“Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong”
Just yesterday, when telling a story to my peers, I will now confess that I did exaggerate some of the details. However, the key details were all accurate and true. Despite knowing in most cases that it is wrong, most of us still find ourselves lying and exaggerating details. However, in my case yesterday, the story was very believable. This is not always the case.
In Tim O’Brien’s “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong”, the character Rat Kiley tells a very exaggerated war story. While fighting in the war in Vietnam, he explains how another soldier flew his girlfriend out to their reserved, isolated camp. She came, stayed with them, learned with them, laughed with them, but was soon changed by the war, in an unforeseeable way. Mary Anne, the “Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong”, started learning too much, and becoming more adventurous and less attatched to her boyfriend. In the end, she leaves all of the men and becomes one with the jungle.
Is this story believable? Well, that differs depending on who hears it. Mitchell Sanders, for example, another character in the story, interrupts Rat Kiley as he tells it, saying that it cannot be true. After attempting to end the story unfinished, Sanders exclaims, “You can’t do that…it’s against the rules, against human nature. This elaborate story, you can’t say, Hey, by the way, I don’t know the ending. I mean, you got certain obligations”(O’Brien 107).
Mitchell Sanders in no way thought the story was true, which he implies when he becomes enraged as the story is not finished. This was a war, and it would seem to be a lot more complicated than Rat Kiley explains it as.
So, by expounding so much, and reaching so far into what seems untrue, does the story become less believable. Some might think it would be a lot less believable, but I for one, disagree.
I think that because what he tells is so strange and bizarre, there is no way he would’ve made that up. When I think of exaggerating my own stories in my own life, there is a limit that I don’t cross, because I feel people won’t believe it. However, when he tells a story that crosses the limit by so much, it becomes different, almost like it would have to be true.
While that is one side of the argument, it almost seems like I might be overthinking it, and the story might just be a straight-up lie. However, personally, I found the story very interesting and would prefer to believe that it is true, even if I have no physical proof of whether it is or not.
This also leads you to ponder, why do we exaggerate our stories? Does it make us feel more important? Are we trying to impress? Or are we just bored, and want to spice things up a little? I feel that all of these can be true in different circumstances. Sometimes there are people we want to impress, other times there are people we want to seem more important than. And when you are with your friends, sometimes you just need to make things interesting. I also feel that sometimes we like to exaggerate just for the thrill of lying, and feeling slightly nervous that someone will catch you. But is it really worth it? That is also a very personal question that very much so ranges in answers, especially given the different circumstances of the stories and such. But when you lie or exaggerate, you must always keep in mind whether it is believable or not.
This topic of understanding whether or not this story is true takes us back to when O’Brien guided us on how to tell a true war story. Going through some of the points, you would almost think this is a true war story. There is no happy ending. The girl, who everyone grows to love and appreciate, turns her back on them, and on society, and becomes one with the jungle. I would certainly not categorize that as a happy ending. Does it have a moral? Well, if one thinks about it long enough, they might see one. However, Mitchell Sanders did not. He thought of it as a story solely for entertainment. However, in its entirety, I feel that this story does fit O’Brien’s criteria for a true war story.
If storytelling is an art, I am most definitely not an artist. I have a lot to learn, but most of the learning I feel will only come with personal experience. So, the next time you have a crazy thing happen to you, and are ready to share it with your friends, keep this is mind.
