Reading #5, Question #3
2 views
Skip to first unread message
Hannah Baran (Louisa HS)
Feb 8, 2011, 2:51:53 PM2/8/11
to The Things They Carried discussion, spring 2011 (green)
Why is it so important to the soldiers to have their stories believed?
Ralph Recto
Feb 8, 2011, 8:16:53 PM2/8/11
to The Things They Carried discussion, spring 2011 (green)
That's a good question Mrs. Baran.
I think that it's important for the soldiers in Vietnam to have their
stories believed because they were witnesses to happenings that people
are not usually exposed to. Tales of children having limbs cut off or
friends dying instantly by a mine have no regular place in the mind of
a civilian who has never seen war. We may read about stories, we may
be told stories by family or friends, but I feel that a person who has
never experienced such events in person would not have a truly
accurate conception of them. We have the ability to disbelieve if we
so choose, while the soldiers do not. It's like telling a story of a
fantastical happening - hitting an inside-the-park home run on a bunt,
scoring 37 touchdowns in a game of backyard football - in that it is
impossible not only for witnesses to dispute, but also to capture
fully with mere retellings. While it may have appeared that "for Rat
Kiley...facts were formed by sensation, not the other way around," I
think it was because of a lack of words to fully describe his stories
and not for a lack of truth in them (85). Rat Kiley may muddle up some
of the details, but the bottom line for him was that the events
happened. Even when his audience didn't believe him, he simply
replied, "Fine by me. But you don't know human nature. You don't know
Nam" (93). While the stories may seem embellished or fabricated to
outsiders, they were simply the truth to the soldiers in Vietnam.
On Feb 8, 2:51 pm, "Hannah Baran (Louisa HS)" <hannah.ka...@gmail.com>
wrote:
I think that it's important for the soldiers in Vietnam to have their
stories believed because they were witnesses to happenings that people
are not usually exposed to. Tales of children having limbs cut off or
friends dying instantly by a mine have no regular place in the mind of
a civilian who has never seen war. We may read about stories, we may
be told stories by family or friends, but I feel that a person who has
never experienced such events in person would not have a truly
accurate conception of them. We have the ability to disbelieve if we
so choose, while the soldiers do not. It's like telling a story of a
fantastical happening - hitting an inside-the-park home run on a bunt,
scoring 37 touchdowns in a game of backyard football - in that it is
impossible not only for witnesses to dispute, but also to capture
fully with mere retellings. While it may have appeared that "for Rat
Kiley...facts were formed by sensation, not the other way around," I
think it was because of a lack of words to fully describe his stories
and not for a lack of truth in them (85). Rat Kiley may muddle up some
of the details, but the bottom line for him was that the events
happened. Even when his audience didn't believe him, he simply
replied, "Fine by me. But you don't know human nature. You don't know
Nam" (93). While the stories may seem embellished or fabricated to
outsiders, they were simply the truth to the soldiers in Vietnam.
On Feb 8, 2:51 pm, "Hannah Baran (Louisa HS)" <hannah.ka...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Moria
Feb 9, 2011, 7:52:41 PM2/9/11
to The Things They Carried discussion, spring 2011 (green)
Mrs. Baran, you make a great point.
I believe the men wanted their stories believed so much because it was
something that they experienced. All of the details the soldiers
describe is something very real to them, something that they witnessed
or something that they felt. O'Brien describes Rat Kiley's stories as
a way to, "heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would
feel exactly what he felt" (O'Brien 85). The story tellers wanted
their fellow soldiers to know some of the crazy things that happened
through their time in Vietnam. When other men questioned their
stories, it seemed to question their sanity as well which was very
undermining for the men. It was so important for the other men to
believe their stories because they were so real to the soldiers
telling them and they wanted the other mean to feel what they felt.
I believe the men wanted their stories believed so much because it was
something that they experienced. All of the details the soldiers
describe is something very real to them, something that they witnessed
or something that they felt. O'Brien describes Rat Kiley's stories as
a way to, "heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would
feel exactly what he felt" (O'Brien 85). The story tellers wanted
their fellow soldiers to know some of the crazy things that happened
through their time in Vietnam. When other men questioned their
stories, it seemed to question their sanity as well which was very
undermining for the men. It was so important for the other men to
believe their stories because they were so real to the soldiers
telling them and they wanted the other mean to feel what they felt.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages