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The concept of transformation in literature
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Martha reflect the changes he undergoes in the course of the narrative. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross goes through a constant struggle between what he remembers about Martha and what he feels about Martha despite the fact he knows in his own mind that what he imagines is not true. Since Lieutenant Cross was the head of the unit, it was his job to lead his members. It was his job to maintain a leadership. However, Lieutenant Cross’s thoughts and feelings about Martha change as he goes through changes within himself throughout the narrative of this short story. In paragraph one, the narrative stated that Lieutenant Cross carried letters he received from Martha. Although they were not love letters, all Lieutenant Cross could do was hope they were.
The following review will focus on “The Secret Lives of Sgt John Wilson”, written by Louis Simmie. This review will elaborate on three particular components. Firstly, Louis Simmie’s purpose inn writing “The Secret Lives of Sg.t John Wilson” was to provide an accurate depiction of Saskatchewan history. Secondly, this review will ascertain whether the book “The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson is of any monetary value. Lastly this review will discuss whether the author Lois Simmie accomplished her overall goal in writing “The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson”
One of the first women introduced to the reader was Martha. Martha is Lt. Jimmy Cross's love interest, even though she has only ever considered him a friend and nothing more. O'Brien uses the story of him and his misguidedness to show how the soldiers were completely separated from the war. After the war is over, the soldiers return home attempting to get back to their normal lives.
A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.
In the two novels of recent war literature Redeployment, by Phil Klay, and The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, both call attention to the war’s destruction of its soldiers’ identities. With The Things They Carried, we are introduced to the story of a young Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who is currently fighting in the Vietnam War and holds a deep crush for his college-lover Martha. Jimmy carries many letters from Martha with him throughout the war, and he envisions this romantic illusion in which “more than anything, he want[s] Martha to love him as he love[s] her” (1). However, a conflict quickly transpires between his love for Martha and his responsibilities with the war, in which he is ultimately forced to make a decision between the two.
Gallantry, according to the Oxford dictionary is: brave or heroic. Robert E. Lee once said, "My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men." Gallant men often die sacrificing themselves which is tragic. Fighting for your country and standing up for what you believe in are just two examples of what gallantry could be. While an abundance of characters in SE Hinton's The Outsiders (1967) shows gallant traits, Darrel Curtis has portrayed gallantry frequently throughout the novel.
...f Martha) by burning the tangible ones (her letters). But he realizes “it was only a gesture…the letters were in his head” (370). He also discards the pebble she gave to him but cannot rid himself of the boulder that is the emotional burden of his love for her.
Initially, Jimmy Cross started his mission with a distorted image in his head, which lead to his amazing turn around in the end. Jimmy cross had to learn the hard way, that fantasies aren’t real, they are just thoughts the mind wants to believe. He soon learned what reality was, even though it wasn’t the easiest or most of all pleasurable, way to figure out the truth. Ted Lavender’s death was a blessing in the sense that Jimmy turned his whole life around and started to focus on what support to give his men to succeed and be better survivors, than Ted Lavender was. Jimmy cared for his men towards the end, that lead him to understand what love is. “Love”, is a very powerful word, that has the power and prestige to make some people zone out of their own world and live in fantasy land, as did Jimmy. Jimmy cross carried integrity and grace in the beginning of the story, but by the end added faith and hope to his nap sack that helped him become a better person for his men.
... ahead of his men ever again, the letters he carried were only ten ounces but probably felt like a 1000 pounds. The morning after Ted was shot, Cross-burned his letters and even though he knew that he would always remember Martha, it meant a passage a lifting of the burden. No more wanting at night, no more wishing he was with her, no more letting his men die because of his love. He decided that he would become straighter, harder, a real leader even if his men didn’t like it. He would move on to the next village and after that the next until his tour was up and never again did he want to lose another man.
In the book The Things They Carried Jimmy Cross chang as a charter he started out not caring only wanting to think about Martha and forgetting about war. After ted lavender dies he is determined to become a better Lieutenant for his men. It goes on to talk about the good things in war as well as the bad. The story is an eye opener for many who don't know much about
Many people question if Guy Sajer, author of The Forgotten Soldier, is an actual person or only a fictitious character. In fact, Guy Sajer in not a nom de plume. He was born as Guy Monminoux in Paris on 13 January 1927. At the ripe young age of 16, while living in Alsace, he joined the German army. Hoping to conceal his French descent, Guy enlisted under his mother's maiden name-Sajer. After the war Guy returned to France where he became a well known cartoonist, publishing comic books on World War II under the pen name Dimitri.
O’Brien spends a large amount of time describing what each soldier carried, both physical things and intangibles. Using this technique gives the reader more insight to what each character values, along with the duties they are responsible for. Listing the large amount of times that are in some of their packs shows what they were carrying physically. The more personal items like diaries and letters shows that each character has their own specific priorities. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross constantly refers to the letters from Martha that he carries, and how well he takes care of them. Just from that simple statement the reader can gather that Jimmy Cross finds much comfort in thinking about Martha. After Ted Lavender’s death Jimmy Cross takes on the burden of guilt because he thinks he is to blame for it. The reader sees what an emotion toll this takes on him by how he treats his letters. The letters now serve as a constant reminder of his lack of focus and leadership. Seeing Cross go through this shows the emotion baggage that can come from the war, and what that can do to a soldier mentally. This emotional baggage effects the soldiers in different ways. Mentally, some feel the guilt of those who died, along with the ones that will die. While others found solitude is the personal items, looking for any sort of distraction from the brutality of war, others could not shake the impact their environment had on
The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson, written by Lois Simmie, is a hybrid book featuring a nonfiction storyline with a personal, albeit fabricated, flare which gives us a glimpse into what the interior dialogue of the individuals involved the novel might have felt. The essence in focus centres around John Wilson, sometimes referred to as Jack, and the double life which he opts to play. Throughout the plot of the novel, personalities clash and emotions formerly unseen rise to the surface. One action is used as a recurring theme anchoring all of the chapters and events together, that being deception. Betrayal and deception by the hands of John Wilson were shown towards the main individuals of the novel, namely Polly, Elizabeth, and Jessie.
“The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love and Murder” is studied as a historical non-fiction novel, in which Lois Simmie shows the reader the actions of a man who sets his life up in a series of lies and betrayal. Her purpose is clear, to intrigue the audience with a true story of the murder of Polly Wilson, which had not yet been heard. Though not a lot of people had ever heard of John Wilson, the first ever Saskatchewan RNWMP officer who was found guilty of a crime, being that he killed his wife, and hung to his death. She writes her novel that is not only entertaining to her audience but also serves the purpose of educating fellow Canadians about the true life events that followed John Wilson and his fellow RNWMP officers.
Lieutenant Cross is a character who, until the death of a soldier, has been very loose and not taken the war seriously. He had let his soldiers throw away their supplies, take drugs, and sing happy songs in the middle of the serious war. He was only concerned with Martha; he dreamt about being with her, and he was delighted when he received letters from her. Tim O’Brien says, “Slowly, a bit distracted, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder if Martha was a virgin.” (p. 2) This shows how all he cared about was Martha; he was not paying attention to his real life and his surroundings. He was basically living in a world of fantasy because they lived in two separate worlds. Being unable to wake up from this dream made him potentially weak because his mind was always wandering elsewhere, never in the current situation. This made him an easy target for his enemies because if this had gone on, then he would start to fear death, fear fighting, and fear the war. He would become a coward because he would wish for the day when he could be with Martha again after the war. This would greatly weaken him and his army both, and they would most likely lose to the enemy.
We are first introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his 17 men platoon. They are stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. We are taken through many of their missions and are given many insights from the main