Chen, Tina. "'Unraveling the Deeper Meaning': Exile and the Embodied Poetics of Displacement in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried." Contemporary Literature 39.1 (1998): 77-98. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
Tina Chen addresses the idea that exile inflects all the aspects of the stories in “The Things They Carried”. She expresses exile as the “inescapable experience resulting from the immersion in the moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War” (80). Chen states that if the reader carefully reads “The Things They Carried” they will find that these stories are not about recovering from disasters or solving the conflicts that were caused by the war. Yet, Chen claims these stories are about learning to live with Vietnam and not through it. O’Brien is exiled from his friends, himself, and even though he was in Vietnam, he was exiled from there as well. Chen discusses the idea that the fear of exile is placed throughout this book’s entirety, but for example in “On the Rainy River” when Tim thought about fleeing to Canada, but one thing held him back. In “On the Rainy River”, Tim said that he “feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile” (O’Brien 48). In this article, Chen states that “home for the exile is the place of origin, or belonging” (83) and she describes O’Brien as a displaced writer with “no ease, no sanctuary, no native place to which to return”(83). She states that deeper than just a jumble of series of stories, “The Things They Carried” is a book about the need to tell stories, the ways the tell stories, and the reasons for telling stories.
No connection can be made or sought out about between O’Brien’s idea on truth and his value on storytelling until faced with information on his purpose. Chen’s point of view provides a de a deeper understanding or reasoning behind O’Brien’s purpose in story telling as a whole. The emotional sense that Chen uses allows the reader to think more into the ideas of feelings and emotions when trying to depict O’Brien’s reasoning on the importance of storytelling. By reading this source, the reading is now faced with ideas and information about the level of emotion O’Brien was going through during Vietnam. This point of view brings light to the fact that yes, O’Brien may have had some religious motivation when writing these stories, but emotions and fears may have also placed a role in O’Brien’s reasoning behind storytelling. This source is important because it allows the reader to create either a stronger connection to O’Brien and his thoughts or a bit of separation from him.
Showing posts with label Emotional Ties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emotional Ties. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Exploration of Truth and Fiction
Silbergleid, Robin. “Making Things Present: Tim O'Brien's Autobiographical Metafiction.” Contemporary Literature 50.1 (2009): 129-155. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 3 Dec. 2010.
Silbergleid argues in this article that the “book's self-conscious use of fictionality works to create a sense of presence for the reader, focusing in particular on the use of bodily images and the ‘things’ of Vietnam. “ She believes that O’Brien’s way of going about writing fiction creates realness for readers as they explore the novel. Silbergleid proposes the idea that The Things They Carried works to create real truth about the complicated truths of the Vietnam War. Silbergleid considers in her article that the central idea of The Things They Carried is to allow “the reader to understand the Real of Vietnam” as O’Brien would like for and strives for readers to do. Silbergleid states “what The Things They Carried enacts as well as describes is the usefulness of fictionalized autobiography when it comes to writing about historical events.” This statement suggests that O’Brien creates a sense of importance by writing fiction and making it seem true so it can be related to something that is true. Silbergleid also says “that identity can be used to establish credibility and ethical appeal” which plays a role in the novel being a postmodern fiction. In all, Silbergleid examines and concludes that O’Brien’s novel serves as a view of history and the best way to get at the truth of historical events.
Silbergleid’s idea that O’Brien is trying to get at the truth about history can help readers understand why O’Brien creates unreal, fictional stories. O’Brien’s use of fiction to create truth can be confusing for readers, but the way Silbergleid demonstrates and examines this use of fiction can help readers understand the underlying factors that contribute to O’Brien’s reasoning. O’Brien tends to play with his readers emotions by saying one thing and then contradicting it by saying another. Silbergleid suggests that the novel offers “a powerful reminder about the status of narrative authority in postmodern fiction.” This quote demonstrates the way O’Brien is in control of his reader’s emotions throughout the novel and demonstrates the fact that the narrative is unclear about truth because it is a postmodern fiction. By reading this, readers of the novel can gain some idea as to why O’Brien is difficult to understand and realize that it is all because of his power as a writer and as a person who experienced the war that he is writing about. By asserting this power, O’Brien establishes his credibility as a writer of the Vietnam War, which allows him to create untruthful facts about the war, because these facts help readers who never experienced the war understand it on a new level.
Silbergleid argues in this article that the “book's self-conscious use of fictionality works to create a sense of presence for the reader, focusing in particular on the use of bodily images and the ‘things’ of Vietnam. “ She believes that O’Brien’s way of going about writing fiction creates realness for readers as they explore the novel. Silbergleid proposes the idea that The Things They Carried works to create real truth about the complicated truths of the Vietnam War. Silbergleid considers in her article that the central idea of The Things They Carried is to allow “the reader to understand the Real of Vietnam” as O’Brien would like for and strives for readers to do. Silbergleid states “what The Things They Carried enacts as well as describes is the usefulness of fictionalized autobiography when it comes to writing about historical events.” This statement suggests that O’Brien creates a sense of importance by writing fiction and making it seem true so it can be related to something that is true. Silbergleid also says “that identity can be used to establish credibility and ethical appeal” which plays a role in the novel being a postmodern fiction. In all, Silbergleid examines and concludes that O’Brien’s novel serves as a view of history and the best way to get at the truth of historical events.
Silbergleid’s idea that O’Brien is trying to get at the truth about history can help readers understand why O’Brien creates unreal, fictional stories. O’Brien’s use of fiction to create truth can be confusing for readers, but the way Silbergleid demonstrates and examines this use of fiction can help readers understand the underlying factors that contribute to O’Brien’s reasoning. O’Brien tends to play with his readers emotions by saying one thing and then contradicting it by saying another. Silbergleid suggests that the novel offers “a powerful reminder about the status of narrative authority in postmodern fiction.” This quote demonstrates the way O’Brien is in control of his reader’s emotions throughout the novel and demonstrates the fact that the narrative is unclear about truth because it is a postmodern fiction. By reading this, readers of the novel can gain some idea as to why O’Brien is difficult to understand and realize that it is all because of his power as a writer and as a person who experienced the war that he is writing about. By asserting this power, O’Brien establishes his credibility as a writer of the Vietnam War, which allows him to create untruthful facts about the war, because these facts help readers who never experienced the war understand it on a new level.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)