It’s not true
unless it feels true. Telling the
truth is a major theme that plays a central role in The Things They Carried. Even though half the things that
are told in this novel are false, there is still a certain realness to the
stories being told. For instance, in the “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”,
fiction and fact are twisted together until they merge into one. The story can
be perceived as either entirely true or completely fabricated.
However, when
reading it, the story possesses a chilling feeling that leaves the reader’s
blood run cold—it’s almost ghost-like. It reminds me of old folklore or ghost stories that people share
around a campfire. It can’t possibly be true and yet, you can’t help but
wonder. I really like Rat Kiley’s approach to storytelling. It is the most
realistic approach as well. For example, when telling s story to a group of
friends who haven’t witnessed or experienced what you have, you tend to
exaggerate and focus on little details. You want your audience to experience
the same feeling you had whether it is excitement or fear. But, sometimes, it’s hard to tell
stories as truthful and some stories just can’t be told—it’s just a “ you have
to be there” story. This explains why Kiley was frustrated in telling his story
because he wanted to get the words right, the tone right, the eerie mood he
experienced right. I don’t really agree with Sanders saying that Kiley ruined
the tone of his story. Telling a story verbally is different than writing out a
story. If you happen to omit a detail, you can go back and type it in but
verbal storytelling tends to be inconsistent and whimsical. You want to tell
the truth as much as possible but still attain the same sensation.
As a whole,
telling the truth is difficult. One of my favorite quotes that best summarizes
this is “A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing
may not happen and be truer than the truth.” (80). Truth, in its entirety, is
just an illusion. What seems to happen and what actually happens just
blends into a cloud of obscurity.
Truth does seem to be a big theme of this novel, even though some of the stories are false. O'Brien seems to tell a story similar to Rat in some parts and exaggerates it so that we can get the full feeling of the story. One of the stories O'Brien doesn't tell like Rat is "On a Rainy River" where absolutely nothing happens but it gives so much insight to O'Brien. Truth is an illusion especially when coming back from a war because adrenaline kicks in and changes your perception.
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