Tim O' Brien-The Things They Carried: How to Tell a True War Story

Tim O’ Brien’s book, The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about a platoon of American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War, and demonstrates postmodern themes.

One story in particular, How to Tell a True War Story, questions what makes a story true or believable. In the story, O’Brien constantly states things like, “This is true,” (Tim) “It’s all exactly true,” (Tim)which makes me think whether or not the story is actually true or not. This is because the stories he tells are simply play-by-play events, which to me are believable, however O’Brien says a true story is never moral, but a true story is also not believable. In my opinion the stories which simply describe the scene are true, and seem to be easier to believe than the ones with morals, simply because a story with morals seems too good to be true. Not every true story has to have a lesson behind it. Instead, it could just be a description of an event.

The story shows that truths are relative. “All the characters think their stories are more truthful than each other’s.” (Nicks) In the story, O’Brien says something similar to the definition of truthiness when he refers to a true story. “It comes down to a gut instinct. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe.” (Tim)