Discuss the presentation of camaraderie in Birdsong and Apologia. Which is more effective and why? Camaraderie, in both Birdsong and Apologia pro Poemate Meo, is an important theme because it concentrates on some of the most essential aspects of the war; the idea of togetherness and commitment to the brotherhood for soldiers. Furthermore, its seems that the presentation of camaraderie was more effective in Birdsong, as Faulks employs a way of reaching out to the readers simply because he talks directly about the impact of war in relation to the idea friendship. He, therefore, allows the reader to become further engaged with the text.
The lists also describe the emotional baggage each soldier carried, such as First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s (the leader of the squad) love for a girl back home. O’Brien’s use of lists and the repetition gives the reader a good impression of the lifestyle of the soldiers in Vietnam without outwardly and directly saying so, subsequently giving him a stronger argument by allowing the reader to attain the understanding of the situation on their own. The lists O’Brien uses in the story give clarity to the setting of the emotional and physical setting the story takes place in. When one thinks of a list, the natural conclusion is a dull and repetitive page of words, possibly bulleted or in some other such order, but never really all that interesting to read. O’Brien uses this to his advantage to give the reader a true sense of what the experience in Vietnam was for the common soldier, while at the same time not describing it outright, which is something he says later in the story cannot be done in simple words.
Krakauer used many rhetorical strategies to create appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos in order to develop the ideas and themes found in his novel. An appeal to logos shed light into Christopher McCandless’s personality because it determined that he was a compassionate yet adventurous figure during his time. Krakauer wanted the audience to know that there was more to Chris than his habit of criticizing authority and defying the pressures of society, and he demonstrates this belief through a strategy in which he creates a persona for McCandless. I myself do not believe Chris was crazy. Krakauer learned from teammate Eric Hathaway, “On weekends, when his high school pals were attending ‘keggers’ and trying to sneak into Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting way they might improve their lives” (113).
Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” features a young lieutenant, Jimmy Cross, commander of the Alpha Company during the Vietnam War. The essential theme of the indicatively titled story is the many ‘things’ the soldiers must carry and bear across the Land of Seagull & Fox, both physically and emotionally. O’Brien lists the standard issue equipment, personal effects, as well as the ever present abstract themes of duty, cowardice, rank, and personal history of each soldier. The tale impresses upon the reader the sheer ‘heaviness’ of the entire experience and of how the men ‘soldier on’ despite this. We find our protagonist distracted with an infatuation of Martha, a young university student with whom he shared an arguably one-sided relationship with before being deployed.
Bao Nihn’s “The Marker on the Side of the Boat" is a story of a young vietnamese man named kien who goes to visit the city of Hanoi to deliver some letters. There he accidentally meets a young beautiful lady but the city ends up getting bombed during his excursion. This forces him to make a decision. If only he would have relied on instinct, maybe his decisionwouldn't have ended up haunting him for the rest of his days. The story takes place in Vietnam during a war and the main character of the story is a soldier/messenger.
Overall, O’Brien gives us a glimpse of the mental side of war as we witness the immense changes to young soldiers brought to Vietnam to fight for their country. Tim O’Brien’s own anecdotal experiences demonstrate how war acts as a catalyst for the transformation of defenseless soldiers into violent and ruthless individuals. Before he is drafted for Vietnam, O’Brien describes himself as a shy,
The Role of Casual Narration in Cathedral In Raymond Carver’s Cathedral the narrator’s casual way of telling the story helps the reader be more engaged and interested in the story. It pulls you into the story and makes you care deeply about the characters in it and what happens to them. The use of casual narration in Cathedral is evident when you look at line lengths. The narrator often uses sentences of few words like “So okay” (Carver, 22), “She threw up” (22) and “Just amazing” (24). When the narrator writes sentences like these it’s almost as if he’s speaking directly to the reader which helps the reader care about the story more because they’re not just reading some story about a disconnected narrator.
Throughout it we can relate to this group of narrators in their description of the girls. We see their slightly biased selection of quotes and feel that they are just as normal as we are. The writer telling the story has a much easier time of thinking about the facts of the reality he has created when he is fictionally an active member of it. Although his narrators are not his normal voice, they are still a part of his writing self. They still must go through the filter of his conscious thought to be allowed to write the story.
When opening up the speech, Faulkner describes the type of writer he is by incorporating antonyms. Because of the occasion, Faulkner saw the importance of telling the audience his true intentions of writing. He does this not only to state that winning the Nobel Prize was not a goal to him, but an honor that has been “trusted” upon him, but so he can clearly relate to his audience. By incorporating antonyms, such as when he says “Life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for the glory and least of all for the profit,” he creates juxtaposition between his character and the inimical character of other authors. There are writers who write for the pure satisfaction of writing and there are writers, who write for the fame and
Vladimir Nabokov raised a few interesting questions in his essay regarding readers and writers. Questions like how should a reader relate to a story? Should a book be read emotionally or scientifically? He believes that a good reader reads not from the mind, nor from the heart, but from the spine. I personally agree with Nabokov’s theory about good readers.