Has someone ever told you a story that seemed way too fantastical? Well, did you end up believing them or did you let it go right over your head? In the story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien shares a story that was told by Rat. The story was about how Rat had a beautiful young girl as a girlfriend and they were crazy in love. Then in the end, she turned out to be a cannibal. It was very fantastical and it made it way less compelling.
In the chapter, Rat says that his girlfriend is loving and they’re madly in love. Earlier in the book, O’Brien says that a true war story is something that is convincing, but they’re all made up. The story that Rat shares fits a “true war story” perfectly because it is very fantastical and it is made up, but the reader or listener will never know. I do not believe the story that Rat told in the chapter because it sounds too fantastical. In other words, the story doesn’t sound real. The girl was in love with Rat, but flirted with other people, and then she was a cannibal. Even back then it wasn’t normal to be a cannibal. We exaggerate the truth in our stories because I think we want to fit in more. I think this because people want to fit in more and if their story is interesting and unique, then people want to hear about it and are willing to listen to you more than normal. Another reason that people exaggerate their stories is because they want to feel better about themselves and make themselves feel better. For example, people make themselves feel better if they have a more interesting story because they believe that they are valued more because of the exaggerated story.