The Hidden Truth - Essay Example

The Hidden Truth They say survival is for the fittest. One would relevantly want to know the meaning and truth underlying the life in a hostile environment. Both Nafisi and O'Brien search to find meaning in the life-threatening and hostile worlds. There are eminent similarities as well as differences in their views as articulated in their respective passages. Objects representing the life challenges that define their survival such as mountaintops, concrete and abstract ways, are consistent in the passages.

This paper analyses both readings, “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien’s and "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi. To achieve this noble goal, the paper will discuss the different views about the hostile world as demonstrated by Nafisi and O'Brien. It will also seek to justify the meaning of the objects as used in the passages. Both Nafisi and O’Brien’s demonstrate their urge to the true definition of truth, the inner truth in our hostile environments. However, even as they seek to unearth this truth, a lot of contradictions, irony, and even fiction emerge.

They live in two different worlds yet both are suffering. As Nafisi portray the hardship that Muslim women encounter O’Brien focuses on the hardship in a war front. O’ Brien tells the stories from firsthand experience and as a second party. His Attitudes and experiences during the war significantly affect the picture that we get of Vietnam. Tim O’Brien was against the war but had no choice other than to serve hence he had to join it (O’Brien Web). Again, Nafisi was against the Muslim restrictions bestowed on women but she had no choice but to abide by them (Nafisi Web).

The two demonstrates how it was necessary for them finding peace where there is no peace. This establishes a similarity in their differences. In course of finding the underlying truth, conflicting ideas, and contradictory truths are established. O’Brien tells us that it is not possible to extract the true meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning (O’Brien Web). This is a contradicting idea and is widely established in the passages. O’Brien demonstrates through the stories that the truths in war are contradictory.

He quotes a situation where the soldiers’ minds play tricks on them. Their imagination was wrong and they could not separate reality from fiction. Because of this miscalculation, the soldier’s survive by telling and not telling this story (O’Brien Web). Telling and not telling, the truths in war are all contradictory ideas. In addition, the statements that a true war story is hard to believe, and that the crazy things in a true war story are true and the normal are not, are all contradicting.

Another contradiction comes in where he says that war songs cannot even be told, but he goes on to tell a story a fellow soldier had told him. On the other hand, Nafisi denotes that her class was about fiction and reality, which is also contradictory (Nafisi Web). They both use contradiction to explain different ideas. In search of the truth, the two passages reveal uttermost irony though in different forms. Nafisi tells us of a blind film censor who would sit in the theater wearing thick glasses and receive directions from his assistant.

It leaves a lot of doubt how a blind censor would direct a film every day. Again, women lived in separation from men in buses and other places yet they were flocked together in minibuses and taxis. Nafisi also draw us to Yanni’s lecturer who taught Islamic morality yet when his wife died, he married her younger sister because men have special needs. Mr. Bahri’s reference to the veil as a piece of cloth was ironical as he was a defender of the Muslim faith (Nafisi Web). O’Brien on the other hand reveals a lot of irony when he says that it is safe to say that in a true war story nothing much is ever very true (O’Brien Web).

It is also ironical that after many days of silence and listening, the soldiers’ starts hearing things that are not there. It is ironical that a story with a moral lesson is actually a lie. Rat ironically quotes Jesus Christ in writing what he calls a beautiful fucking letter (O’Brien Web). The moral in this statement contradicts with the holiness attached to Jesus Christ. Though different, the two passages demonstrate the aspect of irony in finding the meaning of this hostile life. In seeking the truth, the two have used different objects to symbolize different meanings.

The use of a mountain in the O’Brien story is very significant. It demonstrates the many unknown challenges that characterize human life. The fact that the soldiers await the crossing of the river to go to the mountain to do unwilling and fearful things, justifies the continued struggle of man to get freedom. The use of the veil in Nafisi story is also a significant object. It signifies the many restrictions expressed on women by the Muslim culture. In fact, Nafisi tells us that the refusal to put on the veil, demonstrated the quest for freedom among the Muslim women (Nafisi Web).

The blind film censor wore dark glasses (Nafisi Web). These glasses hid the truth about the blindness of the censor. Alhough the objects are different, they serve the same purpose of fighting for freedom and in this case the revelation of the hidden truth. In seeking the truth about the meaning of our hostile worlds, the two passages imply that we need understand the deeper meanings of happenings to get the true meaning of life. I conclude by confirming that the two passages effectively serve the purpose of the paper.

Works Cited Nafisi, Azar. “Reading Lolita in Tehran” Web 22, February 2012. O’Brien, Tim. “How to Tell a True War Story”. 1990. Web 22, February 2012.