In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, we found that the idea of truth played a significant role in the novel. While reading, we came across this idea a number of times; however, the idea was a bit unclear. This is because O’Brien creates two truths- “story truth” and “happening truth.” These two truths left us wondering what was real and what was imaginary, but as we read, we found it difficult to distinguish between the two. We realized that since Tim O’Brien is a post-modernist writer, the idea of truth is difficult to define in his novel. There are several times in the text where the line between truth and storytelling is difficult to identify. An example of this is in his story “Notes.” O’Brien writes “By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night in the shit field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain” (158). O’Brien admits to making up truths, which made the line between truth and fiction hard to define. Because of the indefinite line between the two, this passage led us to believe that there was a connection between truth and storytelling. However, we were interested to know just what this connection was.
The fact that O’Brien uses two different truths could lead the reader to have confusion when trying to connect the two ideas or when trying to understand what’s fact and what’s fiction. O’Brien jumps between “happening truth” and “story truth” throughout the entire novel, yet doesn’t create a definite separation between the two. The passage from “Notes” creates confusion because O’Brien admits to taking factual stories and twisting the truth of the actual events so he can develop his own stories. This made it difficult to distinguish between true stories and fictional stories while reading the novel. The Things They Carried is filled with these blurred and unclear descriptions of truth, which led us to believe that there was a deeper meaning and a greater significance for them other than simply creating confusion.
This confusion led us to the question “What is the connection between the way O’Brien handles ‘truth’ in The Things They Carried and his desire to communicate to his readers the value of storytelling and reading stories?” Once we developed this question and began our research, we found that many of the authors were saying that there was, in fact, a direct relationship between truth and storytelling in The Things They Carried. Many of the authors suggested that O’Brien had an emotional motivation for linking the two concepts. Others proposed the idea that Post-Modernism drove O’Brien to create an indistinct idea of truth. Other authors felt that O’Brien was merely trying to get readers to understand that truth can be skewed depending upon the person and the situation. Whatever the case, all of the critiques we read believed that O’Brien had some sort of purpose behind his storytelling and simply desired that readers understand the value of truth and stories and the link between the two.
Showing posts with label The Vietnam War as a Steppingstone to the Creation of the Novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Vietnam War as a Steppingstone to the Creation of the Novel. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Impossible Quest for Absolute Truth
Kaufmann, Michael. "The Solace of Bad Form: Tim O'Brien's Postmodernist Revisions of Vietnam in 'Speaking of Courage'." Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 46.4 (2005): 333-343. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
Michael Kaufman claims O’Brien’s work expresses uncertainty about the Vietnam War, as a meditation on the process of writing and exploration of the possibilities of fiction. Kaufmann speaks of O’Brien’s style of more of an artwork rather than a piece of writing and he believes that O’Brien is faced with a lot of moral struggles throughout the construction of this piece. Kaufmann states that O’Brien struggles not only with the question of how to interrupt events, but also how to determine what those events were exactly. O’Brien was struggling with what these events actually were that he was trying to express to his readers, would he tell the story truth or the happening truth. Kaufmann also states that O’Brien is a postmodernist writer and that like all postmodernists writer, he “flaunts alternate histories” (335). In The Things They Carried, readers are directly told the exact problems and concerns in the book, for instance we are never told the exact nature of Bowker’s problem, but yet we are supposed to depict something out of the text. Kaufmann expresses the pieces that are left out in O’Brien’s works, and were done initially by O’Brien. For instance, O’Brien left the shit field out of the story and other times. We are forced to piece together the story of how Norman Bowker did not win a Silver Star. O’Brien is expressing an open admission of guilt which ultimately betters the work.
Michael Kaufmann’s views are those in which have more of an emotional ties to them. This article is important to read because the ideas of the emotional tragedies and guilt O’Brien felt is repeatedly expressed. Also, by reading this article readers may now be able to ultimately question O’Brien and what exactly is he trying to do with his stories, are they for his own personal benefit or what. This article will allow readers to branch off with different ideas about O’Brien’s emotional state of mind during the war. This article may leave the reader pondering ideas because the right and the wrong truth, or the fact that there is not a true truth. The idea of Postmodernism is expressed in this article which always the reader to get a better sense of the background and historical atmosphere that O’Brien was writing in. By understanding his circumstances expressed in this article, the reader may be understand O’Brien’s reasoning behind his writing as a whole and ultimately they connection in which he is trying to make between storytelling and truth.
Michael Kaufman claims O’Brien’s work expresses uncertainty about the Vietnam War, as a meditation on the process of writing and exploration of the possibilities of fiction. Kaufmann speaks of O’Brien’s style of more of an artwork rather than a piece of writing and he believes that O’Brien is faced with a lot of moral struggles throughout the construction of this piece. Kaufmann states that O’Brien struggles not only with the question of how to interrupt events, but also how to determine what those events were exactly. O’Brien was struggling with what these events actually were that he was trying to express to his readers, would he tell the story truth or the happening truth. Kaufmann also states that O’Brien is a postmodernist writer and that like all postmodernists writer, he “flaunts alternate histories” (335). In The Things They Carried, readers are directly told the exact problems and concerns in the book, for instance we are never told the exact nature of Bowker’s problem, but yet we are supposed to depict something out of the text. Kaufmann expresses the pieces that are left out in O’Brien’s works, and were done initially by O’Brien. For instance, O’Brien left the shit field out of the story and other times. We are forced to piece together the story of how Norman Bowker did not win a Silver Star. O’Brien is expressing an open admission of guilt which ultimately betters the work.
Michael Kaufmann’s views are those in which have more of an emotional ties to them. This article is important to read because the ideas of the emotional tragedies and guilt O’Brien felt is repeatedly expressed. Also, by reading this article readers may now be able to ultimately question O’Brien and what exactly is he trying to do with his stories, are they for his own personal benefit or what. This article will allow readers to branch off with different ideas about O’Brien’s emotional state of mind during the war. This article may leave the reader pondering ideas because the right and the wrong truth, or the fact that there is not a true truth. The idea of Postmodernism is expressed in this article which always the reader to get a better sense of the background and historical atmosphere that O’Brien was writing in. By understanding his circumstances expressed in this article, the reader may be understand O’Brien’s reasoning behind his writing as a whole and ultimately they connection in which he is trying to make between storytelling and truth.
Is it Just a Game, or is it an Elaborate Form?
Bloom, Harold. “The Story Behind the Story.” Bloom's Guides: The Things They Carried (2005): 13-15. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 4 Dec. 2010.
In his article, Bloom determines that “somewhere between the inadequacy of language and the intensity of Vietnam's experience, O'Brien found the craft and technique to write The Things They Carried.” This statement by Bloom suggests that O’Brien used his experiences with the war and knowledge about language to create the stories in The Things They Carried. Bloom proposes the idea that O’Brien’s use of atypical writing was an effort to write about and explain the events that took place during the Vietnam War. Bloom read reviews of the novel and interviews with Tim O’Brien, which led him to determine this fact- that O’Brien was merely trying to explain events, about the novel itself. One interesting thing that Bloom states is that O’Brien’s imaginary, unreal stories have been “described as one of the most real, convincing, and blunt portrayals of Vietnam put on paper.” Bloom believes that “the paradox, then, too, is one of the things his characters carry.” This statement explains that Bloom believes O’Brien’s work of literature is ambiguous and ironic on this level, along with the way it is ironic that truth and storytelling are one in the same. Bloom believes that O’Brien broke free from the typical strings of writing to create his own style that reflects the things that he went through during the Vietnam War.
Because Bloom read interviews and reviews of O’Brien’s articles, his point of view about the novel can give readers an idea as to why O’Brien created and used such confusing ideas in The Things They Carried. O’Brien stated in one interview that “’I'm not just tricking you; I'm letting you in on my game, letting you in on who I am, what I am, and why I am doing what I'm doing.'” This statement could open eyes for readers trying to understand why O’Brien uses ambiguity in his novel. Readers may feel tricked and deceived by O’Brien because he continuously makes contradictions throughout the novel; however, reading this statement could allow them to understand the fact that O’Brien is not just trying to trick us, as readers, but is trying to let us in on this trick and who he is as a writer. In one interview that Bloom reported reading about, O’Brien is quoted as saying that the events in the novel are a “representation of the kinds of reality I lived through.” This quote could help readers realize that O’Brien is simply trying to tell his story by joining it with and connecting it to the truth of events so that readers can fully grasp how he perceived what happened. Bloom’s point of view of the novel, and the point of view he takes on interviews that he read, can help readers understand O’Brien himself and why O’Brien wrote the novel the way that he did.
In his article, Bloom determines that “somewhere between the inadequacy of language and the intensity of Vietnam's experience, O'Brien found the craft and technique to write The Things They Carried.” This statement by Bloom suggests that O’Brien used his experiences with the war and knowledge about language to create the stories in The Things They Carried. Bloom proposes the idea that O’Brien’s use of atypical writing was an effort to write about and explain the events that took place during the Vietnam War. Bloom read reviews of the novel and interviews with Tim O’Brien, which led him to determine this fact- that O’Brien was merely trying to explain events, about the novel itself. One interesting thing that Bloom states is that O’Brien’s imaginary, unreal stories have been “described as one of the most real, convincing, and blunt portrayals of Vietnam put on paper.” Bloom believes that “the paradox, then, too, is one of the things his characters carry.” This statement explains that Bloom believes O’Brien’s work of literature is ambiguous and ironic on this level, along with the way it is ironic that truth and storytelling are one in the same. Bloom believes that O’Brien broke free from the typical strings of writing to create his own style that reflects the things that he went through during the Vietnam War.
Because Bloom read interviews and reviews of O’Brien’s articles, his point of view about the novel can give readers an idea as to why O’Brien created and used such confusing ideas in The Things They Carried. O’Brien stated in one interview that “’I'm not just tricking you; I'm letting you in on my game, letting you in on who I am, what I am, and why I am doing what I'm doing.'” This statement could open eyes for readers trying to understand why O’Brien uses ambiguity in his novel. Readers may feel tricked and deceived by O’Brien because he continuously makes contradictions throughout the novel; however, reading this statement could allow them to understand the fact that O’Brien is not just trying to trick us, as readers, but is trying to let us in on this trick and who he is as a writer. In one interview that Bloom reported reading about, O’Brien is quoted as saying that the events in the novel are a “representation of the kinds of reality I lived through.” This quote could help readers realize that O’Brien is simply trying to tell his story by joining it with and connecting it to the truth of events so that readers can fully grasp how he perceived what happened. Bloom’s point of view of the novel, and the point of view he takes on interviews that he read, can help readers understand O’Brien himself and why O’Brien wrote the novel the way that he did.
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.
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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