As Pauline Hopkins said, “And after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny or any supernatural agency.” In other words, our environment shapes the way we develop. This statement is true because of the external locus of control, the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine our fate. In Night, by Elie Wiesel, The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer, and The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, Elie, J.R. and Tim were all shaped by their environments and had struggles with their identities. In Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie persevered through World War II to find his find his morals and inner traits. Towards the end of the book, Elie had broken his foot and was put into
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He told his story through a subjective lense, making it difficult for the reader to understand his true feelings. When he first found out he was drafted, he fled from his home and took a journey on the Rainy River to get to Canada. On his way up, he said he witnessed crowds of people along the riverbank, cheering him on to flee. It was obvious that this was not true, but it showed what Tim’s inner conscious wanted: to have his normal life back. Tim could have kept traveling to Canada, but he stopped because he did not want to be a coward to his family or country. Society’s ideals pressured him to stop following his path of life, which could have majorly changed the outcome of his life. These standards warped his true self and made him feel cowardly for leaving. The moment Tim turned his boat around, was the moment his identity would be changed, and potentially lost, forever. Once he was in Vietnam, he struggled between the lies and the truth. He said he killed a man, named Kiowa, while walking through the forest with his troops, but later told his daughter that no such thing happened. His lies allow him to tell the whole truth. When he told his daughter the story it was undescriptive and concise, but when he told the reader of Kiowa’s killing it was detailed and life-like. Through his storytelling, it is apparent that Tim may have killed Kiowa, but does not want to admit it. He
He told his story through a subjective lense, making it difficult for the reader to understand his true feelings. When he first found out he was drafted, he fled from his home and took a journey on the Rainy River to get to Canada. On his way up, he said he witnessed crowds of people along the riverbank, cheering him on to flee. It was obvious that this was not true, but it showed what Tim’s inner conscious wanted: to have his normal life back. Tim could have kept traveling to Canada, but he stopped because he did not want to be a coward to his family or country. Society’s ideals pressured him to stop following his path of life, which could have majorly changed the outcome of his life. These standards warped his true self and made him feel cowardly for leaving. The moment Tim turned his boat around, was the moment his identity would be changed, and potentially lost, forever. Once he was in Vietnam, he struggled between the lies and the truth. He said he killed a man, named Kiowa, while walking through the forest with his troops, but later told his daughter that no such thing happened. His lies allow him to tell the whole truth. When he told his daughter the story it was undescriptive and concise, but when he told the reader of Kiowa’s killing it was detailed and life-like. Through his storytelling, it is apparent that Tim may have killed Kiowa, but does not want to admit it. He