Flash fiction is a style of writing that is very short. Basically it is a type of short story that is usually less than 1,000 words. This style is very fitting "Fatal Light" by Richard Curry. If you look at the book it ends up being a collection of short stories split up into separate chapters all having to do with the effects of the Vietnam war.
In the book there are some chapters that don't even span half a page, yet tell a poignant story related to the war. I think the point of these short stories can be related to the ideas in "The Things They Carried" in the sense that a war story does not have to be long or overly descriptive. The power of a war story is in its brutal honesty. War stories don't focus on describing their surroundings as much as they focus on showing people what war is really like. These two books have both focused on the truth of war that is not shown in the films. War is really about survival and not bravery. When you are on the front lines you don't worry about bravery or medals, but doing your duty and surviving another day.
Although the book uses flash fiction in its individual chapters, it binds all these short stories together into unified section's that create a narrative. "Fatal Light" uses flash fiction to its advantage in individual parts, yet I would not call the final product a collection of flash fiction stories because the book uses these stories as a whole to send its readers a single message about the truth of war.
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Flash fiction is a style of writing that is very short. Basically it is a type of short story that is usually less than 1,000 words. This style is used in "Fatal Light" by Richard Curry. If you look at the book it ends up being a collection of short stories split up into separate chapters all having to do with the effects of the Vietnam war.
ReplyDeleteIn the book there are some chapters that don't even span half a page, yet tell a poignant story related to the war. I think the point of these short stories can be related to the ideas presented in "The Things They Carried". Tim O'Brien also employs the notion that a war story does not have to be long or overly descriptive. The power of a war story is in its brutal honesty. War stories don't focus on describing their surroundings as much as they focus on showing what war is really like for the soldiers. These two books both focused on the truth of war that is hidden by popular culture. War is really about survival and not bravery. When you are on the front lines you don't worry about heroics or medals, but on doing your duty and surviving another day.
Although the book uses flash fiction in its individual chapters, it binds all these short stories together into unified section's that create a narrative. "Fatal Light" uses flash fiction to its advantage in its individual parts, yet I would not call the final product a collection of flash fiction stories. For example the main character comes to Vietnam as a young adult fresh from High school. However, he is quickly assigned to the position of medic. Once he leaves Vietnam its clear he is no longer the same person. "It's how I feel. Ever since I got here. Everything is part of my boyhood. Other times things that I loved aren't mine anymore. As if I'm coming back here after twenty years" (160). This quote shows how although his surrounding may be recognizable, they are no longer meaningful. After the war, the protagonists loss of innocence disrupted his ability to adjust back to regular life. The book uses these passages to form a single message about the truth of war.