In "How to Tell a True War Story" Tim O'Brien expresses his thoughts on the true war story and how it changes depending on of the person telling it. Jon Krakauer discusses Chris McCandless's journey into the Alaskan wilderness, and the reasons for McCandless's gruesome death in an isolated location, in his book "Into the Wild." O'Brien recounts a soldier's introspection and war story by saying that the war story portrays a soldier's feelings. A soldier's war story is not the exact war story; it is the illustration of that particular soldier's perception. Telling a war story is not about inundating others with facts and numbers, but about the introspection of a soldier, because that soldier determines what and how to tell the war story. As he tells the story of the war, he questions his thoughts and feelings. O'Brien explains that when soldiers meditate on the external environment they will contemplate their internal thoughts. Krakauer not only elaborates on McCandless's journey but also expresses his experience of traveling in the Alaskan wilderness. This indirect act by Krakauer reflects McCandless's inner thoughts. McCandless embarked on the journey to detach himself from the social world to explore more about himself. Both Krakauer and O'Brien analyze the feelings of individuals who have been separated from their comfort zones. Introspection is the practice of self-observation of one's thoughts and feelings. When a person analyzes another person's experiences, they give only peripheral thoughts about that person and the experience. Even if it doesn't clarify the whole idea, the introspection of that experience gives a clearer perspective of that experience. A person's experience has a prof...... middle of paper ...... war history is a way of introspection. Questioning the war story and finding the components it contains provides more meaning to the real war story than accepting it as it is. During his journey into the wilds of Alaska, Krakauer discovers more about McCandless. Krakauer builds some ideas about McCandless from the information he gathers. Although the exact meaning of McCandless's journey and the true war story are impenetrable, introspection provides the main ideas about them and clarifies their ambiguities. O'Brien and Krakauer use introspection as a tool and dismantle the dark part of these experiences. Works Cited Krakauer, Jon. In the wild nature. New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1997.O'Brien, Tim. "How to tell a real war story." Bedford's compact introduction to literature. Ed. Michael Mayer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003, p. 420-429.