The Yellow Birds: A Literary Analysis

This course focuses on works of literature that are about combat and the soldiers’ experiences in battle. Kevin Powers’ novel The Yellow Birds is about the Iraq war and tells a tale of friendships, loss and grief, and fulfillment. Bartle is looked at as Murph’s parental figure through his war experiences and sometimes contemplates why he took on this role. These men commit a secret crime after Murph is killed in order to spare Daniel Murphy’s mom from seeing her son whose body has been killed and destroyed in battle. In doing this, they decide it is best to dispose of his body in a river and report that they never found his body. Both soldiers who are involved with this task must live with the grief from the ill act that they just committed. Because of this, he …show more content…
She talks about her relationships with her family and her boyfriend and her new connection with one of her fellow soldiers, Jimmy. They too experience loss when Yvette is killed. Upon arriving home, Kate is traumatized and suffers from a form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She no longer is in touch with her family or boyfriend, Tyler. While many people would assume that these novels are action-packed and riveting, these texts prove to have their aspect of action but they also focus on the seriousness of war and the impacts it has on the combatants. These novels tend to be more sad and emotional than anything else. Kate is similar to Bartle in the sense that she somewhat isolates herself when she returns home from war. The difference between the two characters is that Kate does not commit a crime as Bartle has. However, she is dishonorably discharged from the army. Yvette and Murph both die in the texts so they share that similarity. Third Eye and Sterling are both considered to be more mature than Kate and Yvette and Murph and Bartle, respectively. Ironically, the two of them commit suicide though it is for two different