For some reason I was very intrigued by this essay, but very confused at the same time. I kept trying to understand what O'Brien was actually trying to say about the truth in a war story, but the more I thought, the more I got lost. There is one part that definitely stuck out to me and it absolutely relates to one of the statements O'Brien said....
"For example: War is hell. As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, and yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can’t believe it with my stomach. Nothing turns inside. It comes down to gut instinct. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe."
After reading this part of the essay and then going into the part about Rat Kiley and the baby buffalo, my stomached turned. I don't know how or why, but I believed this story; I felt it in my stomach. After every shot he took to the baby buffalo, my stomached turned a little more.
EDIT: After discussing in class, it seems that the buffalo story was not true!?
I think O'Brien is saying a lot of things about war and truth. He believes that if a war story seems credible or believable, then it is most likely not true. For example, he states....
"In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness."
Most stories or war stories have things that are not true in them in order for it to sound true or to better get a point across. As he says, you need untruthful things to better understand the craziness of the story.
O'Brien believes that a true war story is never truly about war; it is about everything else. War can't be generalized into one category or one idea because war is everything. War is "mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love," according to O'Brien, and I also believe this to be true.
I am amazed by this essay and there are so many unique aspects about it. It took me a while to grasp the entire concept, but after a while it became clear to me. O'Brien's truth is that a true war story is not moral, in fact, it is probably anything but moral. True war stories are not told to teach a lesson, they are just told. Every war story is unique and it can only be believable if you feel it in your gut. In a way, the more absurd the story is, the more truth is in it.
O'Brien's last line in his essay really sums up his entire concept about the truth and true war stories. "It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen." Therefore, true war stories have no specific purpose or morals. They are nothing less than amazing.
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