" A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing things they have already done." -pg. 65
A war story takes place when humans are in their rawest and most vulnerable state. They are not romanticized or used to teach a lesson; they are used to show how humans react. They are basically psychology studies. O'Brien knows that the men he writes about cussed, drank, showed little respect to the dead, and were generally vulger beings, but he also knew they were realistic. They have spirit, a sense of adventure and danger, and they relate more easily to everyday people. O'Brien does not expect his characters to become revered as good men, but only to be understood as such. I like war stories because they give me a fresh world to explore, but a world that really exists. War stories are timeless because as long as there are humans seeking to gain, there will be war.
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