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.
Showing posts with label O'Brien's Role as a Storyteller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label O'Brien's Role as a Storyteller. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
O'Brien and His Religious Motivation
Vernon, Alex. "Salvation, Storytelling, and Pilgrimage in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried." Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 36.4 (2003): 171-188. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
Alex Vernon has strong thoughts on the idea that there is a lot of religious motivation behind O’Brien’s work in “The Things They Carried”. He believes that Tim O’Brien’s idea on truth is “more spiritual than factual” (171). As far as the structural format, Vernon believes that “The Things They Carried” and the Bible have a lot in common. Vernon describes the structure of this piece especially that of "Spin" and "How to Tell a True War Story" to be episodic and “ Psalm-fragmented” (171) . He states that O’Brien uses storytelling as his way to change events in the past and develop a new kind of truth. In “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien blurs the line between fact and fiction. Vernon believes that O’Brien’s purpose for storytelling is his way of discovering how to deal with his guilt and burdens. Vernon states that O’Brien “hopes to recover a little of his pre-war innocence, his faith in himself, everyone else, and the future” from storytelling. He also believes that storytelling is O’Brien’s way of “creating a religion of writing fiction as a means of transcending the horrible "happening truth" of war” (171). O’Brien uses storytelling as a motif throughout the book, “The Things They Carried”. Darkness is the only thing that the war offered O’Brien and writing about his “stories” to once again to discover the light in Vernon’s perspective. Vernon states “O’Brien seems to want us to read “The Things They Carried as a literary analogue to the New Testament” (171). Vernon compares O’Brien to the religious figure and storyteller, Jesus.
Vernon has a religious point of view in which has led him to the assumptions of O’Brien’s purpose with storytelling. This source is an important one to read before answering the research question because it allows the reader to see and develop a different understanding of O’Brien’s purpose behind storytelling. This source ultimately raises more intelligent questions that will lead to a better understanding of their piece as a whole. This source poses the idea that there may be some religious motivation behind O’Brien’s storytelling and what he is trying to do with it. After reading this source, readers can now develop deeper thoughts on O’Brien’s role as a story teller and what he is trying to do. By using religious motivation readers may begin to think of O’Brien as a prophet or maybe even someone whom is trying to convert them. Vernon’s religious point of view brings several different ideas of which deal with O’Brien’s role as a storyteller. This source was important to this project because Vernon used ideas that are familiar to the majority as a whole and brought a lot of different thoughts to the mind that are associated with religion.
Alex Vernon has strong thoughts on the idea that there is a lot of religious motivation behind O’Brien’s work in “The Things They Carried”. He believes that Tim O’Brien’s idea on truth is “more spiritual than factual” (171). As far as the structural format, Vernon believes that “The Things They Carried” and the Bible have a lot in common. Vernon describes the structure of this piece especially that of "Spin" and "How to Tell a True War Story" to be episodic and “ Psalm-fragmented” (171) . He states that O’Brien uses storytelling as his way to change events in the past and develop a new kind of truth. In “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien blurs the line between fact and fiction. Vernon believes that O’Brien’s purpose for storytelling is his way of discovering how to deal with his guilt and burdens. Vernon states that O’Brien “hopes to recover a little of his pre-war innocence, his faith in himself, everyone else, and the future” from storytelling. He also believes that storytelling is O’Brien’s way of “creating a religion of writing fiction as a means of transcending the horrible "happening truth" of war” (171). O’Brien uses storytelling as a motif throughout the book, “The Things They Carried”. Darkness is the only thing that the war offered O’Brien and writing about his “stories” to once again to discover the light in Vernon’s perspective. Vernon states “O’Brien seems to want us to read “The Things They Carried as a literary analogue to the New Testament” (171). Vernon compares O’Brien to the religious figure and storyteller, Jesus.
Vernon has a religious point of view in which has led him to the assumptions of O’Brien’s purpose with storytelling. This source is an important one to read before answering the research question because it allows the reader to see and develop a different understanding of O’Brien’s purpose behind storytelling. This source ultimately raises more intelligent questions that will lead to a better understanding of their piece as a whole. This source poses the idea that there may be some religious motivation behind O’Brien’s storytelling and what he is trying to do with it. After reading this source, readers can now develop deeper thoughts on O’Brien’s role as a story teller and what he is trying to do. By using religious motivation readers may begin to think of O’Brien as a prophet or maybe even someone whom is trying to convert them. Vernon’s religious point of view brings several different ideas of which deal with O’Brien’s role as a storyteller. This source was important to this project because Vernon used ideas that are familiar to the majority as a whole and brought a lot of different thoughts to the mind that are associated with religion.
Going Straight to the Source
Smith, Jack. "The things he carries: For Tim O'Brien, the Vietnam War has remained a crucible in his fiction, but the power of imagination and memory, and 'our elusive interior worlds,' loom large, too." Writer 123.7 (2010): 16-47. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
In his interview with Tim O’Brien, Smith is able to discover and understand “the power of the imagination” as O’Brien desires of readers. Smith is interested in understanding O’Brien and why he chooses to use the style of writing that he does. In this interview, Smith attempts to comprehend O’Brien’s rare writing technique and to discover the truth behind O’Brien’s reasoning for creating such puzzling and profound characters in his novels. By interviewing the source of the secrets behind the novel, O’Brien himself, Smith is able to uncover many untold truths and to solve a number of questions that readers of The Things They Carried may have had. Smith aims to interpret and comprehend O’Brien’s “many dimensions-mixing the tragic, the comic and the poignant”- of writing.
Smith’s interview lights the way for readers trying to understand O’Brien and his novels. Instead of critiquing The Things They Carried as a whole and trying to decipher it alone, Smith goes straight to the source in his attempt to understand and clarify Tim O’Brien and his novel(s). By doing so, readers now know just what O’Brien’s goal was when creating such an ambiguous, yet extremely clever novel. O’Brien’s use of “story truth” and “happening truth” can create uncertainty for readers; in the interview, O’Brien explains that he wanted “to explore multiple planes of ‘reality’ and multiple planes of ‘truth’." He also states that “reality--or what we call reality--has traveled through the human mind and come out the other end as a blur.” These two statements signify that O’Brien realizes truth is what the mind makes it to be, not what it is in actuality. By now knowing this, readers are no longer left in the dark about O’Brien’s use of “truth.” They can now see that O’Brien was trying to accomplish a sense of reality by creating two truths, because actual truth is a blur of “story truth” and “happening truth.” Not only does this light the way for readers to now understand the two truths and how they are used in The Things They Carried, they also have an idea as to why O’Brien uses both truths in the novel. O’Brien states in the interview that “a good story is a mix of the so-called real world and a much more mysterious and elusive interior world we all live in.” This idea could lead readers to believe that O’Brien was simply creating a “good story” while also opening reader’s eyes to the actuality of reality. Smith’s interview with O’Brien opens new doors for the imagination and for the “truth-confused” readers by explaining how he values storytelling.
In his interview with Tim O’Brien, Smith is able to discover and understand “the power of the imagination” as O’Brien desires of readers. Smith is interested in understanding O’Brien and why he chooses to use the style of writing that he does. In this interview, Smith attempts to comprehend O’Brien’s rare writing technique and to discover the truth behind O’Brien’s reasoning for creating such puzzling and profound characters in his novels. By interviewing the source of the secrets behind the novel, O’Brien himself, Smith is able to uncover many untold truths and to solve a number of questions that readers of The Things They Carried may have had. Smith aims to interpret and comprehend O’Brien’s “many dimensions-mixing the tragic, the comic and the poignant”- of writing.
Smith’s interview lights the way for readers trying to understand O’Brien and his novels. Instead of critiquing The Things They Carried as a whole and trying to decipher it alone, Smith goes straight to the source in his attempt to understand and clarify Tim O’Brien and his novel(s). By doing so, readers now know just what O’Brien’s goal was when creating such an ambiguous, yet extremely clever novel. O’Brien’s use of “story truth” and “happening truth” can create uncertainty for readers; in the interview, O’Brien explains that he wanted “to explore multiple planes of ‘reality’ and multiple planes of ‘truth’." He also states that “reality--or what we call reality--has traveled through the human mind and come out the other end as a blur.” These two statements signify that O’Brien realizes truth is what the mind makes it to be, not what it is in actuality. By now knowing this, readers are no longer left in the dark about O’Brien’s use of “truth.” They can now see that O’Brien was trying to accomplish a sense of reality by creating two truths, because actual truth is a blur of “story truth” and “happening truth.” Not only does this light the way for readers to now understand the two truths and how they are used in The Things They Carried, they also have an idea as to why O’Brien uses both truths in the novel. O’Brien states in the interview that “a good story is a mix of the so-called real world and a much more mysterious and elusive interior world we all live in.” This idea could lead readers to believe that O’Brien was simply creating a “good story” while also opening reader’s eyes to the actuality of reality. Smith’s interview with O’Brien opens new doors for the imagination and for the “truth-confused” readers by explaining how he values storytelling.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Finding What's Definite in the Unclear
Kaplan, Steven. “The undying certainty of the narrator in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried.” Critique 35.1 (1993): 43. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
After researching and scrutinizing The Things They Carried, Kaplan’s opinion of the ambiguous novel is that readers will never fully know the hazy, indefinite “truths” of the Vietnam War or the novel itself. Kaplan examines and explores the way O’Brien uses storytelling to explain truth in The Things They Carried and facts about the Vietnam War. He looks at the way O’Brien questions truth and reality and how he handles and deciphers between fact and fiction. Kaplan struggles with the question of whether “these stories and the characters in them are real or imaginary, or does the ‘truth’ hover somewhere between the two?” He answers by examining the novel’s “narrative structure” and comes to the conclusion that O’Brien is unable to distinguish between the real and the imaginary “because the very act of writing fiction about the war… is determined… ultimately by life in general where ‘the only certainty is overwhelming ambiguity’.” By determining this, Kaplan begins to understand (in his opinion) that O’Brien cannot create certainty nor distinguish between fact and fiction. Ultimately, Kaplan comes to the conclusion that readers will never fully know the “truth” to the war or behind O’Brien’s ambiguous writing because readers did not experience the war. O’Brien explains “that it is impossible to know ‘exactly what had happened’”, which backs Kaplan’s opinion that the novel can never be fully understood. Kaplan concludes that we will never know “the undying uncertainty” of the war or the novel.
The way Kaplan approaches and addresses the uncertainty of “truth” in The Things They Carried reveals and attempts to answer a number of questions O’Brien creates in the novel. O’Brien’s stories are problematic in regards to understanding the Vietnam War and what actually happened in Vietnam; he creates uncertainty by stating facts and then questioning the truth behind them. Kaplan states that “storytelling in this book is something in which ‘the whole world is rearranged’ (39) in an effort to get at the ‘full truth’ (49) about events.” This statement reflects one way that O’Brien ties truth and storytelling together to create an unclear, yet distinct (in style), story. Kaplan also suggests that “the reader is thus made fully aware of being made a participant in a game… and thereby also is asked to become immediately involved in the incredibly frustrating act of trying to make sense of events.” By becoming participants, readers are forced to decipher events and understand them, yet it is difficult because of the way O’Brien handles truth. This article concludes with the idea that readers will never fully know the truth behind the war- whether O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is an actual depiction of the war or just a story with little truth behind it, but reading the article can provide insight as to why O’Brien created such uncertainty in The Things They Carried.
After researching and scrutinizing The Things They Carried, Kaplan’s opinion of the ambiguous novel is that readers will never fully know the hazy, indefinite “truths” of the Vietnam War or the novel itself. Kaplan examines and explores the way O’Brien uses storytelling to explain truth in The Things They Carried and facts about the Vietnam War. He looks at the way O’Brien questions truth and reality and how he handles and deciphers between fact and fiction. Kaplan struggles with the question of whether “these stories and the characters in them are real or imaginary, or does the ‘truth’ hover somewhere between the two?” He answers by examining the novel’s “narrative structure” and comes to the conclusion that O’Brien is unable to distinguish between the real and the imaginary “because the very act of writing fiction about the war… is determined… ultimately by life in general where ‘the only certainty is overwhelming ambiguity’.” By determining this, Kaplan begins to understand (in his opinion) that O’Brien cannot create certainty nor distinguish between fact and fiction. Ultimately, Kaplan comes to the conclusion that readers will never fully know the “truth” to the war or behind O’Brien’s ambiguous writing because readers did not experience the war. O’Brien explains “that it is impossible to know ‘exactly what had happened’”, which backs Kaplan’s opinion that the novel can never be fully understood. Kaplan concludes that we will never know “the undying uncertainty” of the war or the novel.
The way Kaplan approaches and addresses the uncertainty of “truth” in The Things They Carried reveals and attempts to answer a number of questions O’Brien creates in the novel. O’Brien’s stories are problematic in regards to understanding the Vietnam War and what actually happened in Vietnam; he creates uncertainty by stating facts and then questioning the truth behind them. Kaplan states that “storytelling in this book is something in which ‘the whole world is rearranged’ (39) in an effort to get at the ‘full truth’ (49) about events.” This statement reflects one way that O’Brien ties truth and storytelling together to create an unclear, yet distinct (in style), story. Kaplan also suggests that “the reader is thus made fully aware of being made a participant in a game… and thereby also is asked to become immediately involved in the incredibly frustrating act of trying to make sense of events.” By becoming participants, readers are forced to decipher events and understand them, yet it is difficult because of the way O’Brien handles truth. This article concludes with the idea that readers will never fully know the truth behind the war- whether O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is an actual depiction of the war or just a story with little truth behind it, but reading the article can provide insight as to why O’Brien created such uncertainty in The Things They Carried.
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