O'Brien styles much of his work through contrast in an effort I think to show the reality of his story telling. Because as O'Brien makes a point to note that life itself is a contradiction. I noticed this is the readings of both "The Rainy River" and "The Man I Killed". In the story "The Man I Killed" O'Brien begins with the bloody and gruesome description of the soldier he has killed yet as he goes on to describe the "horror" scene he also throws in direct contrasts such as
"...there was a slight tear at the lobe of one ear, his clean black hair was swept upward into a cowlick at the rear of the skull, his forehead was lightly freckled, his fingernails were clean, the skin at his left cheek was peeled back in three ragged strips, his right cheek was smooth and hairless, there was a butterfly on his chin..."
The constant ping pong between gory and clean details show O'Brien's ever present theme of incorporating the beauty and tragedy of life that ultimately shows the stark reality of life. You cannot not have one without the other. Both give balance.
As far as O'Brien's use of the emotion of shame as a motivating factor for his characters, this is best shown in the stories "On the Rainy River" and "The Dentist".
In "On the Rainy River" Tim O'Brien as the character says that while on the river "...and I couldn't risk the embarrassment...I couldn't endure the mockery, or the disgrace, or the patriotic ridicule."
This feeling of having people who's opinion's mattered to him is what motivate's him to finally enlist. Not what he believe's in his heart.
The second story "The Dentist" in which Curt Lemon who is so embarrassed about passing out at the dentist's office felt he had to redeem himself by yanking out his tooth that was in perfect health. The following quote further shows this:
" The embarrassment must've turned a screw in his head. Late that night he crept down to the dental tent. He switched on a flashlight, woke up the young captain, and told him he had a monster toothache. A killer, he said —like a nail in his jaw. The dentist couldn't find any problem, but Lemon kept insisting, so the man finally shrugged and shot in the Novocain and yanked out a perfectly good tooth."
This feeling of having people who's opinion's mattered to him is what motivate's him to finally enlist. Not what he believe's in his heart.
The second story "The Dentist" in which Curt Lemon who is so embarrassed about passing out at the dentist's office felt he had to redeem himself by yanking out his tooth that was in perfect health. The following quote further shows this:
" The embarrassment must've turned a screw in his head. Late that night he crept down to the dental tent. He switched on a flashlight, woke up the young captain, and told him he had a monster toothache. A killer, he said —like a nail in his jaw. The dentist couldn't find any problem, but Lemon kept insisting, so the man finally shrugged and shot in the Novocain and yanked out a perfectly good tooth."
I agree that shame and contradiction are a big part of How to Tell a True War Story. You make a good point that you cannot have beauty without tragedy in life. It's something that relates to all of us. Without the bad moments in life you wouldn't really realize all the positive things occurring in life. Shame is also a big part of this story when Curt goes back to the dentist to get his tooth pulled after wimping out the first time because it helps him overcome his shame. Shame is also shown when Tim is worried about what others will think if he doesn't go off to war. This is a contradiction within his own head of what he thinks is best for him vs. what others may think about him. Shame is also shown by the soldiers when their fellow men are killed and they weren't able to help or save their life. All these are parts of war, so shame and contradiction play a big part in molding the story to show a real insight of the burdens of fighting in a war.
ReplyDeleteI find guilt has one of the strongest influences on people. Lemon goes back to the dentist not just to overcome shame, but as if to make some pre-emptive strike against anyone that might bring it up in the future. It fits into the theme O’Brien was talking about in an earlier story—how courage isn’t just something you store up and eventually have an overabundance of. Lemon’s view of cowardice or weakness is that it is a mark against him—something others could exploit to mock him in the future. He wants to totally eliminate and prepare against that eventuality.
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