"Bombs Bursting in Air" Analytical Essay

2414 Words10 Pages
“Bombs bursting in air. They can blind us, like fireworks at the moment of explosion. If we close our eyes and turn away, all we see is their fiery image. But if we have the courage to keep our eyes open and welcoming, even bombs finally fade against the vastness of the starry sky” (214). Life is about lessons, knocking down innocence and happiness challenging one to keep standing back up. Johnson uses the metaphor of life’s happenings as bombs and the importance of living through them to show the need to live fearless. In Beth Johnson’s, Bombs Bursting in Air, Johnson uses exemplification to show that one should not live life in fear despite the bombs and tragedies, exploding throughout his/her life. Johnson shows that with youth, bombs are not necessarily felt until a bomb explodes enough to burn up one’s innocence away. Also, Johnson uses personal references to show importance in learning to fear less of the inevitable bombs, as well as, taking away the knowledge that death is inevitable, but one can live life without fearing this final explosion. Lastly, Johnson uses exemplification to prove everyone experiences countless destructive bombs, but to truly live life one must not hold onto misery nor fear. Johnson’s writing drives a very important lesson in which everyone should know and carry with them throughout life. Johnson shows that with youth, bombs are not necessarily felt until a bomb explodes enough to burn up one’s innocence away. Johnson writes, “For although our sorrow was real, we still had some sense of a protective curtain between us and the bombs” (213). As young children, it is known to be sad when a tragedy struck, but most youth do not truly emotionally or mentally digest the full weight of what these events mean; Johnson forces readers to understand that the hardest thing about the occurrence of bombs is the realization that these events can
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