A Class Blog exploring American literature and the American experience.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
O'Brien vs. Neilson
After finishing the book and reading Neilson's "Trauma as historical amnesia" critique: what do you think about postmodernism as a style to tell war stories? Do you agree with O'Brien or Neilson?
I agree with O'Brien just because I took the standpoint of O'Brien trying to tell a story and/or stories by literally telling stories; I never got the sense that he was trying to write a recollection of the war's historical happenings. I think that for O'Brien's purpose in writing this novel (to evoke emotion in the reader with his stories), postmodernism is the only way to write it in a way that accurately conveys the emotional messages that he is trying to send the reader(s). However, if O'Brien's purpose were to talk about the war's actual events and give factual evidence supporting it, postmodernism wouldn't be acceptable in the least bit.
I think the postmodern style is good in conveying the emotions felt by O'Brien during his life including the war but I am not sure that it can provide an accurate representation of what happened in the war. I agree with Neilson in the fact that O'Brien's focus on his feelings cause him to leave out important facts about the war. O'Brien's view is very one-sided and does not gives us an accurate picture of what happened in Vietnam. I think the postmodern style is good at conveying emotions but I don't think it can accurately portray a true war story.
I agree with O'Brien just because I took the standpoint of O'Brien trying to tell a story and/or stories by literally telling stories; I never got the sense that he was trying to write a recollection of the war's historical happenings. I think that for O'Brien's purpose in writing this novel (to evoke emotion in the reader with his stories), postmodernism is the only way to write it in a way that accurately conveys the emotional messages that he is trying to send the reader(s). However, if O'Brien's purpose were to talk about the war's actual events and give factual evidence supporting it, postmodernism wouldn't be acceptable in the least bit.
ReplyDeleteI think the postmodern style is good in conveying the emotions felt by O'Brien during his life including the war but I am not sure that it can provide an accurate representation of what happened in the war. I agree with Neilson in the fact that O'Brien's focus on his feelings cause him to leave out important facts about the war. O'Brien's view is very one-sided and does not gives us an accurate picture of what happened in Vietnam. I think the postmodern style is good at conveying emotions but I don't think it can accurately portray a true war story.
ReplyDelete