Literary Analysis of 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' and 'The Things They Carried'

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A Literary Analysis of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and “The Things They Carried” ENG125 Sources of conflict provide a unifying factor that enables an audience to relate to a literary work’s respective authors on a psychological level. This is particularly important when an author seeks to place his or her audience in their own perspective. A strong case for the conflict of individual versus self can be identified in the texts “They Things They Carried” (O’Brien, 1990) and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” (Thomas, 1952) This shared trait offers insight towards the human element and increases both works’ depth as a result. It also allows the audience to experience timelines and situations they would never have been able to otherwise, especially when dealing with sensitive topics such as death and war. We will be exploring the combined use of persona, fate, point of view, flashbacks, epiphanies and irony towards further contributing towards the authors’ visions. The texts “The Things They Carried” and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” both share the conflict of individual versus self. The pair both vary greatly in their presentation as well as what substantiates them. They however, simultaneously both touch on the universally shared trait of human emotion in extenuating circumstances. O’Brien and Thomas both depict situations where the concept of death is always lurking just around the corner. The realization of one’s mortality is often enough to shift one’s perception away from fantasy to cold, hard reality. O’Brien illustrates this point well as Lieutenant Cross’s obsession with a fading memory leads to a man’s death: “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men and as a consequence Lavender was now dead.” (O’Brien, 1990, p.20) Consequently he is forced to revaluate his motives and strive to move

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