Discussion, Exercises, Freewriting
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thinking about Fiction: Tim O'Brien
In groups of 3, respond to some questions about "How to Tell a True War Story."
A handsome kid, really. Sharp gray eyes, lean and narrow-waisted, and when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms.
This sentence depicts death as beautiful and graceful.
2. This story is meant for us to question the status quo
3. It’s like pulling certain excerpts out of a soldier’s journal.
4. The structure is unique, the reader has to decide whether to trust the author, and there’re a lot of repetitions.
5. American Soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The narrator is trying to cope with the grief over the death of his comrade.
6. The narrator represented both men and women equally. The language is “gendered.” However this story is not primarily about gender.
7. A type of psychological art.
8. This piece made us feel uneasy and numb.
9. The narrator is trying to describe the mysterious feeling of the aftermath of the war. It taught us sometimes we have to give the audience less than they wanted.
1. In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and thereforeit’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true. · Encompasses the idea of the story. Things are unpredictable. · Definition of truth is subjective to whoever views the happening. · Truth doesn’t make a true war story.
2. Memoir or reflection. 3. It goes from memory to a reflection of that memory. It thinks about what really happened in his memory, and whether or not it was true. 4. It was more of a statement than a story with a plot. Most short stories seem whimsical and cannot make a strong point. This one did. 5. Rat, Lemon, the author. They are soldiers in the Vietnam War. They are trying to thrive during the war when one is supposed to survive. The problem was the effect and coming to terms with it. Even though he cannot understand it, he is willing to accept it at the end. 6. Respect for women fell because the woman didn’t write back when he opened up his heart to her and tried to express his grief. He took a step towards the sentimental side, and she ignored it and shut down his efforts. Gender is an aspect, but it’s not the main part of the theme. 7. It contradicts traditional ways, and it still managed to make a large amount of sense. It brought the author back to reality, so he wasn’t lost in his own world of what he thought happened versus what really did happen. 8. The piece was thought provoking. It made one think about what truth really is. It was unsettling, but it wasn’t overwhelming his statements. 9. There were flashbacks and present. His memories weren’t necessarily in chronological order. He has made the decision to not tell the story in chronological order. It made the story more unpredictable, and it kept you reading. Don’t be afraid to try new styles. Be a non-conformist.
1. You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. Somebody tells a story, let’s say,and afterward you ask, “Is it true?” and if the answer matters, you’ve got your answer. We picked this because it summarizes the basis of the story. It holds truth with the reader’s perception. The reader wants to know if the story is true, and the author gets to decide the reader’s opinion on the factuality.
2. It’s a short war story. The actuality is questionability. 3. It has flashbacks, raises a point and provides examples; the structure is freer flowing, with no definite structure. 4. More gore, explicated, seems more directed at an older audience. 5. Rat, Lemon, Bob Kiley. They’re too immature for war, which causes them to act so irresponsibly. The narrator’s chief struggle/problem was the message behind the unresponsive sister. We don’t know what was up with the problem resolution. 6. It was gendered because when you read it, you hear a man’s voice in your head. Yes, language is gendered. Women are shown as insufficient because they don’t “understand war”. They’re disregarded (exp. “cooze”). Sorta? 7. It seems to be almost satire because the immaturity of the soldiers compared to the harsh reality of war, seems to be mocking it in a sense. 8. ….makes us feel confused because you’re left wondering if it’s fiction or not. You wonder if it is a lie, formed just to provoke deeper thought in a story. 9. We notice that the passages that seem more unlikely are better detailed to make it more appealing, in hopes that it is believed and a message is taken from it. The general and specific choices create his own style of writing, which encourages us to write outside of the box.
Linnea Nelson, Grace Cabarle, and Fang Liu
ReplyDeleteA handsome kid, really. Sharp gray eyes, lean and narrow-waisted,
and when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and
lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms.
This sentence depicts death as beautiful and graceful.
2. This story is meant for us to question the status quo
3. It’s like pulling certain excerpts out of a soldier’s journal.
4. The structure is unique, the reader has to decide whether to trust the author, and there’re a lot of repetitions.
5. American Soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The narrator is trying to cope with the grief over the death of his comrade.
6. The narrator represented both men and women equally. The language is “gendered.” However this story is not primarily about gender.
7. A type of psychological art.
8. This piece made us feel uneasy and numb.
9. The narrator is trying to describe the mysterious feeling of the aftermath of the war. It taught us sometimes we have to give the audience less than they wanted.
Jon, Mia, Nickie
ReplyDelete1. In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and thereforeit’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true.
· Encompasses the idea of the story. Things are unpredictable.
· Definition of truth is subjective to whoever views the happening.
· Truth doesn’t make a true war story.
2. Memoir or reflection.
3. It goes from memory to a reflection of that memory. It thinks about what really happened in his memory, and whether or not it was true.
4. It was more of a statement than a story with a plot. Most short stories seem whimsical and cannot make a strong point. This one did.
5. Rat, Lemon, the author. They are soldiers in the Vietnam War. They are trying to thrive during the war when one is supposed to survive. The problem was the effect and coming to terms with it. Even though he cannot understand it, he is willing to accept it at the end.
6. Respect for women fell because the woman didn’t write back when he opened up his heart to her and tried to express his grief. He took a step towards the sentimental side, and she ignored it and shut down his efforts. Gender is an aspect, but it’s not the main part of the theme.
7. It contradicts traditional ways, and it still managed to make a large amount of sense. It brought the author back to reality, so he wasn’t lost in his own world of what he thought happened versus what really did happen.
8. The piece was thought provoking. It made one think about what truth really is. It was unsettling, but it wasn’t overwhelming his statements.
9. There were flashbacks and present. His memories weren’t necessarily in chronological order. He has made the decision to not tell the story in chronological order. It made the story more unpredictable, and it kept you reading.
Don’t be afraid to try new styles. Be a non-conformist.
Ashley, Rui, Chamonix
ReplyDelete1. You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. Somebody tells a story, let’s say,and afterward you ask, “Is it true?” and if the answer matters, you’ve got your answer.
We picked this because it summarizes the basis of the story. It holds truth with the reader’s perception. The reader wants to know if the story is true, and the author gets to decide the reader’s opinion on the factuality.
2. It’s a short war story. The actuality is questionability.
3. It has flashbacks, raises a point and provides examples; the structure is freer flowing, with no definite structure.
4. More gore, explicated, seems more directed at an older audience.
5. Rat, Lemon, Bob Kiley. They’re too immature for war, which causes them to act so irresponsibly. The narrator’s chief struggle/problem was the message behind the unresponsive sister. We don’t know what was up with the problem resolution.
6. It was gendered because when you read it, you hear a man’s voice in your head. Yes, language is gendered. Women are shown as insufficient because they don’t “understand war”. They’re disregarded (exp. “cooze”). Sorta?
7. It seems to be almost satire because the immaturity of the soldiers compared to the harsh reality of war, seems to be mocking it in a sense.
8. ….makes us feel confused because you’re left wondering if it’s fiction or not. You wonder if it is a lie, formed just to provoke deeper thought in a story.
9. We notice that the passages that seem more unlikely are better detailed to make it more appealing, in hopes that it is believed and a message is taken from it. The general and specific choices create his own style of writing, which encourages us to write outside of the box.