How to Tell a True War Story

1. A true war story is never moral. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. (pg 65)
2. You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. (pg 66)
3. In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. (pg 67)
4. In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. (pg 68)
5. You can tell a true war story by the way it never seems to end. (pg 72)
6. In a true war story, if there's a moral at all, it's like the thread that makes the cloth. (pg 74)
7. Often in a true war story there is not even a point. (pg 78)
8. You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. (pg 79)
9. You can tell a true war story if you just keep on telling it. (pg 81)
10. And in the end, a true war story is never about the war. (pg81)

While I was reading this chapter, I came across a few new literary terms. On page 66 after Rule 2, I found (what I think to be) an epanalepsis: "If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote." I found this epanalepsis a bit humorous and very true. I understand that sometimes obscenity is necessary to tell the truth, and if you don't want to know the truth, then how can your actions (especially voting) be creditable?

I also found that Rule 4 is an antithesis. The subject of the sentence is "a true war story," obviously something that is valid. But the verb of the sentence is "cannot be believed." How can something like a true war story not be believed?

Another literary device is Rule 6 which is a simile. "A moral is like a thread that makes a cloth." It is necessary because with out it, there would be no cloth, no point to the story.

Similes and Metaphors

In chapter 16, the author used a few different similes and metaphors. I thought this variety of literary devices added positively to the novel. Instead of using regular comparisons, Hemmingway spiced up his writing by using the metaphors and similes.

On page 157, the author wrote "the cafe was like a battleship stripped for action." He used a simile to compare the cafe to a battleship instead of just saying "the cafe was really busy." Hemmingway also compared a firecracker to a bomb. He wrote "the ball of smoke hing in the sky like a shrapnel burst..." This comparison makes the writing more interesting. It also provides imagery because a reader can picture the burst of light in the sky.

Along with similes, the author also used metaphors. For example, Hemmingway compared "a guard of soldiers" (pg 159) to giants. He was able to compare two different things with out the use of like or as. The variety in his writing keeps the readers interested and enthralled in the novel.