Throughout Tim O'Brien's work I've noticed a trend in his writing style that resembles stream of conscious writing. In his short stories, the sentences seem to flow like he was talking to you in a personal setting. In a way, this might contradict the "separation" from O'Brien and his readers that we have been talking about the past couple of class periods. Nonetheless, his writing style and sentence flow seem to read very personal and "off the top of his head." I don't mean to negate his literary techniques in any way, because the beauty in his writing is definitely there. I think that this is another layer that makes his work so unique. Whether or not this is a symptom of PTSD or not, I'm not sure, but the stream of conscious style works great for story telling--which is essentially what he is doing in this book.
I noticed this when we were reading "The Things They Carried" chapter in his book. More importantly, however, when we were writing our own "What We Carried" I felt like stream of consciousness was the only way to attain the depth and level of emotion that Tim O'Brien achieves.
After writing this blog, I'm beginning to question how much distance Tim O'Brien really puts up between him and his readers. If I can imagine him sitting in a room reading this to me, does he really not like his readers?
I'm in total agreement with the above suggestion that O'Brien holds his readers at much less arm's length than he seems to think. By allowing the reader to access the seemingly-organic flow of his thoughts created by the stream of consciousness style, he allows for a certain rawness and vulnerability to associate itself with him. This vivid, open portrayal of emotion in his work is something which I feel stands as evidence of his desire to connect and provide the reader with a greater sense of understanding.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand what both of you guys are saying. I had previously tried and failed at describing his style of writing, but really think you guys nailed it. The way he writes is very natural and makes you realize how intense his life experiences have been.
ReplyDeleteI too noticed how his writing seems to flow from his conscience. It seems he remembers things not in order, not out of order, but jumbled in a way that makes sense in his head, and he writes them out as such.
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