell us stories more in the way that they truly are enstead of the way he sees them. In the first chapter when he is telling all of the things that the diffrent soldiers carried, it was in third person because he wanted us to see what the true meaning of diffrent objects were as well as get into the minds of others and not only explain things through his point of view.
For example, When he narrated the leutendant´s thought about Martha and the strong effects that it had upon him, it was crucial that he wrote it in third person because otherwise the feelings would not be in such detail.
YORMIN MARTINEZ
ReplyDeleteUNCLE JAMAL AND KARINA, i agree a lot with the statements that you posted because i felt the same way when he was about to tell us a story never revealed before. When he said this I felt an instant conection with the author. It was almost as if he were trusting me enough to reveal something that important to him. I expected it to be somthig huge!! At that same time in interested me and made me extremly curious so i kept reading further more.