Destruction In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

He feels very alone, but then comes to terms with the fact that there are others fighting the same war at home as well. The standing reminder of a monument is of a great deal of importance. Not only does it show that these men are not forgotten to the pages of time, but it stresses the importance of the cost of war. The author was trying to show that war wares a heavy burden long after the last shots are fired. The author, Yusef Komunyakaa, set out with intent of painting a picture of what the men coming home from this war were encountering; as well as how it was affecting them physically and psychologically.

Another example of repetition that appeared in lines 3 and 7 was “valley of Death.” This phrase represents how the men walked right into a bloodbath and how most of the men had died during the war. As you can see, repetition helps the reader further understand the importance of these

Earlier in the memoir Elie is put in another situation where he keeps silent while his father is mistreated to avoid violence “I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent” (Wiesel 39). Elie is shocked by his reaction because normally he would stand up for his father, but what he has experienced has taught him to stay silent in order to not be punished himself and enhance the

He believed that they would all turn out the same and he did not want that for himself or Jefferson, but he knew deep down that they were just as stuck as every other person of colour. Grant did not want Jefferson to be like him and the rest of them, he wanted Jefferson to prove them wrong; prove to them that he was so much more of what they made of him by walking to that chair with his chin held high and his shoulders as straight as ever. However, Grant did not attend Jefferson’s execution. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to be seen as a failure if ever Jefferson decided to be what was said of him during his execution. Maybe he was too afraid of breaking down as Jefferson walked toward the chair alone.

In the story Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Henry Fleming joins the war with the hope of becoming a hero, although Henry shows no sign of heroism throughout the story. In fact, Henry shows traits of cowardice in a multitude of ways during his experiences at war. Henry's high expectations for himself do not make up for his actions in Red Badge of Courage. Despite Henry's high ego, dialogue in Red Badge of Courage reveal his cowardly true nature. Henry saw himself as a hero before he got into a battle, but when faced with the reality of war, his imaginations did not come true.

‘’I was a coward. I went to the war’’ Pg187. In the short story, ‘’On The Rainy River’’ by Tim O’Brien, The protagonist faces a difficult life decision, he did not want to conform to society the way others wanted him to. He wanted to keep his personal beliefs. Tim O’Brien does not want to conform no matter how vital it is that he should.

Paul and his comrades had no idea what the war would do to them and sadly learned that the war was more a misfortune than an honor. Paul and his friends were eaten out, mentally, by the war and remained casings of their old lives. Further exemplifying their inability to reconnect to their past lives and in turn the normal world. Remarque creates Paul Baumer to represent a generation of men who are know to the outside

As he is walking around the camp, he is trying to find his father, but at the same time he is wishing he didn’t, “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This excerpt describes just how badly he wants to leave his father. He loves him dearly, but Elie gets constant reminders of the terrors of the camp. People die constantly and they don’t have to take care of a withered old man such as Elie’s father.

Holden is struck with events throughout the book questioning his maturity and emotions. He is unable to analyze what maturity really is because he does not want to grow up. The first stage of the motif Growing Up/Change is seen when Holden constantly thinks about his peers and siblings and how he would like to protect them. The final stage of this motif shows Holden wanting to protect kids from the vulgar world. However, he is struggling because he would prefer to stay innocent,

His views on nationalism, as shown by the statement "I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war"(The Things They Carried, 79), are not extremely prominent. This quote clearly shows that he did not feel strongly enough for his country to potentially die for it. He believes patriotism is almost non-existent which is expressed through the idea that his only motivation for joining the army is the opinions of others and the statement “they carried their reputations.

Billy Pilgrim has been drafted into a war he did not want to be a part of, and he certainly didn’t ask for alien abductions or jumping through time. But because all of his reactions to extreme situations he is thought to be

Eventually, he thinks of himself as a coward, and he reveals that he “couldn’t endure the mockery, or the disgrace or the patriotic ridicule…[he] couldn’t make [himself] be brave...Embarrassment, that’s all it was” (O’Brien 57). O’Brien feels the shame engulf him and this leads him to submit and go to war. Although O’Brien does not have any incentive to go to war at first, it is the shame that ultimately motivates him to face his fears and head to Vietnam with other soldiers. Without feeling the embarrassment himself, O’Brien would not be anywhere near as motivated to go to war as he is in the book. Society’s influence on him causes him to not only feel ashamed, but to also submit to one of the most dangerous things one can experience: war.

From Henry’s perspective the flag symbolizes hard work, respect, and the dedication he’s put into his country. Personally, I think that Henry is too sensitive. In my opinion, we are nothing alike. Henry wanted to enlist in the war, i don’t see any reason for participating in a war that has nothing to do with me. Normally Henry is often afraid of what may happen next in the war, I just live life day by day, worried about things that are actually relevant to me.

All the while, he joins the army, yet it cuts a deep wound into him, and he loses his mind, and so he escapes. Thereafter, he lives true to the quote, “Your identity defines who you are but it doesn 't have to define you for life” (Whitbourne), in the way that he begins to voice his grievances. To Brinker and all of his other peers he pronounces , “ ‘I’m important. You’ve never realized it, but I’m important too’ “(Knowles 176).