“It was not a matter of live or die… And it will always be that way.” (O’Brien 133)
This quote shows the literary term understatement because they are almost saying like it's normal to just be numb to the things happening around you and that during war that won't change and will always be that way. This helps you understand better how people during war feel about feeling numb to the major things happening around them, for example dying. This helped me understand the author's perspective on war because he feels and though he has become numb and ignoring of the deaths and violence around him, he sees it as “Not a matter of live or die” because things will always be that way and he has become desensitized to it.
““Daddy tell the truth, Kathleen can say ‘did you ever kill anyone?’ and I can say honestly, ‘of course not.’ or i can say honestly, ‘yes.’” (O’Brien 180)
This quote exemplifies paradox because Tim is saying that he could say that he didn't actually kill people. But he could also say yes I did kill people. This helps me better understand more how Tim has created his own way of processing war and the deaths he has witnessed. This helps me understand the author's perspective on war because he is using this paradox to tell us that Tim makes up what he wants to think about himself killing people, telling these stories differently to better help himself understand what he endured during war.
The author's perspective on war is that it changes your life a lot in different but similar ways. It changes you in the way you see life, but also makes you not take things for granted or lightly. War can have serious effects on how they shape their opinions and thoughts. War can be mind numbing and change someone's mentality or outlook on reality after the trauma they encounter in war.