O'Brien and Vonnegut Similarities

Kurt Vonnegut and Tim O’Brien, authors of war narratives, both have many similarities in their narrative structure. Specifically, the two authors write out of sequence. Vonnegut and O’Brien start explaining one story or scenario and then they jump to another one, leaving the reader hanging or often confused. Their stories at times have no point or resolution.  For example, in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, he writes about his interaction with aliens; however, he never fully explains the whole story about the aliens since the author goes on to mention other events that occurred in the protagonist’s life. O’Brien does the same when he writes about Rat’s meltdown/water buffalo attack. At the end of the meltdown, Rat’s comrades share brief dialogue about the water buffalo attack, then without concluding that story the author, O’Brien, jumps into a different scenario in which he explains the ways they generalize war. Both authors seem to not have smooth transitions in their narratives.  Another similarity between the two authors is the form in which write, they make the reader question the credibility of the author. As discussed in class, the authors both incorporated meta-fiction into their work. They comment on their writing, which only adds to the reader questioning the authenticity of the sequence of events. For example, Vonnegut states “The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true” (1). O’Brien also begins his story by stating “This is True” (1). After reading such sentences, one is left asking themselves if in fact the material read was actually true or if it is all fiction. Another similarity between the authors is the repetitive phrases that they incorporate throughout their work. Vonnegut uses the phrase “so it goes” while O’Brien would repeat that Curt Lemon was dead, Rat Kiley had written a letter, and had not received a response.