“But this too is true: stories can save us.” The Lives of the Dead affected me the most because I also believe we can keep people alive with stories, it’s almost as if they never left. When we sleep we dream, and we can dream of the people we miss. After Linda died, O’Brien was obsessed with sleeping just so he could see her again. He connects this with Vietnam, four days O’Brien has been in war and he encounters a dead man. All the soldiers have a dark sense of humor about it all by shaking his hand and calling the dead man “the guest of honor.” The soldiers would also tell stories about each other to make it seem like the departed were still with them. In the end of the story O’Brien shows us that the dead continues to live.
I strongly relate to O’Brien. From what is described of him we seem very similar, especially in this last chapter of the book. I’ve lost friends/people in my life and one way to remember them is to continue to share their stories. O’Brien keeps people alive with stories and I feel the same way. Also in general throughout the book there were parts where I understood O’Brien very well.
Tanya and Norman seem very similar to me. They are both haunted in a away whether it was 9/11 or war, the after math of it all they both lingered in the past for a while trying to feel what it was like again. Although when it comes to differences, obviously Tanya did not kill herself but she simply came to terms with the tragedy and moved on always carrying a piece of her fiancé with her. Norman on the other hand tried to feel what it was like to be in the “shit field” again and how he could’ve saved Kiowa. A couple months later after the story came out, Norman killed himself. Tanya and Norman coped differently.
I love how you compared Tanya and Norman. I never though how they were both in a way haunted by their past traumatic experience. Its neat to see how people cope differently based on their experiences.
ReplyDeleteSharing stories of those who used to be alive is an amazing way of remembering them. Just like you I have lost loved ones, one pretty recently, and in my family we keep his spirit alive by sharing the good stories we have of his life. In The Lives of the Dead O'Brien does a remarkable job of explaining this.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared Tanya and Norman! They were much more similar than I would have thought. You made a great point by saying that they were haunted by their pasts. They both coped differently but were still very similar.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the stories can make the dead come to live. It's amazing how we have the ability to cope with death in this manner so it wouldn't be so hard for us.
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