Through Steinbeck’s literary techniques he explains the causes of Lennie’s death through the theme, characterization and foreshadowing. Although Steinbeck was able to leave his readers with many thoughts to think about from the story, one of the themes that clearly show the cause of Lennie’s death is sacrificing. Even though by killing Lennie, George lifts a heavy burden off his chest for he no longer has to take care of Lennie and deal with all the troubles Lennie keep on making for him. However, George has to sacrifice his friendship and love because by shooting Lennie he loses a friend whom had always been keeping him company and shares a dream with him, to have their own farm where they would share and live together. Other than that, it was not easy for George to shoot Lennie but he had to do it because if he didn’t he knew that Curley would and in a more painful way.
Affield’s memoir illustrated the very real and raw aspects of war. Wendell’s personal account of life as a soldier started with the horrors of boot camp, eventually explained the terrors of war and finally ended with the rejection and ridicule that he and other soldiers endured on his return home. His detailed accounts helped readers better understand the situation and events that occurred during and after the war in Vietnam. Once Affield enlisted with the United States Navy he was originally stationed on a gunner Naval ship, USS Rogers, and traveled to Vietnam to aide in fighting the Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. This West Pac cruise was difficult, yet it ended up being one of the least devastating assignments of his Vietnam experience.
Undoubtedly, Hampton Sides wrote this novel to inform the reader of the stalking and killing of Martin Luther King Jr. in a way that takes you step by step through the processes of the characters before, during, and after the event. In order to compose such a complex story, Sides had to have researched this topic thoroughly for a long period of time. He’s drawn on many resources to compile all the factual elements of this story. One could say that he is an expert on this subject because of how responsibly he magnifies the truth. For example, Sides explains in detail how the bullet shot by James Earl Ray, who fashioned himself as Eric Galt after his escape from prison, enters Martin Luther King Jr.’s neck.
Through imagery, perspective, and symbolism, O’Brien, Tim. “The Man I Killed” illustrates the devastating psychological impact of war upon a soldier. The central theme is time. "O'Brien" the soldier is frozen in a moment in time, recalling the entire history of the dead Vietnamese man while the American troop of soldiers are all moving forward, preparing for another day at war. The one word that best describes the mood of this vignette is shock.
That shows that he had some time to himself and for his thoughts. All the photos he had clicked of the war, were set out in ordered rows, making him feel nostalgic and remember all the places he had been to and how they all had been torn apart by war. It shows that he was extremely disturbed. The poet uses a metaphor ‘spools of suffering’ which shows the theme of death. It also is a effectual comparison as it shows that it’s not the spools that are suffering, but it’s the photos arranged on the spools.
There is no doubt that his personal experiences and observations enabled him to express the ugliness of the war to those who may have no idea otherwise. In his poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Owen depicts an event during the war through his eyes. The poem allows readers to grasp the horror that took place, but also provides insight into Owen’s mind. No poet has ever captured the ills of war in such chilling truth before Owen had. He opened the door to what few people imagined could be depicted by tapping into his horrific memories, but questions of his allegiance to his country arise when taking a deeper look into the life and works of Owen.
O'Brien's extract conveys to the readers the contradictory feelings that war evokes in a person. War can be seen in different perspectives and can be felt with many different emotions. The author describes war as astonishing; an adjective rarely used in the general opinion. But O'Brien has seen and felt first hand, and writes that war makes you grow up and learn about yourself as a person. You learn to value life in those desperate moments where death comes close.
‘Mental Cases’, on the other hand, describes soldiers who had devolved shell-shock after the war, hence ‘Mental Cases’. Owen used his own experiences to assist him with the poem, as he himself spent time in a military hospital suffering with shell-shock. ‘Mental Cases’ by Wilfred Owen is a dark, depressing and violent poem. It gives the reader haunting images, for example “Gouged these chasms round their fretted sockets”. This gives the reader the image of eyes being plucked out of their sockets, Owen has used such powerful imagery to build up tension and add to the suspense.
Many of the results of physical pain were due to the oppressed environment and the very nature of war. The emotional injuries were encountered through the soldier’s constant struggle for survival. Soldiers were sent home after their tour of duty but many experienced post traumatic war syndrome; mentally and psychologically scarring these soldiers. In a war it is evident that wounds always remain for those who have experienced it. Physical pain is a primary ‘stereotypical’ effect of war which most people understand of being the broad result of war.
Anthem For Doomed Youth is a sonnet written by Wilfred Owen about the realities of war. Wilfred Owen was a soldier during WW1 and therefore understands fully the true experiences of war. He was against war and was appalled by the effects of war on people and their families. The purpose of the poem is to inform the public of the true realities of war and how young men where dying needlessly. This was because during war times the media would tell the public that the war going great and that the men where doing just fine, but this obviously just wasn’t true.