The Power of Storytelling (Revised)

The Power of Storytelling

            As said by Harold Goddard, “The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.”  In other words, the winning or losing of battles and wars is far less significant than the devoted and trusted memories that are passed down. This clever quote can be easily illustrated in Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried, and Elie Wiesel’s Night. Both of these novels involve exhilarating memories of young men during times of hardship and battle which can be seen through the lens of inner and outer conflict and imagery.

            It is clear that in the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, young Eliezer’s story is not one in a million. Thousands of children were separated from their parents and thrown into concentration camps, stripped of not only their clothes and possessions, but their general human rights. Despite this, Elie’s seems so unique and exceptionally meaningful. This novel is not simply a Holocaust novel; it is not an informative tale about the suffering of thousands of innocent people. When Elie tells the story, it is clear that he is faced with not only physical, tangible conflicts, but inner conflicts as well. There are several points in the novel when he mentions how hard it was to keep faith and remain strong. When the young, hungry boy decides to eat on the day he is supposed to be fasting for his Jewish holiday, it is clear that he was having an internal war with himself. Imagery is portrayed when Elie, like many prisoners in concentration camps, was tripping over dead bodies of men, women and children on a death march in the freezing cold snow. During this excerpt, the reader can truly feel a sense of frigidness and fear. Furthermore, what is the Holocaust for some people, Wiesel turns into a delicate and in-depth sketch of faith, horror, and trepidation.

The notion that story embodies such significance is also evident in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Similar to Elie’s story, Tim and all of the other soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War are much more than statistics in history. Their battles have still waged on, even though the war has long been ended. One may not believe all of the extreme stories that were told in the novel, but it is hard to not take them for what they are worth. Imagery is seen in this novel when Kiowa died in a field filled with waste. During this section, the reader could envision the helpless body of Kiowa sinking, only the steal toe of his boots coming up from the earth.  Conflict is conveyed when Rat Kiley tortures and finally kills the baby water buffalo. It is clear that Kiley did not mean to harm the animal just for the sake of harming it. He was faced with the memory of Curt Lemon dying during their grenade game, and could not deal with the internal conflict he was faced with. During these scenes, we are taken to a whole different level, out of the ordinary war story. Hearing the stories of these soldiers, what they did on a daily basis, how they survived both mentally and physically is enormously noteworthy and truly has the power to alter one’s state of mind.

            Tim and Elie’s story may be common in the history of world battles; however, hearing the in-depth details and personal memories brings such great power to their stories. The quote, “The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in” can easily be linked to Elie Wiesel’s Night and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. The power of the authors’ stories far overreaches the bottom line of the actual battle. Their detailed account of memories, whether they seem true or unbelievable, is what truly strikes the reader. The memories that these brave characters share with us is what truly catches people, what sticks out the next time they decide to tell a story about a war.