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The Truth Within Their Story
In the war, the happening truth refers to how it is impossible to know or remember the
exact event that happens, while the story truth will always be made up in people’s minds. In the
novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, story-truths are a much more exaggerated
explanation while the happening-truths state only the facts. The story-truth is more “truer” than
the happening-truth because it provides more detailed information on O’Brien’s feelings and
story at the same time rather than just the story itself.
The story truth is the truth that O’Brien used with exaggeration to make the readers feel
like they are experiencing the situation while he uses happening truth to discuss his personal
experiences. The story truth is proved to be exaggerated when he says, “War is hell...War is
nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead”
(How to Tell a True War Story). According to the dictionary, war is a state of armed conflict
between states or societies but in the book, O’Brien defines the war is ‘hell’, which is a
completely exaggerated metaphor, Although it may be exaggerated, this provides a better
understanding of O’Brien’s feelings towards the war. The story-truth is written to attract readers
which is why it is more interesting and readers pay attention to the story-truth more than the
happening truth. An example of a happening truth is, “... after two hours he went off for a drink
of water; he used a jump rope; his friends found him hanging from a water pipe” (Notes). This is
an example of a happening-truth that describes how Norman Bowker, one of the soldiers,
committed suicide. Bowker represented how guilt can or have affected people from the Vietnam
War. This situation was described much more subtly compared to the story-truth. How the
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story-truth quote is said and described is very strong compared to the happening-truth which just
includes details for the readers to image.
His story-truths include better insights of what he saw and a more detailed explanation of
what exactly occurred. One example would be, “It was near dusk and we were sitting at...
