Storytelling as a Developed Coping Mechanism - Not a Majority Talent

Jessica Blair
             Near the beginning of Richard Bausch’s Peace, the narrator, Marson, pauses while recounting Joyner’s storytelling ability to reflect upon his own: “[Joyner] had once seen Benny Goodman at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, and he talked about the women he met that night and about walking along the lake in the summer dark with the city shining on the water. He could be expressive in that way, too, which made him all the more troublesome to Marson, who was himself expressive and liked what his mother always called picture speech, words and phrases that took you somewhere other than where you were” (28-9). This storytelling ability is not prevalent just in Marson and Joyner, but in the majority of the other characters, as well. Since this ability is so common amongst the soldiers, it could be argued that this talent isn’t natural, but one that is developed during the war to give the men an outlet to cope.
            It is widely accepted that the storytelling in the novel is a coping mechanism, however, it is much more important than that. It is a learned behavior that the men build on with each other to handle the atrocities of war. For example, on page 63, Marson is remembering Walberg before he was killed. Marson recounts Walberg having “the hope of being as funny and entertaining as the others – the desire to be a storyteller, like Marson – and the generations, too”. All of the men are storytellers and Walberg is striving to become like them. This ability is passing through generations of soldiers in order for them to cope. It is evident in Marson’s recollection that this is a learning process for the younger soldiers. Walberg, being younger than the rest of his group, had to learn to be as funny and entertaining as the more seasoned soldiers. He had not yet had the experience to fully develop his coping mechanism, as the others had. This is very telling to the fact that this ability is developed for coping over time, rather than just a hidden ability that all of the men appear to possess.