“War is hell” (O’Brien 1154). That simple line enlightens so much about what war is and how it is portrayed throughout this short story. The author contradicts himself as he tells the story, to make the point that every contradiction has a story in its own. Three of the most memorable quotes are, “…war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (1155). “War makes you a man; war makes you dead” (1155). Lastly, “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, … in a true war story nothing much is ever very true (1156). These quotes makeup the basis of the authors ideas concluding, O’Brien’s contradictions of war and its stories demonstrate no war narratives are true but ambiguities because was is unfathomable.
The first quote is, “…war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (1155). The Vietnam conflict was full of death, slaughter, and terrifying images. War is not a science, it is something that we as humans can’t truly define or explain. O’Brien describes it as beauty: in the places soldiers fight, in the raw emotions that go unfiltered, and in the mindfulness it forces upon people. The loss, blood shed, and devastation it creates are horrible. The intimacy gained with your family, the friendships that grow based on life and death are beautiful when looked …show more content…
But then reading that war could have beauty makes people second think. In the case of “How to Tell a True War Story,” the author is speaking of the Vietnam conflict. Vietnam has a beautiful landscape that we forget about. They have gorgeous rivers, and rainbows from the constant rain fall. O’Brien connects this to cancer in a scientist’s lab, to the scientist he sees a beautiful manipulation of cells under a slide. These are cells that grow and can seem immortal. But cancer is also deadly, and heartbreaking for families. This is a reminder that everything can be seen in a different
The first quote is, “…war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty” (1155). The Vietnam conflict was full of death, slaughter, and terrifying images. War is not a science, it is something that we as humans can’t truly define or explain. O’Brien describes it as beauty: in the places soldiers fight, in the raw emotions that go unfiltered, and in the mindfulness it forces upon people. The loss, blood shed, and devastation it creates are horrible. The intimacy gained with your family, the friendships that grow based on life and death are beautiful when looked …show more content…
But then reading that war could have beauty makes people second think. In the case of “How to Tell a True War Story,” the author is speaking of the Vietnam conflict. Vietnam has a beautiful landscape that we forget about. They have gorgeous rivers, and rainbows from the constant rain fall. O’Brien connects this to cancer in a scientist’s lab, to the scientist he sees a beautiful manipulation of cells under a slide. These are cells that grow and can seem immortal. But cancer is also deadly, and heartbreaking for families. This is a reminder that everything can be seen in a different