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.
The first conversation they have is packed with free indirect discourse, but only Selden’s, as he watches Lily and comments on her in his head. Throughout the book, it seems, he prides himself on being just outside the spotlight, always on the side-lines. Lily expresses that she wants “a friend who won't be afraid to say disagreeable [things] when I need them”, and he is definitely that friend, but is that what she really needs? What Miss Bart, never going anywhere but down, needs is a friend (expressly a male friend) who does and helps her to do. His inactiveness is best expressed in one of his most memorable lines to Lily: “The only way I can help you is by loving you.” It’s a great line, and Selden is very pretty in speech, but it is also a great untruth, and one that shows how unhelpful he is in Lily’s life.
Throughout his book, O'Brien tells several different stories with various themes ranging from physical and emotional burdens, the deaths of Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, Kiowa, and Linda, shame used as a motivation, Curt Lemon and the dentist, to name a few. O'Brien also recounts many other stories, the pagoda his group stayed at, the VC soldier he had killed, the trip he and his ten-year-old daughter, Kathleen, take back to Vietnam 20 years after he left there. However, how much of each story is true? Did this happen, did that happen? O’Brien didn’t remember everything that occurred while he was in Vietnam, so he added to the story to make it better, or to fill in the gaps.
Both Krebs and Wade were in wars that most of the country did not understand. The difference between the soldiers is the way they are treated by family while away and when they return home. In “Soldier’s Home,” Krebs is considered a hero to his sister and mother. An example of this is when Krebs sister asks for him to watch her game. While at war, Krebs mother says “I’ve worried about you so much, Harold” (Hemingway, 1925, p. 121).
Even though I have a feeling of sickness of my normal, boring life, I at least have people beside me. They are like a constant anchor in my life, unlike A who is constantly drifting away from everyone he meets. However, A finds and falls in love with a girl named Rhiannon. Though he set a rule to never get too attached, he couldn’t stay away from his love. In the moments he stayed and interacted with her, he found the “anchor” for his life.
In the letter, Kiley, starts telling her how great friends Lemon and he was with one another. Kiley goes on and on about how they were great friends. He fails to include the arguments and the bad in their relationship. He is not straight forward in his letter to Lemon’s sister. Kiley was very sincere and caring in the letter but he knew that Lemon’s sister was not
Although Henry has learned to like his surroundings, he is cut off from the traditional values of home and family. In My Antonia even though Antonia learned the ways of American people and enjoyed hanging out with Jim, she dearly missed her country and wanted to go back. She told Jim time to time about her country and described him all the places as if she never left the place. Hemingway’s “hero” Fredrick Henry tries to enjoy and only remember the good part about the war and tries not to worry about the bad parts. Only to remember the good part but not the bad parts (McConnell 3).
When Myrna gets sick the visits are put to an end. Physical contact is replaced with unpersonal letters which allows her to keep the distance she needs, but still be able to have her maternal feelings fulfilled by the information she gets through the letters. Despite the distance Myrna has forced in between her and her son, she feels a part of her leap to life at the sight of him. This shows her remaining love for her son – and after all she is glad he is fine: “... she was glad he hadn’t been maimed or murdered in prison. At least he looked whole and healthy of body,” (page 2, line 10).
The story starts off with Jimmy carrying letters from a girl named Martha from New Jersey. Jimmy felt love for the girl. The letters are friendly in nature, but seem to be devoid of the emotion love as Jimmy so desires. Jimmy, on numerous occasions, looks at photographs of Martha and fantasizes about her. He remembers a date they went on where he had put a hand on her knee and pulled it away after he sees the look on her face.
It is only when one hears pet names from someone one does not love that they are condescending, and until the climax of the play, Nora genuinely loves Torvald. We know this because she saves her husband’s life with a morally questionable act. This act may have ultimately led to the undoing of the marriage, but she does it “out of love” (209) nonetheless. Nora feels that Torvald has been kind to her, and she “thought it was fun when [Torvald] played with [her]” (249). And play they do.