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Juxtaposition In How To Tell A True War Story

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Juxtaposition In How To Tell A True War Story
True war is exclusive, true war is not read from or watched, true war is only told by those who have faced it dead in the eye. Although experiences like these will never be truly known to the outside world, Tim O’Brien uses juxtaposition, allowing his readers to undergo the next best thing.

In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story,” O’Brien explains his take on what a real war story should look like. In it he uses juxtaposition to emphasize points and reveal the emotions of characters. An example of juxtaposition comes when the platoon encounters a water buffalo in the mountains. The author writes, “Rat Kiley went over and stroked its nose…opened up a can of C rations…shot off an ear…shot it twice…shot the mouth…wasn’t a great deal
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