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Use of Symbolism
Use of Symbolism
The use of symbolism in the novel
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The book “ Wars and Watermelons” that was published in 2011 shows how families struggled to make sure that there loved one aren’t drafted into the army. Both Rich Wallace and Carl Sandburg serious poem and book “ War and Watermelons” and “ A Father to His Son” both illustrates the importance of spending time with your family and the ones you love.
Spend time with your family and the ones you love. The way they show the theme is different, but they both do have the same theme. Spend time with the ones you love. The book shows a example of this theme when it says “ The concert is scheduled to start at four. Ryan’s so psyched for it that he yells up the stairs right after lunch. “ Brody! We should split.” pg. 31 Rich Wallace shows the importance of family by giving the example of two brothers going to a concert. They spend time with each other because Brody knows that his brother may have to join the army and could die. In the poem “ A Father To His Son” the Father is giving advice to his
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son and telling him to learn. He says the advice that he heard "Life is hard; be steel; be a rock." Stanza one, he knows this is bad advice and when he tried that technique it didn’t work. He wants to help his son, so he didn’t tell him that advice. The way they show the theme is different.
The poem “ A Father To His Son” uses metaphors, similes , and irony to emphasize the theme of the poem. Carl Sandburg says "Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy." stanza one, this is irony that the Father is saying. He doesn’t want his son to be gentle and soft. This expresses the theme because the Father is helping his son and is wanting him to live a good life. In the book “ War and Watermelons” Rich Wallace uses examples to emphasize the theme. Ryan in the book says “ He dragged me to the admission office at Drew. I applied in person for January.” pg. 171 Rich Wallace is giving a fact and a example of the theme. This is a example of the theme because Ryan and Brody’s dad does not want Ryan to go to war on Vietnam. He knows if he goes he could die their and they might not be able to see him again. Their dad wants to spend time with him and enrolling him into college helps in the long run of Ryan and his did spending time
together. One last difference is the use of imagery. “ War and Watermelons” uses imagery throughout the book. Rich Wallace says “ We pass a pond and hear people splashing and laughing,” pg. 44, He uses imagery by using the words splashing and laughing to give the reader a vision of what he is talking about. This helps the reader later on have a better visual of the scene. Even later on in the book it helps give direction where the character is and is a little bit of foreshadowing for the very end of the book. Carl Sandburg’s poem “ Father To His Son” doesn’t use imagery. He mainly uses other literary devices to express his feeling in the poem. He uses metaphors, similes, and irony to express his feeling on the subject of family. The poem “ A Father To His Son” and the book “ War and Watermelon” both have a lot of similarities and differences. Carl Sandburg and Rich Wallace’s pieces of literature both express the importance of spending time and learning from your family and the ones you love.
This Newberry award nominated book, written by Irene Hunt, tells the story of the “home life” of her grandfather, Jethro, during the Civil War. Not only does it give a sense of what it is like to be in the war but also it really tells you exactly what the men leave behind. Jethro is forced to make hard decisions, and face many hardships a boy his age shouldn't have to undergo. This is an admirable historical fiction book that leaves it up to the reader to decide if being at home was the superior choice or if being a soldier in the war was.
During the summer of 1976, the Vietnam War remains alive in the homes of many families. Eli the Good by Silas House is a novel about a young man named Eli Book who recollects of his experiences one summer in 1976 when he was ten-years-old. Eli’s father was one who suffered greatly after the war with post-traumatic stress. The story of young Eli and his family is set in a time period of significant American history. Involved in the story is a representation of what life was like during the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, families who were affected by post-traumatic stress in veterans, and the many protest against the Vietnam War.
His months in Vietnam were filled with bloodshed and human atrocity, and from this, no man could feasibly return the same person. Yet beneath what John endured throughout the war, he suffered many unkindness’ and tragedies that shaped him into adulthood. It was not only the war that made John Wade, but it was John Wade’s existence; his whole life that made him who he was. John Wade craved love, admiration and affection. All his life, all he wanted was to be loved, and his father’s constant taunting hurt him immensely.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
...y crying not knowing what to do then he turned and peered back to the Minnesota shore line. “It was as real as anything I would ever feel. I saw my parents calling to me from the far shoreline. I saw my brother and sister, all the townsfolk, the mayor and the entire Chamber of Commerce and all my old teachers and girlfriends and high school buddies. Like some weird sporting event: everybody screaming from the sidelines, rooting me on” (58). This is when he knew he could not turn his back on his beloved country. All the wrong he felt the draft was he could not cross the border to flee from anything or anyone. This whole situation describes the rest of his life, but mainly his years in the Vietnam War. He would have to make decisions, decisions that would be hard but would have to do for the ones he loved.
Not many people in society can empathize with those who have been in a war and have experienced war firsthand. Society is unaware that many individuals are taken away from their families to risk their lives serving in the war. Because of this, families are left to wonder if they will ever get to see their sons and daughters again. In a war, young men are taken away from their loved ones without a promise that they will get to see them again. The survivors come back with frightening memories of their traumatic experiences. Although some would argue that war affects families the most, Tim O’Brien and Kenneth W. Bagby are able to convey the idea that war can negatively impact one’s self by causing this person long lasting emotional damage.
The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, transports the reader into the minds of veterans of the Vietnam conflict. The Vietnam War dramatically changed Tim O’Brien and his comrades, making their return home a turbulent and difficult transition. The study, titled, The War at Home: Effects of Vietnam-Era Military Service on Post-War Household Stability, uses the draft lottery as a “natural experiment” on the general male population. The purpose of the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) study is to determine the psychological effects of the Vietnam War on its veterans. In order to do this, they tested four conditions, marital stability, residential stability, housing tenure, and extended family living. However, it neglects the internal ramifications of war that a soldier grapples with in determining whether they are “normal” in their post-war lives. Thus, effects such as alienation from society, insecurity in their daily lives, and the mental trauma that persist decades after the war are not factored in. After reading the NBER study, it is evident that Tim O’Brien intentionally draws the reader to the post-war psychological effects of Vietnam that may not manifest themselves externally. He does this to highlight that while the Vietnam war is over, the war is still raging in the minds of those involved decades later, and will not dissipate until they can expunge themselves of the guilt and blame they feel from the war, and their actions or inaction therein.
Although finding food was a struggle for them, the man always put the boy’s health before his. The man made sure the boys thirst and hunger was always gone and that he had food to eat and drinks to drink. “He took the can and sipped it and handed it back. You drink it, he said. Let's just sit here.” (Page 27). In this quote, the man gave the boy the last of the soda but the boy got upset that the man didn’t take any, so the man took a sip and proceeded to give it to the boy. This is important because the father knows that he’s thirsty and could kill for a drink, but he knows that this is the first and last soda the boy would ever get. “He'd found a last half packet of cocoa and he fixed it for the boy and then poured his own cup with hot water and sat blowing at the rim.” (Page 18). This quote shows us too that the man always made sure that the boy got the better part of the deal. The boy got to drink cocoa but the man just drank hot water. The father does this because he got to live through his childhood without this apocalyptic world but the boy only lived a few years that he really doesn’t remember. These quotes show paternal love because they explain how the father always puts the son before him. Through all of the actions the father takes, it shows us how much he really cares about the son, and that his son is his only hope and his fire for
An emotional burden that the men must carry is the longing for their loved ones. The Vietnam War forced many young men to leave their loved ones and move halfway across the world to fight a ...
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
Regret is something that is apparent in everyone’s life whether they want it to be or not. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, is a collection of short stories about his time in the Vietnam War. A common theme throughout all the stories is regret. Although I have never been drafted to war I can very closely relate to the feeling of regret. Regret is not a good feeling. It is something that follows you around for a long time. It hangs over your head like a gray cloud. In one of Tim’s stories On The Rainy River he says “Still, it’s a hard story to tell” (37). This draws you to believe that Tim found it very difficult to tell others about his time in the war, he did some things he was not proud of and he found it best he keep quiet. The decision my parents made eleven years ago to get divorced, was something that will have an affect on me for the rest of my life. I found it very difficult to talk about the divorce,
...volving death and separation. Children within the United States whose parents serve in the military are left to deal with issues of separation and fear. The fear of not knowing when their parents are coming home, and if they’ll come back the same person they were when they left. Since we are incapable of hiding violence and the act of war from children, it is better to help them understand the meaning behind it and teach them that violence is not always the answer. Children react based on what they see and hear, and if the community and world around them portrays positive things, then the child will portray a positive attitude as well.
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
War has been a consistent piece of mankind 's history. It has significantly influenced the lives of individuals around the globe. The impacts are amazingly adverse. In the novel, “The Wars,” by Timothy Findley, Soldiers must shoulder compelling weight on the warzone. Such weight is both family and the country weight. Many individuals look at soldiers for hop and therefore, adding load to them. Those that cannot rationally beat these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley
The choice of words of the author also contributes to the development of the theme. For example, the use of words like "drafty," "half-heartedly," and "half-imagined" give the reader the idea of how faintly the dilemma was perceived and understood by the children, thus adding to the idea that the children cannot understand the burden the speaker has upon herself. In addition, referring to a Rembrandt as just a "picture" and to the woman as "old age," we can see that these two symbols, which are very important to the speaker and to the poem, are considered trivial by the children, thus contributing to the concept that the children cannot feel what the speaker is feeling.