On the Complex Simplicity of Contradictions

   Contradictions are extremely abundant in the title story of "How To Tell A True War Story." I think Tim O'Brien's use of them makes sense and overall isn't really surprising in this context. Describing the indescribable is not an easy task. Describing war is far down the line of describing the indescribable. Contradictions I think help clarify how confusing war is. War in the simplest way is a contradiction. Humans are fighting humans and in many ways that does not seem the natural way. Not to mention if one adds the complexity of national pride, politics, human emotion and human philosophy to the mix. War just gets more contradictory.I feel like writing is like trying to hit a target, a very small target. Building contradictions around whatever subject matter one is writing about narrows the lane the target stands at the end of. Contradictions are almost like walls in my mind. If one offers a contradiction, it is not whatever the first statement is, but it is not what the second statement is so the truth, or the closest to the truth stands somewhere in the middle, but you cannot quite put your finger on it. Contradictions also serve the purpose of making the reader feel unbalanced, and uncertain. If the writer issues a statement that the sky is not green, but it is not blue either then it must be somewhere in between, but we're not quite sure. The effect on the reader of not being sure leaves us with feelings of anxiety about the story, especially if the technique of contradictions is used gratuitously. Contradictions are then, in accord writing about war. I think that probably a soldier is at all times, unbalanced and anxious. The constant proximity to death does that to a person. The constant exposure to contradictions mimics that anxiety in a diluted way.