The men of war are not really men. They are boys expected to act like men, in the face of unknown danger. Called up from ROTC to serve in Vietnam, Jimmy Cross was unprepared maturely and did not believe in the war itself. Thus, as a lieutenant in the war, he endangers his men by being easily distracted.…
Most people feel that all teenagers are immature and can't be responsible, that they can't be trusted, especially with a child. Though this may be true, some teens have to be more mature and responsible than others. In The First Part Last by Angela Johnson, a teenager, named Bobby, needs to grow up much quicker than most. He has a child at the age of 16. Bobby has to leave his childish habits in the past and "come of age," which by the end of the story he does.…
“The Things They Carried” demonstrates the effects of war to someone both physically and mentally. The story takes place with O’Brien and Alpha company during the Vietnam war. He goes through and tell the reader what each character is carrying and also helps shed some light on each character's conscious thought. Some characters who dealt with these mental struggles really show to the reader some of Freud and Jung’s theories. These examples are Freud’s theory on a person's shadow, and Jung’s maiden and child archetype.…
After his homecoming, Louis struggles with the past memories he has of the Bird. He has nightmares about him. Even one…
In the novel Silver Sparrow written by Tayari Jones we follow two daughters, Dana Lynn Yarboro and Bunny Chaurisse Witherspoon, who are in separate families but have the same father, James Witherspoon. James keeps hidden Dana and her mother from Chaurisse and her mother with whom James is already married to. Dana and her mother do know about Chaurisse and that part of the family; while James does not let this happen with Chaurisse and her side of the family. James does everything that he could ever do to make sure that Dana and Chaurisses’ lives to do not intersect. This includes interfering with Danas choice in schooling and many other things.…
Throughout Tayari Jones’ Silver Sparrow, many characters must confront incredibly difficult situations that force them to evolve. These situations often challenge the characters’ value system and sense of self. Two characters that changed significantly throughout the novel as a result of their experiences are Dana Yarboro and James Witherspoon. They are forced to navigate through a world in which societal conventions and intense emotions inhibit their ability to thrive. Although both James and Dana attempt to have a relationship, James’ selfish behaviors harm Dana’s emotional wellbeing and ultimately destroys whatever bond they once had.…
The Importance of Human Connections In Messenger, an award winning novel by Lois Lowry, the author uses Matty trying to keep Kira safe while leading her through Forest, and Matty coming to Leader in fear to save Village to develop a central theme of the importance of human connections. One of the most climactic points in the novel is when Matty is leading Kira through Forest to get her back to her father. Matty responds to this by trying to endure pain of his own while protecting Kira and keeping her safe on their journey. For example, the book states, “It had come for him first, he realized.…
Throughout time and history, there have been many interesting friendships and relationships among men, women, animals, and nature. From two in love to man's best friend; unique relationships have formed. Chick and Lucas have one of these unique relationships that can be described in many ways; competitive, uncommon, and as a friendship. While the two become friends and help each other to prove Lucas’ innocence, many obstacles come in the way. The difference in race is one main reason, while Chick sees Lucas as an innocent man, the rest of the town sees him as a guilty murderer and even more so due to the color of his skin.…
“...we two shall care for each other. ”(116) Even though Mattie was only with her grandfather, she still thought about her family and loved ones all the time while she was in pain trying to survive the journey back to Philadelphia with grandfather. “No one told stories of a painter’s assistant named Nathaniel or a cook named Eliza. No one told of my mother.…
A flavourful French chicken stew braised in red wine. Coq Au Win, literally meaning „rooster in wine“, was originally a peasant dish made with slow cooked rooster meat and Burgundy wine. Modern recipes often use chicken instead of rooster meat because it is softer and requires less braising time until tender, especially when marinated overnight with wine and herbs such as thyme and parsley. Popularized by a famous American cook Julia Child in her cookbook and TV show in the 1960's this full-bodied, wholesome dish is now one of the well-known, beloved classics of French cuisine all around the…
In “The Things They Carried”, we are presented with a story about a group of military men during the Vietnam War. The story is told by an unnamed narrator, from a third-person subjective (limited omniscient) point of view. While the story goes on to describe what each of the characters carried during their missions in Vietnam. The author focuses mainly on the emotional dilemma of the group’s lieutenant ,Jimmy Cross, and the effect it has on his group. Being that the conflict is an emotional struggle, I categorize the main conflict as an internal conflict.…
By carrying the pebble of Martha around, Jimmy Cross creates a false hope of them being together, knowingly distracting him from his duties as leader of his platoon. Not only did Lieutenant Cross carry a pebble, he also had a picture of her in the bottom of his knapsack, to keep him mentally grounded. By having her presence on him, he is able to imaginatively drift off into thought where they can be together back in New Jersey. While being distracted by the pebble, one of his platoon mates, Ted Lavender died. This causes Cross to believe that it has not only his fault for being distracted, but also Martha’s fault for distracting him.…
The Most Complicated of Misfortunes In two of our readings during this semester of American literature there was some striking similarities and some differences between the main characters from The Contrast and The Coquette. Eliza Warton and Maria Van Rough both get diminished for not following gender roles during their era, both women interact with financially stable men and both women have different end results with the men they interact with. Women in early America were bound by standards which Eliza and Maria deemed to be pointless to them by preferring to follow their own rules. There are examples being demonstrated throughout both stories when both female characters are breaking the gender roles.…
War never changes, it only causes change in the lives of the people affected by its outcome. War brings expected physical weight upon soldiers, but physical weight is not the only burden that soldiers carry. Soldiers carry unexpected emotional burdens that can cause them to become distracted from the real danger which is war. Emotional burdens can also outweigh the weight of physical burdens. In The things they Carried, O’Brien illustrates how emotional burdens are a weight that cannot be escaped in life, demonstrated through the use of imagery, strong emotion symbolism, and the voice of the speaker.…
How Love May Not Provide Successful Comfort Warzones can be incredibly violent, terrifying, and gruesome places. Especially during the Vietnam War, when soldiers had very long deployments in horrid conditions, one major way to deal with the difficult environment was to remember that there was a world beyond it. Even in civilian life, a very positive way to deal with stress is to remember that there is a life outside of the stressor. In the short stories in his book The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien explores how men use pre-traumatic images of beloved females to cope with trauma, and how human’s desire for permanence manifests in these traumatic moments. The girls in these stories symbolize peaceful, happier times as a mechanism for the men…