While there are many different ways to view what this book is truly about. One of the big themes of this story is the horrors of war and how soldiers are changed forever from what they experience. The war doesn’t end for the soldiers when they come home; they relive it every day for the rest of their lives. John Wade is a perfect example of a man reliving his horrible war experiences. John Wade seemed to be two
The effects of war not only affect the soldier, but also cause an effect on families and loved ones. It is hard for the family to accept what had done war to Henry, but it is even tougher for Henry, who is blind by the terrible things he saw and lived at Vietnam, and does not see another way out than committing
Wade Berrigan 5-26-07 The Moral Ambiguity of War In the novel Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers, shows us many examples of soldiers struggling between making morale choices or staying alive. New soldiers look at other soldiers who have been in the war for a while as if they are sick soulless creatures killing everything in their way. Later we find these same characters that are doing the questioning doing the same thing. For example Perry wonders to himself how someone can die in front of them and no one remember it the following day. This shows his morals are still intact.
Tim O’Brien “ They carried all emotional baggage of men who have got killed and might die” pg.21. It is in my views a emotional struggle to deal with the coping of your fellow troops at the same time you still have to be in the war. It is inevitable to avoid death, but emotional stress to deal with
Like, Nguyen Van Khien, he had his leg blown off during the war. He felt “sad and wanted to cry” because now he has only one leg (Adams). Many other soldiers in the north must have experienced injuries like him as well. Even with a severe injury though, the soldiers believe that “life is still good” because at least they made it out alive (Adams). The three things that affected North Vietnamese, hating Americans, living in harsh conditions and receiving severe injuries were all things they had to deal with during and after the war.
According to Paul, Paul and his friends are, “forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial - [I believe we are lost]” (123). Being drafted in the war at the age of eighteen has changed the mental thoughts of Paul as the transitions from a teenager to adult is quickly hastened and heavily weighted on him due to the war. The physical age of Paul is disconnected to how he mentally is, which is having the mind like old men, and in the struggle of how old Paul actually is versus how old he mentally is demonstrates how Paul has been mentally affected by the war. While Paul is in the hospital, he reflects how he is, “[I] am young, [I] am twenty years old; yet [I] know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow” (263). For Paul to think that he only knows what “despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality” is at the age of twenty demonstrates how Paul is mentality affected by the war, as most teenagers do not think about such things.
During the time of the Vietnam War thousands of soldiers who felt it was their duty to protect their country lost their life. This, in itself, did not mean that in this story the Lieutenant should have continued on his journey leading to the path of destruction and not have prevented the loss of members of his troop. Neither did the fact that the Lieutenant was of the same age as those in his troop. According to the narrator, O-Brien was a man who took the death of each of his men seriously. It is possible as outlined in this story that he had a change of venue, an epiphany, in that his infatuation and love for a girl back home might be the culprit for his loss of focus in his duty as Lieutenant and that he held himself responsible for loss of lives.
Walter also gives a first person point of view of facing war as a young man, and how o cope with deaths and tough struggles. In my eyes there are allot of harsh events that take place in the book. Richie experiences soldiers dying during a mission. “I couldn’t think of her wondering why I didn’t do something, why I didn’t save him.” In the quote it states that Richie witnessed his team member die in front of him, and then he thought about his member’s family and mother and how she felt about her son’s death. Secondly, while everyone was sleeping they all got woken up by choppers early in the morning.
Like so many families, waving good-bye to a soldier could have meant that would be the last time they would be seen. Many thousands of wives, children, and parents hugged and said good-bye to brave and valiant young men who never returned. Mrs. Cave and her family witnessed the sad good byes. She said this was probably the most memorable part and this will stick with her the rest of her life. She also said from that day on, people did not want to be out of hearing distance of the radio; holding their breath at each news release regarding the raid on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in a sneak attack which killed Americans and nearly destroyed the US Naval fleet.
Controversial acts were passed in an effort to control terrorism, the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was passed by George Bush shortly after 9/11 to make it easier for the government to access personal information like; phone conversations, emails, and other private information. It also gives them the power to detain anyone who they suspect of terrorism for up to one week. The freedoms and privacy of all Americans have been curtailed because of this act. Even though most Americans are not terrorists, simply knowing that the government has these new powers and abilities to invade on their privacy is bothersome