In some ways, O'Brien's stories do and do not fit into the genre of a war story. "Competent readers of a genre are not generally confused when some of the initial expectations are not met - the frame work of the genre can be seen as 'offering' default expectations which act as a starting point for interpretation rather than a straightjacket" (Chandler). In the case of O'Brien's short stories, they still somewhat fit into the scheme of a typical war story. War is a mens' arena and he is usually a young man. In The Man I Killed, O'Brien feminizes the man that was killed in the story. Giving the enemy a face and a history. "In the presence of his father and uncles, he pretended to look forward to doing his patriotic duty, which was also a privilege, but at night he prayed with his mother that the war might end soon" (O'Brien). This sentiment can be felt on both sides. Humanizing the experience of war instead of dehumanizing it. He is more than a soldier but a also a man. Many war stories the enemy is just a man without a history. The question O'Brian poses is if you (the reader) would kill that same man if you knew his history. Questioning the motives and the purpose of war and effect it has on the individual. In war there is generally chaos all around. In Spin, O'Brien examines the down time of war. "...challenging too many conventional expectations for the genre could threaten the intregrity of the text" (Chandler). O'Brien's work has a simple goal. "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth" (O'Brien). The audience could relate the range of emotions that a soldier has felt on the field becuase at one time the readers' have experienced the same emotions in their own daily lives. O'Brien communicates to the readers as a writer and not a soldier telling a story. This is what makes his story stand out in the genre.