As the fireworks explode in the night sky to celebrate Independence Day, “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen plays loudly for the audience to hear. As the men, women, and children bellow out the chorus proudly, they never seem to grasp its intended meaning. By studying the appeals and irony used in Springsteen’s lyrics, it is easy to see how Springsteen’s message of the poor treatment of Vietnam War veterans is misconstrued by millions of listeners into American pride. Springsteen’s intended audience is a group made up of mainly white, blue collar Americans- a group not likely to accept criticism of America. Through unclear lyrics and a poorly selected audience, Springsteen’s hit “Born in the U.S.A.” is a rhetorical failure.
Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men.
The book All Quiet on the Western Front takes place during World War I. The author, Erich Maria Remarque, describes how dehumanizing war can be for soldiers who give their life to serve their country and protect it. Remarque specifically describes the hardships of a German soldier Paul during the war. Through Remarque’s story we learn that war affects relationships, thought processes, natural instincts and many more functions of a soldier. We learn over the course of this book that all soldiers change through war.
Combat, loyalty, enmity, bloodshed, and duty, all words that fit under the category of war. The novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini a strong willed man raised in Torrance, California. He started as a young troublemaker until he discovered his passion for running in high school. That very passion led him to compete in the Olympics. Later he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, a brave decision that would change his life. War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath.
In Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger appeals to his audience’s sense of emotions in order to persuade his readers that the obsession with high school football negatively affects everyone’s future in Odessa, Texas. Bissinger relies on emotional appeals by employing devices and techniques to present individuals’ personal stories and experiences. His searing portrayal of Odessa, and its Permian High School football team, exposes the side of sports that severely impacts the people living in this society. Bissinger shows the long term consequences of this delusion on the people who are directly and indirectly associated with Permian football. This demonstrate how detrimental the burdens are for the children, which touches the reader’s heart.
The things I carry to school are to ease my job everyday. I carry my backpack so it could hold all my other materials which I need to carry. I carry extra pencils in case of loss of my actual pencil. One day in January, my mechanical pencil ran out of lead during a math test, and I had to waste five minutes to get another pencil. Other needs I carry include a graphing calculator and iPad. I need both to ease my job, but if I forget to carry, I will get punished by some teachers. The thing I carry and use every single day is paper. I write my notes and homework on paper. I bought hundreds of pieces of papers, so I would carry extra everyday for others who forget to carry because other students also need paper to function in
The war can be seen in many different aspects, sometimes good most times not so good. The war past, present and future can be a hard topic for most. War novels, writing about the war, or even talking about the war can be very difficult for most people to talk and share their experiences. People are affected by the war in many different ways, and tend to deal with the affects differently. The effects on war not only affects the person who experienced the war hands on but also the people around them also. In my paper I will be going over two novels, comparing the way that these two authors presented and remembered their war experiences. The two novels that we have just read, were Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War by William Manchester
The Manly Art tells the story of boxing 's origins and the sport 's place in American culture. The book was first published in 1986, the book helped shape the ways historians write about American sport and culture, expanding scholarly boundaries by exploring masculinity as an historical subject and by suggesting that social categories like gender, class, and ethnicity can be understood only in relation to each other. In 2010 it was republished and features a new afterword, the author 's meditation on the ways in which studies of sport, gender, and popular culture have changed in the quarter century since the book was first published. An up-to-date bibliography ensures that The Manly Art will remain a vital resource for a new generation.
As Herbert Hoover eloquently put it, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” War has no mercy. It takes homes, tears families apart, and steals childhoods from innocent people. Such is the case in A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. While people of seniority make all the impactful decisions that have to do with the war, the young boys of Devon School are forced to accept the realities of war and join the fight. In the novel A Separate Peace, Knowles showcases a sinister tone throughout the first pages, when Devon School is described. Using diction and figurative language, Knowles integrates this tone into Gene’s narration.
“Mourning the dead wasn’t part of the business of killing and trying to stay alive.” (149) The mind of a child is a scary place, full of dangerous thoughts. There is no hope, and, in their minds, no need to hope. They get used to the environment, to the killing. They see nothing wrong with what they do.
Sports are a great way to bring a community together. However, sports have more to offer than just being a fun activity and a way to hang with friends. Lewis Lapham is correct in his assertion that sports represents more than trivial games between winners and losers; sports are deceptive and offer the illusion of hope, innocence, as well as lightness triumphing over darkness. H.G. Bissinger shows how these illusions affect a town’s reality in his book Friday Night Lights.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented”, this was once said by Ellie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, who spoke out against the dangers of apathy.
“We must strive to be like the moon” p.16 Why does suffering happen to the innocent? Maybe without suffering in war there wouldn’t be any compassion and love in the world. Ishmael Beah a boy soldier who lost his childhood and everything he loved, fought with his conscience as the years went by as he killed his memoirs. This book is memoirs of boy soldiers and war. I think this book is geared to the privileged, 17-21 year olds mostly males also people in the military.
presidents have repeatedly led the country into many unnecessary wars to test and prove their core masculinity is highly exaggerated. In her treatment of psychopathic leadership, she identifies machismo as the primary trait of leaders. But there have been instances where even women leaders have been instrumental in leading their country to war.
The sun illuminates countless all-American names, with the occasional Coke or Papa John’s sponsor signs. The play clock ticks down to zero, and the stadium is finally filled to maximum capacity. Kickoff commences, players scramble across the field, and suddenly the only problems in the world hinge on if the Nike plastered football is past the downs marker. There are the elite suites high above the stadium cloaked in shade, but the majority are cramped and blisteringly hot. We are all united as one, cheering our team to victory, and thriving on the culture that is modern day sports. Every aspect of game day, from the Nike apparel to the intricate regulatory facets within the game itself, developed from influences that existed in the era between