5 quotes to support claims
3rd person, NO 1st person pronouns AT ALL
1. How does guilt enter the lives of Jimmy Cross, tim o brien, norman bowker, rat kiley, dave jensen, and curt lemon? why is shame or guilt so difficult? iin what ways does guilt compel each man to make emotional rather than logical decisions? how does story telling help relieve some of the guilt?
2. throughout the book, obrien casts doubts on the veracity of his stories. why does he do so? does it make you more or less interested in the book? does it increase or decrease your understanding? what is the difference between facts and truths? is it fair to readers that the author uses elemtns of his own life and b lurs thel ines between fact and fiction in these stories?
3. although the stories are wrtten and complied by o'brien and are labeled as fiction, o brien draws on his own experiences during the vietnam war and the experiences of others. manhy of the stories share common themes such as love, loss, regert of things left behind and the left undone, voilence, dissastifasction, revenge, courage, manlinesss, shame, mentors, and guilt. the soliders that survive come home severly changed by their experiences. trace a common thread throughout the stories and relay how it is signifcant
4. the greek philosopher and playwright Aeschylus said "in war, truth is the first casualty." Tim o Brien novel the things they carried is very much concerend with the truth of war. how does o brien distinguish betwee the "hapenning-truth" and the "story-truth"? which is more important? why? How does story telling--- the use of fiction--- allow for a greater sense of truth than factual reporting might? what are the pervading truths of this novel?
5. how can a war novel NOT be about war? how can fiction be more "real" and more "truthful" than actual fact? at the end of "To Tell A True War Story" the narrator suggests that people dont listen to the deeper meaning or the importance of stories and that often the story teller must spin a new yarn to convey the truth. Identify and explain the most profound paradoxes:
O Briens situation at the conclusion of "On the rainy river", the relationship between Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen; Azar's innocent cruelty, and the paradox of beauty and war, of life and death to the narrator in "How to tell a true war story". What is O Briens point in using these paradoxes? In what way is truth itself, or at least in o briens work, an ironic paradox?