How to Write a War Story

If you read The Things They Carried then you’ll understand my blog title. I’m not going explain the reference, but I will explain what this post is. For this week we were instructed to watch an interview with Tim O’Brien about his novel, and he explained his intentions related to the novel.

There’s the plain introduction paragraph, so now for the good stuff: what happened in the interveiw. One of the interesting things O’Brien said was that, althought his stories are based on events, most of it is fiction. He added his name into the story to make the story more relatable. The intention of all of this was to pull the reader into the story. O’Brien mentioned he waited until 20 years after the war to release his book. He felt like that helped get rid of the extra unnecessary parts of stories that everyone gets stuck on because they feel that they are important when they are not. I found that interesting, incredibly interesting, and relevant to real life.

I was upset to find out it was primarily fake, but it proves the point of “How to Write a War Story”.

Don’t Quote Me on This…

Quotes are so beautiful because someone has figured out how to explain something so perfectly with words. I enjoy reading quotes and recall many of them when I am upset or need some advice about life. This being said, choosing favorites is not easy for me. The two quotes I have written about are among the ones that have touched my heart. If you wish to see some other quotes I enjoy, then check out my Pinterest.

One of my favorite quotes is in an episode of Dr. Who; Amy Pond said this about her boyfriend Rory: “You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful, and then you actually talk to them, and five minutes later they’re dull as a brick. But then there’s other people, and you meet them and you think ‘not bad, they’re okay’, and then you get to know them, and their face sort of becomes them, like their personality is written all over it, and they just they turn into something so beautiful. Rory is the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.”

When she said it the first time my heart melted. In the television show, Amy is beautiful and intelligent while Rory is nerdy and not a person most would give a second look at, but he always shows his love for Amy. My favorite part is when she finishes her statement by calling Rory beautiful. Her voice does not falter and with her tone she also tells that no other statement could be truer. I have found her statement to be true in my relationships. They say “love is blind,” but if anything love provides better sight.

One of the quotes I use most is, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” I have this quote memorized possibly because it is so short or simply, but the meaning is much larger. Life can be difficult and as humans we begin to question why me or why is God doing this. These hardships cause each of us to grow as individuals. Someone could make the argument that it could help others as well, which I agree, but ultimately everyone has to experience the event because that’s how their life is shaped. In order for a sailor to be good, he must have the knowledge and experience of working with the sea.

A Bit about The Things They Carried

Tom O’Brien wrote The Things They Carried in 1990 after the Vietnam War. O’Brien was a only a child when the war started, but after college was drafted into the army for two years. He basically spent his life centered around the conflict with other countries and after the experience in the battle, it makes since that he continued his life as an author of war novels.

Novels are easiest to understand when there is an understanding of the author’s past. Tom O’Brien’s background was centered around the Vietnam War in which his novels also mirror. The Vietnam War is also known as the Forgotten War. There was no front of this war and there was the possibility than anyone was an enemy. This hostility eventually lead to protests in America. There was little moral and the soldiers returned home to no praise. Most soldiers became alcoholics, got a divorce, committed suicide, became unemployed etc. upon returning home.

Throughout my school years I have learned bits about the Vietnam War, and this article revisits what I have learned in greater detail. The horrific knowledge about this war and O’Brien’s timeline makes me curious as to what he put into his novel The Things They Carried.

Penny for Your Thoughts?

For the English assignment this week, I was instructed to comment on other classmate’s blogs. I chose a few from the list and looked for the posts that contained their own thoughts versus a summary of an event.

First on my list was Monsef’s post about “Life’s Pursuit” by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Monsef summarized this zentangle, but followed up with his personal commentary. The main message of the comic was the distraction of material items and the toll it takes on people’s lives. These materialistic items seem to mean so much, but do nothing to benefit our lives. Life is short, but it should be lived full of joy and not through items.

I commented on Clayton’s post because it was one that caught my attention before I even received this assignment. In general, I am always intrigued by his writing, so this chance to look at his writing life outside of school. His writing life is quotes. When he is faced by a question he turns off lights to better think in darkness. When he comes to a conclusion, he turns it into a quote. These quotes he keeps to himself unless there is a situation where he can use his quote as advice to someone else in a similar position.

Finally, I commented on another zentangle blog by Molly. Her choice was similar to mine since it involved her love for art. The comic she chose was “The Calling.” Some of the first pictures in the comic were about artists’ pay checks in which Molly tired back to an inside joke about her friends and their future together as artists. The comic is about an artist’s life, but also about their motivation to never give up. Molly connected the comic to the idea of making a career out of something you love.

I have enjoyed reading other people’s thoughts, and will probably continue to comment on additional blogs to encourage the authors and help them improve.