True War

Tim O'Brien's chapter titled "How to Tell a True War Story" (pages 64-81)sort of puts the whole book into perspective for the audience. There isn't really a climatic plot to the novel, only a bunch of small stories. I think the purpose of this entire chapter is to explain to the reader's exactly what is and is not true of the Vietnam stories. He states, "...if a [war] story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of the story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie." (page 65)

I have never thought about this but it really does make sense. All these heroic stories we hear may not be true. War is war. There's nothing good or soothing about it. It's all evil, gory, and provocative! Eighteen to twenty-five year old men/boys are not noble and honorable yet...they're killers with dirty mouths. I'll certainly think twice about the next war story I hear.