Essay On Richard Perry Fallen Angels

Perry comes into the war with the belief that the Americans are the “good” guys. Throughout the book, he starts to think otherwise. He knows that they are only people living their lives. Perry notes, “ We were supposed to smile a lot and treat the people with dignity. They were supposed to think we were the good guys.

In the novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the main character is Richard Perry. In the beginning of this book, Richard was a generous and eager to start as a soldier in the Vietnam War. He soon becomes responsible and understanding of what it is like to be a black soldier in the war and how hard it can be to the other soldiers. Near the end, Richard becomes powerful and alerted near the end of the book. This character clearly relates to the theme of the book, which is age and race can impact somebody’s life a lot.

People back home were naive to the actions that were being taken in Vietnam because they were lacking in communication. In the novel “Fallen Angels” you can tell that the soldiers were very timid with what they said in their letters that were sent back home. Most letters sent back home were about the little things that brought them joy like playing games with kids. Not many actually said they went into battle or fought in a bullet parade. They would ask them what it's really like over there because they could see what was happening on TV, but media blocked a lot of reality from the war and the graphic effects.

Fallen Angels “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Throughout all of history war has surrounded human existence. From the Spartans in Rome to Infantry Marines patrolling the streets in Afghanistan, the presence of war has affected generations since the beginning of time. In the book, Fallen Angels, the author, Walter Dean Myers portrays how the harsh realities of war have a substantial impact on soldiers and their experiences by displaying the internal transformations, the power of fear, the permanent psychological damages, and the cruelty of the environment through a classic Vietnam War story. One of the most prevalent impacts war

PTSD Affecting Soldiers He stood there, frozen, shocked, not knowing what to do when he saw a gun pointed at him. Thankfully, the trigger didn’t work, but he had to witness a scarring event, in which he had shot his enemy in the head. It is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. For instance, in the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the principle character Perry unmistakably demonstrates how war troopers can be damaged and experience the ill effects of PTSD.

He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.

According to the National Center for PTSD, 15 out of every 100 Vietnam War Veterans was diagnosed with PTSD. In the Vietnam War many of the soldiers had to deal with trauma from the things that they had witnessed. The signs of trauma are great, and they affected the soldiers greatly. It is not always evident at first, but can show up in the later years. War is making Americans go crazy.

In the novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the main character is Richie Perry. At seventeen he graduated high school in Harlem, and he wanted to go to college, but his mother couldn’t afford to send him to college since she was an alcoholic. So he joined the army to escape his unfortunate future, but joining the army meant he had to leave his little brother Kenny, who saw him as a father figure since their father left when they were younger. Perry was sent to Vietnam and through his journey, he made lifelong bonds with many different people such as PeeWee, Monaco, and etc. Also in his journey, he suffers from mental and physical wounds.

Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.

The novel Fallen Angels, written by Walter Dean Myers, is a story that follows a young African American man named Richie through his journey in the Vietnam war. As a child, Myers had a hard time communicating with others as a result of his speech impediment, and looked to writing as an escape. Similar to the main character, he joined the army as a teenager. This novel was inspired by his own experiences in the army, and served as an outlet for him to express all of the things that he learned about war. The main theme of Fallen Angels is the loss of innocence that war brings.

Tim O’Brien writes us a wonderful fictional tale of a platoon of men in vietnam during the vietnam war, The Things They Carried shows the reader that when the men are over in this distant and strange land, not only do they carry physical objects, but emotional baggage and ideas that truly make, or break a man in war. Tim and his men show several signs of stress and turmoil while fighting the war, and while they survive they begin to understand what is really means to live, die, and what is right, and wrong. While over in vietnam the men are in a war, not a simple skirmish or fight, but a full on war against an enemy that they were not sure they are the enemy. The men would walk from location from location seeing what there is to do and trying

In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, the use of an analogy, diction, and irony contribute to the anti-war portrait of Billy Pilgrim by illuminating that society’s futile and cataclysmic war efforts cause more damage than results, making war utterly useless in the grand scheme of life. One occurrence of the anti-war message Vonnegut creates in his novel is expressed when Vonnegut writes, regarding Billy Pilgrim, “He is in a constant state of stage fright, he says, because he never knows what part of his life he is going to have to act in next.” (23). This analogy to a stage play continues throughout the novel and has a strong anti-war message within it. Vonnegut constantly ties plays to Billy to demonstrate that war is romanticized

Vonnegut would have put his intent through; having the reader feel uneasy about war itself. Kurt Vonnegut makes a point towards war by writing in a style that is simple and clear, kind of dry. But still adds meaning to it because of what the topic is about. In a quote from the book, he talks about Americans and wealth/love:

Heller’s novel crafts a clear commentary on many different issues in the United States after World War II. One of the issues Heller shows throughout the novel is the waste of war. This is shown in Heller’s use of many characters that appear to be one dimensional in nature, as they serve one purpose to the text and then fade to the back. This is certainly one of the more unique aspects of the novel, as to the uneducated reader, this may appear wasteful for no reason. Though after critical analysis, it becomes clear that Heller is attempting to offer commentary on the waste of the military.

A realistic novel about the Vietnam war, this book received acclaim and criticism from different people. Continue to read this report to learn more about this book by an award winning