O Brien's How To Tell A True War Story

“In a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true” (O’Brien 78)
In the chapter, “How to Tell a True War Story,” O’Brien eloquently argues that the absolute and objective truth of a story is irrelevant when compared to the visceral reaction it provokes. Most importantly for O’Brien, a war story most closely approaches truth if it disgusts, horrifies, muddles, and forces one to consider some deeper, darker element of human nature that most would prefer remain unexplored. O’Brien bolsters his rationale in his retelling of a Hollywood, romanticized story of a man jumping on a grenade to save his fellow friends: Although the second version of this story, in which the grenade kills the entire group despite the jumper’s sacrifice, quite possibly never have happened, it may “be truer than the truth” (O’Brien, 2009). Like a true war story, it induces discomfort, uncertainty and is unclear in its greater purpose or lesson. This added human element of embarrassment and distress is what makes the second story truer the first. Upon hearing this story, one is compelled to consider the fruitlessness of the jumper’s sacrifice and the meaninglessness of his gesture. Similar to Beret Provo’s request to have a privy named after him in his honor, those who go to war may hope to be considered a…show more content…
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