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Norman Carried A Diary, Which Term Paper

These sentences run counter to what most people say about war. War is often glamorized and most often glamorized by those who do not have to fight in war. Politicians often build up rhetoric for war to make men feel as though they are doing the country a great favor sacrifices their lives and their minds when they fight for their country. There is no doubt fighting for one's country is an honorable thing to do, perhaps one of the most honorable things to do; however, it is not fair to build up the glamour of war and ignore the gore. It is not fair and this is why Tim feels as though he was a coward when he decided to go to the war. The irony in the titles of the chapter "Friends" and Enemies" is the fact that in "Enemies," we see Lee's true nature when he admits he stole the knife in the first place. If Lee and Dave were truly friends, Lee would have never let Lee suffer like he did. While Lee had endured terrible physical pain, Dave was enduring amore severe mental anguish. This is something that would not heal without the two making some sort of reconciliation. Dave, had he been a true friend, would have approach Lee and talked...

He never liked Dave in the first place, which is why he took his knife and he was more than happy to watch him suffer. In "Friends," the two seemed to reached a meeting of the minds but the end of the story illustrates how something between these friends was not right. Had the two been true friends, Dave would have been saddened by the news of Lee's death, not relived.
The ten things you need to tell a true war story are the truth -- if you feel uplifted at the end of a war story, do not believe it. You must recognize "absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil" (69). You also need to feel embarrassed when you read a true war story, according to O'Brien. A true war story will also "make the believe" (78). You don't need a point in a war story, just something that wakes you up. You need to mix truth with deception in a war story because the truth does not matter as much as the answer does. You need to make the reader believe the story you are telling is true.

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O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway Books:…

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O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway Books: Broadway, NY. 1990.
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