"Notes"
How does O'Brien mix memoir and fiction in this piece? Does it bother you not to know which parts are "true" and which parts are not? Explain.
"In the Field"
In what way does Jimmy Cross use a storytelling technique to deal with his role in Kiowa's death? Is he successful? Explain.
O'Brien mixes memoir and fiction by writing out the events as they happened, but then omitting some parts of it making things seem better than they were. It doesn't really bother me to not know which parts are true and what parts are not. It kind of turns the story into a mystery, leaving it up to the reader to figure out what is real.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross talks about how he was under the ponchos with him and how they talked about their family, hometown, and girlfriends. I think he is successful because it shows that he was present at the time of his death and that it was very traumatizing for him.
Memoir is not held to as stringent standards as autobiography, so it's OK to bend the truth slightly.
DeleteO'Brien mixes memoir and fiction in this piece by telling about the things that happened to Norman and about his process of writing his other book. I suppose it does bother me that I don't know which parts are true and which parts are not, but in a way, I don't mind, because it makes me think about the possibilities.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross uses a story technique to deal with his role in Kiowa's death by talking about how the boy that turned on the flashlight felt guilty for the death of Kiowa, just as he did. He talks about writing a letter to Kiowa's father. He also describes the men pulling Kiowa out of the mud and how he felt responsible for his death for having them set up camp in that field. I think this was successful because it interested me very much just like stories are supposed to and it also seemed very real- not just a story.
O'Brien excels at the appearance of verisimilitude, making fictional events seem real.
DeleteO'Brien mixes memoir and fiction by telling about his friend and he felt about his death, and simultaneously telling stories (probably fake) from war. I don't like thinking that there's a mix so I just read it as if all of it is true. Jimmy Cross talks about Kiowa's last night a lot, the conversation they had, the picture they looked at and the jokes they made. He was successful because telling stories was an opportunity for him to get stuff off of his chest and feel less alone. Talking about it helped him cope with the guilt and loss.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree that stories have this kind of power, Abby? (I believe they do.)
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ReplyDeleteO'Brien does a great job of mixing the two. He takes out some parts and will add more in to make it sound better. It doesn't exactly bother me but I am very curious to know what happened to Norman Bowker. Jimmy cross was there during the death so he knows exactly how it occurred. He still feels like it was all his fault for not doing more to save his friend so telling it in a story helps him to get the situation off of his chest.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a valuable part of storytelling. Once it's told, we can choose to remember or forget it. If it's too painful ... DELETE.
DeleteO’Brien mixes memoir and fiction by discussing his feelings of his friend and his death as well as discussing war stories that may or may not be true. The major point that proves that something was true in the chapter was the reference to his previous books. It gave the reader a time that these events could have occurred. This makes it more realistic. It doesn’t bother me too much not knowing the fact from the fiction in the story; however, I am curious of to know the whole story of Norman Bowker. I would like to know more about his life, whether it is a factual or fictional story.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross uses a storytelling technique to deal with his role in Kiowa’s death by going into detail about the events of the night. He discusses when he discovered their location, when they were attacked, and the guilt he was feeling the next day. I believe he was successful because it allowed the reader to become fully aware of his guilt and his humanity. He was not just a character in a story, he became a real person.
I like your last line, Bethany. I agree that O'Brien managed to created a character who was fully round.
DeleteO'Brien provides a nice blend of memoir and fiction by giving insight on his friends, along with the war stories. Not knowing what parts of the story are true actually makes it more interesting, and lets the reader decide what the want to believe is true.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross uses the storytelling technique of talking about his surroundings while dealing with Kiowa's death. He also describes how he feels guilty and is filled with regret. His technique is effective and successful because it makes the story feel real because the feelings he describes seem relatable.
Next year, we will talk at length about the "relatable" part of storytelling. Suffice to say (for now) that some critics don't believe it is as important as some readers believe.
DeleteO'Brien mixes memoir and narrative into his story. He incorporates the two together very well by including Bowker's story into his own. The idea that O'Brien included some information, while leaving other information out bothers me a little bit. Especially since it is suggested that Bowker hanged himself due to the absence of Kiowa, and his death. I don't like not knowing what is the truth, and what isn't. With this book truth is very hard to distinguish from fiction.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross talks about the night that the soldiers set up camp in the river bed, He explains that he should have gone with his gut feeling, and not camped there. Cross still feels that Kiowa's death is entirely his fault. He decides to write a letter to Kiowa's father explain to him what a good person he was, and how sorry he is for the loss. Cross hopes that the letter will help to relieve some the stress that is on him.
Do you believe the letter will relieve this stress, or will it merely add to it?
DeleteIn the chapter "Notes", O'brien mixes a memoir and a narrative together to form a confusing grey area in which the reader cannot distinguish what is truth and what is fiction. This is a very effective way to grab an audience's attention and keep it. The entire time I've been reading this novel I have wondered what has and has not happened to the real Tim O'brien. I have invested more time and thought into this book than I have in any other assignment I have had in English class. This is what makes the book so capturing. O'brien's style of writing is very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteAfter Kiowa's death, Lt. Cross' guilt was almost palpable. He felt that is was his fault that Kiowa is now dead. Cross is not the only one with this feeling, however. The boy with the flashlight and Bowker both feel that they are also at fault. But I digress. Cross seems to deal with his guilt by reliving the events of that night in vivid detail. Cross' recounting of the events turns into a sort of narrative; the reader feels as if he was there with Lt. Cross when Kiowa was killed. I think that he does this so that he will never forget. It is very similar to the after math of Lavender's death. Lt. Cross cannot and will not let himself forget about the soldiers he has lost.
Good use of the word "palpable," and great analysis overall, Cecilia.
DeleteO'Brien fused a memoir and narrative together by writing about events and adding his own 'little twist' into the story. He writes down events that happened to him in Vietnam and adds his own fictitious parts. For example, he reveals that he did not kill the man he was talking about in the previous chapter; He was just present when the guy was killed. He also reveals that the daughter that asked about his killings is fictionalized as well. It doesn't bother me not knowing what parts is fiction and which ones are not. It actually keeps me interested throughout the novel. I like O'Brien's way of illustrating a 'plot twist' and I find this method very creative and effective.
ReplyDeleteHow Jimmy Cross used a storytelling technique to deal with Kiowa's death was by flashing back to the day that Kiowa died and recalling the conversations, the pictures, and even the jokes that they told together. He uses this technique to cope with his death and he uses it very successfully. It makes him relive the final events he had with Kiowa and helps him come to terms with the entire situation.
This is less a book about war than it is a book about stories — their strengths, weaknesses, and power. Good entry, Kira.
DeleteO'brien mixes memoir and fiction by telling how he feels about his friend, and also saying some stories that are not true. It doesn't bother me not knowing what is and isn't true because I know some of it may not be true and other parts might, but it is a good story so I don't care.
ReplyDeleteCross tells about his surroundings to help with dealing with it. He still felt guilty for the death of Kiowa, so he writes a letter to Kiowa's father.
I like your attitude, Jake. A good story is a good story, and who cares if it's objectively "true"?
DeleteO'Brian mixes memoir and fiction because he writes things as they actually happened, but he also added other things that aren't necessarily true to make the story seem better. It doesn't really bother me that much because he admits that a lot of it isn't true and he didn't lie and claim it was all real. It would be cool to know what things actually happened, but I guess we won't get to find out.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross uses story telling to deal with Kiowa's death by talking about how he felt guilty.He talked about how the boy with the flashlight and Bowker also felt that they were to blame. I think he tells the story so he doesn't forget abut what happened because he doesn't want Kiowa to die in memory too.
You could poke around the Internet a little. My guess is that someone has separated fact from fiction as far as this book is concerned.
DeleteO'Brien mixes memoir and fiction by adding certain things into some parts that didn't really happen. He made it seem better than things were. It would kinda bother me to know what is true and what is not because I think some parts of the book are really interesting and that would suck if it wasn't a true story. He brings up things that happened during Kiowa's death and he took the blame for it. The story seemed very realistic and the flashbacks really helped make it seem real. He was successful with this story because he made me believe it was real. This is the one story that I honestly think is true.
ReplyDeleteWhich parts are interesting and which "suck," Leelee? If the story you believe is true isn't, what does that say about O'Brien's skill as a writer?
DeleteO'Brien mixes memoir and fiction by telling of his friends death, but also telling some stories that didn't really happen. In a way, it bothers me that he made up some things, but it also makes for a good story. If the war had been boring, we wouldn't want to read about it. So I feel like that when the war got boring, or he had no interesting stories to tell at some points, he would make up some crazy stories that he thought the readers might like to think happened.
ReplyDeleteStories do tend to fill up the boring times in our lives, Tiffany. I love to hear people tell stories, even when they lie to me. It's entertaining.
DeleteObrien mixes memoir an fiction in his stories to created an interesting tale. He based he stories on events in his life but then adds other stories in his tale to spice it up. It does not bother me at all not knowing what is true or not. I see the book as stories and not factual information of events.
ReplyDeleteObrien feels guilty for the death of Kiowa. He used detail story teller to create a mental movie in my head. He wrote a letter to Kiowa's family apologies for the death of their loved one. I believe the story telling strategies were successful. Obrien created a story that felt real, so he did his job well.
You have a good way of looking at the book. Still, beneath all the fictional stories is a kernel of truth, don't you think?
DeleteO'Brien's book is a constantly intermixing path between memoir and fiction, so much so that I'm beginning to question everything he says. This is necessary, though, to keep the story interesting. I feel like a war story is only as good as its action, and while we've heard many great war stories, you don't often hear more than one from the same person. If O'Brien has only one true, worthy war story, he must fabricate the rest of the book so as not to lose out attention, and I like that. It keeps it interesting.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cross uses a substantial amount of detail when discussing Kiowa's death. Cross seems to have this habit of not being able to let go of a soldier's death and feeling wholly responsible, when he isn't any more that fault than the rest of the men. I don't think he's truly successful in healing because he remembers the story to a t, proving that he thinks of it often, and in vivid detail. In no way is this constant reminding going to allow him to more through the stages of grief and begin to heal.
Good comments regarding memoir and fiction, Sam. The memoir genre is allowed more leeway than straight non-fiction and can therefore "embellish" more details.
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