Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Tim O’Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” are both considered autobiographical fiction and both deal with complex issues. But the matters they cover are very different; “How to Tell a True War Story” deals with the issues of war, while “Daddy” is about more everyday matters such as Plath’s relationship with her father. However, they are both stories about the necessity of lying to get at the greater truth. Furthermore, the lies each of these stories are the subject of the other. In Plath’s “Daddy”, she must exaggerate the truth of everyday issues by making comparisons to war, specifically the Holocaust. On the other hand, Tim O’Brien must dilute the truth of war by appealing to more believable and everyday issues.
