The “truth” in storytelling is one of the many prevalent themes that arise in The Things They Carried. For example, in “How to Tell a True War Story” and the “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong,” there are many instances where Tim O’Brien blurs the lines between reality and fiction, which in turn makes the reader question whether or not the story or parts of the story are true. Before Tim O’Brien begins the story, he often mentions that it’s true. We see this in “How to Tell a True War Story” when O’Brien specifically writes, “This is true” in the first lines of the story, and in the “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong,” when Rat Kiley said he personally witnessed the event and swore that the story he was about to tell Mitchell Sanders was true (64). However, as the story progresses O’Brien (or Rat Kiley in the “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong”) begins to constantly interrupt the story with his personal thoughts or perhaps change or add certain details surrounding the story that seem unnatural, which arguably makes the reader wonder whether if there is any truth to the story at all. So is there any truth to the stories that Tim O’Brien, Mitchell Sanders, or Rat Kiley told? I personally think that the answer is both yes and no, or that the answer lies somewhere in-between the two. First and foremost, many of the details that are told within the stories are fiction, and if true are heavily exaggerated; however, what is true about the stories is not the objective truth, but rather the subjective truth. Second, while the story itself may be untrue, the raw emotions, experiences, memories, and feelings that are conveyed are definitely real. For this reason, the O’Brien believes that, “A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe” (74). He feels that nothing is true unless one feel that it’s true. It is also for this reason that we see the storyteller continually interrupting the story to input his personal thoughts to show how he really wants the readers to believe the story, as Rat Kiley did when he told Mitchell Sanders the story about Mary Anne because “he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt” (85).
Good blog about the “truth,” Paul! This is one theme that I also find interesting. I agree that what seems more important to O’Brien or the other storytellers is that the emotions the listener or reader feels are true to what the story should make them feel. One line in the book that stands out to me in association with this theme is in “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.” O’Brien writes, “[Kiley] wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt” (85). The truth of Kiley’s story would be missed if the listener did not get the emotional experience.
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