In “ The Red Badge of Courage ” by Stephen Crane, symbolism is frequently used as a demonstration for the main character’s credulity, his instinctive perspective of war as well as the barbarity of the battlefield . Through this masterpiece, Stephen Crane wants to remind us all that people at times have immature feelings and trivial desires even though they may end up in tragedy. However, such fascination is nothing but a gullible thought of the adolescent. In this story, the main character- Henry is a boy who is overwhelmed by the eminence of war and the acknowledgement enlisting the army. Therefore, he conscripts himself for military service.
The importance of war emphasizes not only the actual war taking place but also both Gene and Finny 's internal conflict with themselves, and their external conflicts with each other. This also expresses how even though considering the book takes place during World War II, The Devon School still tried to shield the boys from the war, that the residual effects of war can still seep through the cracks and reach everyone at the school. One person can only hide so much, especially if there is a war going on, emotionally or literally. People often try to reduce the appearance of emotions and shield personal battle scars from the public eye, similar to how Devon attempted to shield the war from the students attending.
In Tim O’brien’s book, The Things They Carried, we see the detrimental causes and effects of the enforced stereotype of male masculinity. Tim uses many factors including the setting, characters, symbolism and other components like these to conveys his feelings and emotions. Many of those feelings and emotions derive from his personal experience in the war. The Things They Carried accurately shows what it is to struggle with the stereotypical image of a man in how it presents itself in everyday life along with its adverse and restricting effects.
From the beginning of the story where Anders is thought to be a criticizing and vile man by his actions of displacing his anger, to the moments where he is so self-important the bank robbery is used to make a point. Wolff continues to show Anders as a mocking and critical individual even once confronted by the bank robbers. Anders further involves the interpretation of the character Anders by showing the innocent boy he used to be along with the traumatic experiences he went through in life. All these components were used to further influence the understanding of Anders and influence the idea of Anders his
The author explicitly states his negative opinion towards anti-war novels, yet he implies that he does not want to push his opinion of war on the reader, but rather paint a
A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo shows the hard work and difficult tasks the men had to go through to prove themselves and protect their country. The war will change the men’s attitudes and the way they do everything. Men made sacrifices in the Vietnam War most people would never make in a lifetime, they will not just sacrifice but push themselves physically harder than most any other men. The men will also emotionally change from constantly watching other men die, or killing other men. The mens first kill was always the hardest for them, mentally they had so many thoughts of the other mans close ones back home and what they would go through and how it would be all their fault.
Through the articles by Coskren, Baker, and Niemeyer, Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is presented using a pessimistic point of view. Golding emphasizes the evil human nature of the young boys and he does not give us hope for mankind. Throughout the novel, the boy’s actions portray Golding’s sense of pessimism. For example, during the attack on Simon, “the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding 153).
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that, “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide.” (370). John Knowles’ A Separate Peace is set during World War I at Devon School, a boarding school for boys. The book centers on Gene Forrester, a student at Devon, who could be described as an intelligent, but jealous, conformist. A Separate Peace illustrates Gene’s envy and imitation of his friend, Finny, and how it affects himself and his relationship with Finny, and also how Gene eventually finds peace.
Boyd also mentions Ralph’s self-awareness and how he did come back to himself at the end of the book. Ralph’s innocence has vanished and he is beginning to regret the decisions
He uses negative connotation to describe the evils of the world, such as “war,” “injustice,” and “suffering.” In the next paragraph, he shows that he believes in “man’s capacity for courage and endurance and sacrifice.” These words are complete opposites from one another and shows his thoughts behind and the bias towards the powers that bring injustice compared to the youth that has the capacity to wipe out these tyrannical powers. These sets of words were purposely put together by Faulkner in order to achieve a sense of writing style similar to a pattern. It is evident in multiple occurrences that Faulkner has a consistent writing style he carries throughout the passage.
In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.
The Story “The Fall of a City” is a tale that seems light hearted at first glance. It is only until you re-read the story that you can come to realize the depth and feeling Nowlan is trying to make you feel. There is the pain of a world being ripped away from you, the strife of gender stereotypes, along with the pain your imagination creates. This little boy Teddy had strived off of this world he created. Quoting Nowlan “Sombre gray eyes glinted in Teddy’s pale, triangular face” [line 12] he is subtly telling us that teddy has excommunicated himself from the rest of people his age.
The novels we have read this year have all connected with themes and characters. I believe the biggest connection for this year was the connection between Gene Forrester from A Separate Peace by John Knowles and Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye. Both of these boys are looking for a way to find themselves. They need to accept their past and forgive themselves, and they need to accept who they are and who they are becoming. The boys struggle with the fact they are growing up and have to enter the scary world, they must find a way to find their place in the world.
At the beginning the thoughts of war constantly clawed at the youth, chewing away at his bravery. But as time, battles and losses came and passed he grew stronger. There are always three sides of a battle, your side, the opposing side and the biggest threat of all, your own internal side. Henry concurred his not only his part in the war, but his own war, and became no longer a boy,
Literal Content This passage is taken from Chapter 8 of A Separate Peace by John Knowles. This excerpt is taking place a Devin in the winter where Gene is running a course which Finny had laid out for him. Gene reaches the tree and then begins to describe his surroundings noticing the snow and the stillness of the world.