Humanity In Denise Levertov's 'What Were They Like?'
Humanity is respecting a person’s right to live and sharing empathy between one another. It also includes preserving as well as appreciating the gift of nature. Hence, the poem “What Were They Like?” composed by Denise Levertov suggests that humanity is necessary and are important in times of war. This is because the main focus of the poem was to persuade the readers that war is destructive, especially when lives were simply destroyed for political gains during the time. This essay will highlight how the poet used various metaphors and other literary devices to convey her anti-war message effectively.
In the midst of war, humanity is necessary to prevent it from going out of hand. By using past tense in the first stanza, the poet sets the setting where the Vietnamese citizens have been completely wiped out during the Vietnam War. The setting further emphasised the necessity of humanity during times of war by forcing the reader to imagine the world where a country was completely obliterated as a result of a war. The poet also started the poem using a hypophora to arouse the curiosity of the audience in regards to the consequences of war if it got out of hand. The use of such technique also insinuates that the questions can no longer be answered by the Vietnamese people because they were all killed. By asking and answering simple questions about the Vietnamese people’s daily life, the poet
…show more content…
The metaphor “…their light hearts turned to stone” highlights that the people of Vietnam were severely affected by the war. They used to be light hearted, relaxed and happy but this eventually changed as the war destroyed their family, lives and home. As a result, the importance of humanity during times of war is reaffirmed as it can be seen where innocent lives were destroyed due to political
Truong's A Viet Cong Memoir
937 Words | 4 PagesIn A Viet Cong Memoir, we receive excellent first hands accounts of events that unfolded in Vietnam during the Vietnam War from the author of this autobiography: Truong Nhu Tang. Truong was Vietnamese at heart, growing up in Saigon, but he studied in Paris for a time where he met and learned from the future leader Ho Chi Minh. Truong was able to learn from Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary ideas and gain a great political perspective of the conflicts arising in Vietnam during the war. His autobiography shows the readers the perspective of the average Vietnamese citizen (especially those involved with the NLF) and the attitudes towards war with the United States. In the book, Truong exclaims that although many people may say the Americans never lost on the battlefield in Vietnam — it is irrelevant.
Things They Carried By Tim O Brien: A Literary Analysis
1292 Words | 6 PagesReaders, 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.
Similarities Between The Sorrow Of War And Viet Thanh Nguyen
1039 Words | 5 PagesWhile the Vietnamese authors emphasize themes of loss, trauma, and devastation caused by the war, the American authors tend to focus on disillusionment, disorientation, and challenges to American exceptionalism posed by the conflict. Despite these differences, both sets of authors offer critiques of the dominant narratives of the war, challenging official government propaganda and providing counter-narratives that deepen our understanding of the conflict. The Vietnamese authors' focus on the personal and collective trauma caused by the war is rooted in the historical and cultural context of Vietnam, which has experienced centuries of colonization and war. In contrast, the American authors' disillusionment and challenges to American exceptionalism reflect the larger cultural and historical context of the United States, which has often viewed itself as a beacon of democracy and freedom. These perspectives on the war can be used to deepen our understanding of other conflicts and global issues today, particularly in terms of recognizing the ways in which historical and cultural contexts shape our perceptions of and responses to
A Summary Of Philip Caputo's A Rumor Of War
1500 Words | 6 PagesMen went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The
Vietnam Memorial Komunyakaa Analysis
926 Words | 4 PagesThe effects of war resonate throughout a nation numerous years after the guns go silent and the peace treaties have been signed. One only has to look at the service members of past conflicts to comprehend the effect war has on those involved and our society in general. Our nation honors the sacrifices of the fallen as well as the survivors of past conflicts through museums, monuments, and memorials. Given the origin of these commemorations, they can carry a far greater significant meaning than anyone could ever possibly understand. Through the use of imagery, Komunyakaa illustrates the notion that the Vietnam Memorial is a connection between the fallen and the living that are in its presence.
Lament To The Spirit Of War Analysis
329 Words | 2 PagesLament to the Spirit of War Quiz One Response In Lament to the Spirt of War, the idea of war is a frightening and quite scary place to be. Although reading this story is not like the reality of war, a person has a sense of what it feels like to be caught in the war itself. The story gives details that explains what a soldier feels like when he or she is in battle. Like a “raging storm” or a “fiery monster.”
The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen Analysis
1079 Words | 5 PagesIn 2013 when Viet Thanh Nguyen began to write The Sympathizer, it had been 40 years since the Vietnam War. It had been 40 years since French and American military involvement ravaged a once beautiful countryside and littered lush forests with napalm. It had been 40 years since 2 million people were displaced from their country and left to die in the Pacific Ocean. In those 40 years, many works were published about the Vietnam War. These stories came from many, contrasting, perspectives.
Bruce Dawe's Poems 'Homecoming And Weapons Training'
1397 Words | 6 PagesWe live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. John Lennon. Based on his own reading and reflection, Bruce Dawe constructs his attitudes towards war in his poems, Homecoming and Weapons Training, believing it to be lacking sense historically and ultimately futile. By specifically addressing an Australian cultural context, the poet exposes a universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity are common attitudes towards soldiers during war. Dawe clearly expresses his ‘anti-war sentiment’ through his use of language and imagery as he examines the dehumanising aspects of war and its brutal reality.
Martin Luther King Jr Summary
392 Words | 2 PagesThe author Martin Luther King Jr. condemns the war between America and Vietnam by presenting three major aspects of its harmful effects and disadvantages to America. First of all, the author illuminates that there was going to hold a poverty program in the United States. However, along with the arrivals of the war, the invest of necessary funds transformed its use into the expenses for armies and troops that garrison in Vietnam instead of the promises the government made before that pools therefore have a string of hopeless and dependences. When some of the audience listened here, they could cause the sense of angry because the government deceived to them and break their last yearn from government for their livelihoods. Second, the author depicts
Comparing Carl Sandburg's Grass And At The Un-National Border
874 Words | 4 Pages“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” This quote by renowned Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana immaculately encapsulates the core message that is conveyed in both the poems “Grass” and “At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border.” The two poems employ disparate writing styles and divergent methods to describe the atrocities of war and violence, however both poems do ultimately condemn these inexcusable acts. Furthermore, beyond denouncing war, both poems greatly emphasize a part of war that is often neglected; how we choose to remember wars and how we must not allow ourselves to forget these brutal lessons of the past. Carl Sandburg and William E. Stafford both lived through numerous periods of violence, epochs where
Comparison Of Do Not Weep Maiden By Gwendolyn Brooks
220 Words | 1 PagesIn the poem Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind by Stephen Crane, Stephen talks about the aspects of war and the effects it has on people outside of the war. Another poem called the sonnet-ballad by Gwendolyn Brooks, talks about a woman who has just lost her lover do to the war and is asking her mother where happiness is. In both texts, the authors focus on the negative and how cruel war really is. Although the authors focus the the horrific parts of war, Brooks sees beauty in war and how tempting it is. However, Crane only focuses the dreadful and grim parts of war.
Saigon Is Gone Analysis
419 Words | 2 PagesThe message Thanhha Lai is trying to convey in the poem “Saigon is gone” is that the event was chaotic causing the people to fearful and distressed. For example, when Ha and her family are on the ship taking them to America a helicopter flies above. Ha describes, “People run and scream, communists!” (68) The author used specific actions to infer the people were scrambling in distress, because they’re fearful their lives will soon end.
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy Critical Analysis
763 Words | 4 PagesThe soldiers in the Vietnams war were there for different reasons, some soldiers were forced against their will and some were there by choice. Because of that, each soldier has their own thoughts about the war, O’Brien has interpreted that “The twenty –six men were very quiet: some of them excited by the adventure, some of them afraid”. This clearly shows how the men
Response To Poetry Essay
503 Words | 3 PagesThe second-last stanza depicts soldiers´ life with emphasis on comradeship. The representation of this idea is constructed by listing stereotyped assumptions such as “shared cigarette” (97), “cards” (98) and “masculine jokes” (99) which usually come to mind when you think about soldiers in their free time. However, this part confronts the stereotyped notions, depicting absolutely new feature of comradeship: “To-day the / fumbled and unsatisfactory embrace before hurting” (99-100). This verses contains a certain degree of emotionality, created by description of soldiers´ feelings by embracing each other. “Unsatisfactory embrace” (100) is assumed to be very quick due to the lack of time as it was time for “hurting” (100), in other words for “necessary murder”.
Analysis Of Disabled And The Bright Lights Of Sarajevo
982 Words | 4 PagesHe then contrasts between the bomber’s view to the civilians’ view from the ground. The bombers view is recognized from a plane filled with ammunition. This suggests the bombers are carefree of their acts committed, but the civilians are petrified for the safety of their lives due to the uncertainty of the attack which is to occur. The effect on readers is that while reading the poem they begin to notice the different views of the bombers and civilians while experiencing war. Also, the readers tend to realize the savagery conveyed by the
More about Humanity In Denise Levertov's 'What Were They Like?'
Truong's A Viet Cong Memoir
937 Words | 4 PagesThings They Carried By Tim O Brien: A Literary Analysis
1292 Words | 6 PagesSimilarities Between The Sorrow Of War And Viet Thanh Nguyen
1039 Words | 5 PagesA Summary Of Philip Caputo's A Rumor Of War
1500 Words | 6 PagesVietnam Memorial Komunyakaa Analysis
926 Words | 4 PagesLament To The Spirit Of War Analysis
329 Words | 2 PagesThe Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen Analysis
1079 Words | 5 PagesBruce Dawe's Poems 'Homecoming And Weapons Training'
1397 Words | 6 PagesMartin Luther King Jr Summary
392 Words | 2 PagesComparing Carl Sandburg's Grass And At The Un-National Border
874 Words | 4 PagesComparison Of Do Not Weep Maiden By Gwendolyn Brooks
220 Words | 1 PagesSaigon Is Gone Analysis
419 Words | 2 PagesWhere Have You Gone Charming Billy Critical Analysis
763 Words | 4 PagesResponse To Poetry Essay
503 Words | 3 PagesAnalysis Of Disabled And The Bright Lights Of Sarajevo
982 Words | 4 Pages