How To Tell A True War Story Summary

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The Moral of the Story

War is never poetic, however, Wilfred Owen England, author of Dulce Et Decorum Est, brings to life an experience he had at war. Although the language is gory and he refrained from niceties, the story he tells is vivid and makes you feel that you are there at the moment experiencing it with him. Makes one wonder why the title, which in translation means “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”, is chosen when he experienced so much death around him. On the other hand, author Tim O’Brien begins to tell the story as though it is coming from a second party and gives it philosophical twist here and there, which creates an interesting telltale version of stories in How to Tell a True War Story. The story being told by Wilfred Owen sounds is more believable as he states it experiencing it firsthand. …show more content…

He starts by telling a story as if Rat is the one who experienced it. He starts the war story with “THIS IS TRUE”(pg. 241), but further on states that “A true war story cannot be believed…”, which makes you wonder if the story he’s telling is true at all. All stories should have a moral or make a point but O’Brien states that, “A true war story is never moral…If a story seems moral, do not believe it (pg. 241-242)”. The author continues to contradict himself through this story and reflects on the “why” a war story should not be believed. As Tim O’Brien talks about having had the same experience 20 years ago where he begins to describe On the other hand when Wilfred Owen writes about being in the war there is no doubting that this man actually went through the things he writes down on paper. The description gives a vivid picture of the type of war he was

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