Week 8 assigned topic

I think the very first sentnce of the article," The Literature of vietnam war" can sum up the essence of Vietnam literature.
“War stories aren't always about war, per se. They aren't about bombs and bullets and military maneuvers. They aren't about tactics, they aren't about foxholes and canteens. A war story, like any good story, is finally about the human heart. (Tim O’Brian)

As we’ve seen from the novel, “The things they carried,” war literature cannot be summed up in a single type of style or theme. Instead its a collage of stories from peoples hearts and memories of the horrific things they witnessed and did. Obrian defines war as being immoral, obscene, evil, untellable, having no meaning, and even being beautiful. (How to tell a true war story.) I dont think we will ever know what a true war story is, or a single defining style of war literature unless we have been through a war and experienced the things soldiers have. The men that have faught the war are the only people who have the answer to the question of coming up with a working definition of war literature. Until we are ever faced with the actualities of war and actually being there, all we are able to know is the stories we hear from these brave men. Whether true or not, or in pure form or embelished to make them seem more heroic, these stories are more than just stories to the people who lived them and we must respect that.