- What do the terms “story-truth” and “happening-truth” mean in the context of the book? How do they differ?
- How does shame fit into O’Brien’s portrayal of the war experience?
- Discuss the structure of the work. Do the stories progress in a linear manner? How does the work’s fragmented style contribute to the themes that run through the stories?
- The novel is written entirely in the first person. What purpose does this serve? In what ways does the ambiguity of the truth serve in validating or refuting the story that O'Brien tells?
6 Comments
victor (sexy Santa claus)
8/7/2012 07:25:09 am
1) They differ in the way that story-truth can be told with extra emphasis if fictional information, stuff that didn't really happen, are added to make the listener or reader more interested. While happening truth is the story on what actually happen, there's not really a moral or silver lining because as he said when he talked about war stories if there is any message at the end of the story then the one who is telling it is lying.
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Jose C. (The Great One)
8/9/2012 11:22:53 am
1. The term story truth means that what went on was told in the way a story would be. Which means there could be something made up in it. The term happening truth means that whatever happened was really told and there was nothing being made up. If something happened then the facts were known and true. Story truth can be made up and happening truth is real.
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Susana Estrada
8/26/2016 09:28:51 pm
1.) The terms “story-truth” and “happening-truth” differ because because “story-truth” can be more real than “happening-truth”. When you're describing in “story-truth” you want the listener/reader to feel what you felt so that they can have a better understanding of how the situation felt, so this can be more real than “happening-truth” where you simply say what happened with no emotion so it seems more made up like if you were putting up a wall so that you wouldn't have to go through the emotions of the situation.
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Juan Figueroa
8/26/2016 09:09:41 pm
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Kevin Ortega-Nuñez
9/3/2016 09:08:45 am
1). Between the literary aspects of "story-truth" and "happening-truth" found within Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried", the "happening-truth" revolves around the objective re-accounting of events from a particular period as they EXACTLY occurred; the foundation on which a story stands. On the other hand, the "story-truth" contorts the "happening-truth" in a manner that allows for the story to appear more believable, engaging, or even emotionally-invigorating. From the perspective of O'Brien, as expressed within the chapter "Good Form", he reveals that particular excerpts, if not the whole, of his story was fictitious in-context. Nevertheless, he reflects upon this outcome by relating towards the "story-truth" aspect of his literature; he believes that larger truth behind his work revolves not around the factual conveyance of the literature, but by the emotional reaction of the work itself; if the reader feels an emotional stimuli or contexts to the story after reading through each of the chapters, regardless of factual or fictional context, then they are indeed true to us as we have experienced the nature of the work along with O'Brien; his memories are encompassed within our mindset as we read on, and we connect with him throughout his experiences within the life-altering atmosphere of the Vietnam War from his point-of-view.
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Kevin Ortega-Nuñez
9/3/2016 09:12:31 am
NOTE: [Response cut off at "darker nature of battle; posted continuation, as follows:]
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