How To Tell A True War Story-Tim O'Brian

In Tim O’Brain’s piece “How To Tell A True War Story”, it is obvious that he is suffering from a mental disability brought on my his time serving in battle. The author repeats the same anecdote about his fellow soldier over and over again throughout the writing, a sign that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A symptom of PTSD includes hyperarousal, where the subject can seem jittery and have trouble concentrating. This is obvious in Tim O’Brian’s storytelling. He often jumps from one subject to the next, with no transition or connecting thought. He often leaves large gaps between paragraphs, signifying that he is done with one subject and is moving on. The author seems to be going around in circles, however, since he always goes back to speaking about the same event. In his writing, O’Brian also seems to be obsessed with what is true and what is false, even beginning the piece by reassuring the reader of his validity. This practice reoccurs throughout “How To Tell A True War Story”, although he changes certain details in each re-telling of Curt Lemon’s death. Human memory is not perfect and often unreliable, and it is natural for a person to become confused about certain events that have occurred. In addition, a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is memory loss. It is obvious that O’Brain is struggling with his ability to correctly recall memories, and may make up some of the details to his stories. Reassuring the reader that what he says is true is his way of coping with the fact that he can't clearly remember some details of certain events. He includes a conversation with Sanders where his fellow soldier confesses to twisting the truth the night before. If it’s possible for Sanders to do it, it should be the same for the author.