O'Brien and Vonnegut

The immediate similarity the comes to mind when thinking about these two authors and their books is the lack of organization in their story telling which I might say works for these two authors. I think that most of the time (like mentioned in class) we don’t have a linear way of thinking and when telling a story even if it’s an event that happened today someone is likely to start off a certain way and then go off on a tangent at some point during their story telling. It’s obvious that these two men were affected by whatever transpired during the wars they participated in and that alone is enough for them to think in the way they do. I mean everyday citizens have obscure ways of thinking or narrating stories so think about people who have experienced horrendous life events.  I actually appreciate the lack of organization because it’s real and although aspects of the stories may be fiction but it speaks to the realness that thinking/narrating shouldn’t and is not linear. Their approach in narrating certain experiences like deaths or so is similar in that they seem to have an almost like it doesn’t matter attitude about it. Not necessarily that they don’t care but more so they try to make it seem like there is a good side to dying, which is understandable because after you lose people close to you, it’s necessary to see the good side of it. For example how O’Brien made Lemon’s death seem somewhat glorious with him stating how the sun illuminated his face and what not, and also how Vonnegut would always say “and so it goes.” It is clear that both these authors suffer from PTSD because you never know if what they are saying is true but the uncertainty is what makes the story even more captivating.