Mr. Pursley English 215-024 November 30, 2010 War: The Raw Truth War novels often contain gruesome details about injuries sustained in battles alongside tales of camaraderie and friendship, and these qualities can be seen in two modern war novels, Catch-22and The Things They Carried. Underneath this basic plotline, both novels address deeper issues that caused turmoil on the home front as well as on the battlefield. Some parts of these novels are disturbing, but they are meant to teach and to cruelly entertain. Although “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien and Catch-22by Joseph Heller are about different periods of war, they both demonstrate the moral ambiguities associated with war, and try to make sense of them through humorous, yet horrible anecdotes from the characters in the novel, which show the civilian switch in focus from winning or losing the war to concern for soldiers that were losing their minds. In both Catch-22and “How to Tell a True War Story,” the authors describe scenes from a day in the life of a soldier in World War II and the Vietnam War, respectively. Both novels contain moments when characters find themselves in a moral dilemma, and each of these situations tends to touch readers in a way that triggers emotion for the soldiers rather than the cause. In Catch-22, Heller, through Major Major, explores acts of deceit and their consequences. Major Major gets promoted on accident, and this promotion disconnects him from his comrades who do not think they can be friends with someone who outranks them. When Major Major is sent to Pianosa, he finally fits in while playing basketball, until he is made squadron commander, then the other players are scared to play him or talk to him anymore. Major Major does not know his duties as squadron commander, but he assumes that somehow they are getting done. One thing he can do is sign documents given to him by other officers to be read over and approved.
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