In James Swanson’s book “Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse,” the author gave a unique perspective on two remarkable historical events. Swanson’s book described the time nearing the close of the Civil War, but took a much different approach than I have ever encountered. Rather than speaking of the Union and Confederacy and the battles the ended the war, Swanson focused on the expedition of Lincoln’s body after his assassination, while at the same time, telling of Jefferson Davis’ elaborate journey to elude capture. “Bloody Crimes” compiled two very different historical events and connected them in one novel unlike any other. First I commend Swanson on his favorable portrayal of Davis, a man who is rarely positively revered in history, undoubtedly due to his Confederacy ties.
Author O’Brian also confuses the reader by writing his novel as if everything that was told took place in the real world. For example, just by saying “this is true” (64) doesn’t always make it true. O’Brian leaves it up to the reader to distinct what they see the story as: reality or fiction. It is said that “a true war story… makes the stomach believe” (74). Author and character O’Brian tell the story in such a way to make it believable that the two different people are really the same person.
This book contains a strong sense of morality and the characters are well rounded characters that aren’t easy to understand. The harder they are, the more we can learn about the true nature of life (Kelly 166). Grant Wiggins is a difficult character to understand because he couldn’t decide what he wanted to do. You didn’t find out what he truly felt until the end of the book. He was locked into almost the same situation Jefferson was in.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel about World War I. It is narrated by Paul Bäumer, who is the main character. Paul discusses how his life changed instantly after witnessing the horrors of war life. This novel brings up many aspects of the effects of war. The element that really stood out from this novel was how ordinary everyday matters were highlighted.
Adding on to my previous thoughts, the reason why the sentences are so casual is because the novel overall was created to emphasize the life style and thought processes of soldiers during the war with the use of vulgar diction/profanity and the use of slang. The longer sentences in the book are generally used to describe an entire or used to provide imagery to the reader. The shorter/simpler sentences are used to make quick statements and to get right to the point. With the use of short sentences, O’Brien can express a clear concise straight into the reader which allows for a quicker understanding of a character’s current circumstances or mood. With the use of long sentences, O’Brien uses vivid imagery which allows the readers to use their own five senses to paint their own ideas of the war scenes being described.
English 124-Literary Essay October 19, 2011 “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “The Soldier” Although the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est “by Wilfred Owen, and “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke, share the elements of writer passion and subjectivity, they differ with regards to tone, theme and literary devices. The lyrical poem, “The Soldier” was written during the period before the World War, and thus presents an unrealistic viewpoint of war. The speaker is simply regurgitating ideas and concepts about war instilled in him by his country England. The phrases, “England bore, shaped, made aware” and “the thoughts by England given” solidify this theory. It is evident that he has not physically engaged in warfare, nor has he observed the explicit nature of the battlefield because his focus remains on England, rather than the war itself.
Cartridges, bulged forward under the capes so that men , passing on the road, marched as though they were six months gone with child.” Repetition is used to repeat soldiers, motor tractors, and guns, the importance of repetition was to tell the reader that there is a war going on. External conflict (man vs society) is being used to show that the narrator is facing a world war as a ambulance driver which revealed the tone which would be revealed to show the grim reality of war. Symbolism is also used to symbolize rain as death, “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the
Rise to Rebellion Savannah Jones AP US History Rise to Rebellion is a historical fiction book about the American Revolution, and all of the events leading up to it. This book is special because instead of just telling it like it is, Jeff Shaara gives us readers the opportunity to figuratively live our lives through the minds of different characters throughout the story. Some may say that this all started because of the Boston Massacre, but honestly there were multiple events leading up to the American Revolution. The first event leading up to the American Revolution is, in fact, the Boston Massacre. It all started out when a soldier was attacked by a group of angry rebels, who challenge the soldiers to fire into the crowd.
So i can say that in this class, ideology impacted me to an extent, but in certain areas, its still undefined for me. Though my education and how i can ideologically apply it to literature is still undefined, I can easily say that i really enjoyed this class. I walked out knowing more than i did when i came in, and it also altered the way i view things such as friends, family, work, religion and so on. I could never study ideology itself and truly be interested but i am very glad that i was given an opportunity to learn that there are other ways of viewing everyday
There are many symbols in the novel A Separate Peace but one that definitely stands out would be World War II. In the novel this tragic war symbolizes an indefinite amount of things like the arrival of adulthood to the triumph of the competitive spirit over innocent play and most importantly it symbolizes conflict. This relates to one of the major themes in the novel, questioning one’s identity. Gene throughout the whole story is someone who doesn’t really know who he is and he feels that enlisting in the war would be something that would help him find himself. Enlisting in the war would help him feel more secure about where he stands at that point in his life.