Charles Yale Harrison’s “in the trenches” and mark twain's” two ways of seeing a river” are both autobiographical narratives that use descriptive language. In Harrison’s “in the trenches,” his brilliant use of sensory imagery lets the readers mind experience the treacherous and horrendous reality of war, with just the use of words. On the other hand, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” the use of sensory imagery is carefully used to help the reader visualize the change in twains perception of the once “majestic river.” Both authors effortlessly utilize imagery to illustrate the realities of their topics. Harrison uses all the aspects of sensory imagery to display the life men are living in the trenches; meanwhile, in twains essay, he partially …show more content…
Both authors use sensory imagery to create vivid images in the reader's mind with ease. In Harrison “In the trenches,” he uses descriptive similes and personifications to show the reader the disturbing reality of war effectively. After being viscously bombed, Harrison beautifully describes the “S.O.S” flare that is sent up shortly after being attacked, saying that “the sky is lit by hundreds of fancy fireworks like a night carnival.” This descriptive simile creates a visual image of a sky so bright that it resembles a carnival at night. As incoming bombs were dropping Harrison describes them by using the simile “the air screams and howls like an insane woman,” from this line any reader can imagine what it would sound like if artillery was dropping and exploding near you. Similarly, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” he uses similes to create vivid images of the “majestic river.” Right from the beginning twain states that “I [have] mastered the language of this water and…every trifling feature…as familiarly as I [know] the letters of the alphabet.” This simile compares his vast knowledge of all the features of the river to his familiarity to the alphabets. The reader can visualize the importance and beauty of the river. Also, both authors similarly utilize sensory
In conclusion, while books, photos, movies and other historical documentation can portray information or a message about wartime events, they will never be able to produce the feelings of those that were personally involved in wars have experienced. Yet, it is incorrect to criticize these writers. The information they reveal is still very important historical information. Even if a reader or viewer of this media cannot feel exactly the same emotions as those involved, they still often experience an emotional connection to the events being depicted. This is important, not only for the historical knowledge gained about wars, but also to understand the nature and futility of their occurrence.
Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing the character’s psychological burdens.
During times of war, man is exposed to the most gruesome aspects of life such as death, starvation, and imprisonment. In some cases, the aftermath is even more disastrous, causing posttraumatic stress disorder, constant guilt, as well as physical and mental scarring, but these struggles are not the only things that humans can take away from the experience. War can bring out the appreciation of the little things in life, such as the safety people take for granted, the beauty of nature, and the kindness of others. These universal consequences of fighting all contribute to what war is really capable of doing, sometimes bringing out the best and worst in people, and constantly shaping society. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien goes through this himself when he writes about setting up base camp in the Vietnamese pagoda, the return to site of Kiowa’s death, the story about the old poppa-san guide, and Mitchell Sanders’ “moment of peace”. When O’Brien includes these stories, it is not to insert joy into a tragedy, but rather to create a more wholesome and authentic feel into a tough, realistic war story. O’Brien’s’ “sweet” stories are there to show the hope he had during war, and also serve as a universal example that even in the darkest tunnels, it is always possible to find rays of light.
Metaphors and Similes are often used in this story, so the reader has a better image of the setting, this is something, and I find Connell did incredibly well, for instance when he refers to the darkness of the night like moist black velvet, the sea was as flat as a plate-glass and it was like trying to see through a blanket.
In all works about war, the element of pain is essential. Without pain, there is no real happiness. The men described in these works all endured vast amounts of physical and emotional pain on their tours serving the country and the accurate representations of their time overseas wouldn’t be able to be complete without this element.
Soldiers' Account of Trench Life Life in the trenches was horrific; the frontline soldiers dreaded having to return to them. During their tour of duty there, they lived in considerable tension. The trenches were far from safe; possibly one third of all casualties on the Weston front were killed or wounded in the trenches, mostly from artillery fire. In this essay I will be discussing and comparing the accuracy and differences between the soldiers' accounts of the trenches and official accounts composed by the government.
Vivid imagery is one way with which writers protest war. Crane uses imagery to glorify, and shortly thereafter demean and undercut war, through the use of imagery, by placing positive and negative images of war close to eachother. “Blazing flag of the regiment,” and “the great battle God,” are placed before “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (A) These lines’ purposes are to put images into the reader’s head, of how great war may appear, and then displaying that there are too many casualties involved with it. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, a man is described dyin...
It was not until the 19th century that a very powerful tool was examine in depth by different viewers, photographic images. In the depression years, war was not seen by others as what war really is, and or what war can do. Some perceived war as an act of heroic action, and were not really aware of the pain that war brought to others remotely. Photographs were and continue to be visual representations of current and history events. In Regarding the Pain of Others, written by Susan Sontang. She analysis many factors in how war is perceived in images/photos by different viewers. Susan Sontang also reacts to a key point word that Woolf ’refers to as “we” when it comes to relating to the pain of others and there experience of this subject.
... horrors of war such as, his parents who still view war as glamorous and idealistic. War takes a heavy toll on soldiers who fight in it and in these dangerous moments anybody would have gone insane. It takes a very special type of soldier to be able to handle both the psychological and physical challenges that a soldier has to face in everyday battle. A soldier such as this must be capable of handling the sight of a mutilated comrade and not immediately chatter to pieces. The author conveys this message in his extreme use of words with negative connotation such as shells, typhus, dysentery, and trenches. In this portion of the novel a great deal of emphasis is placed on the word death which is repeated several times and standing on its own it holds a great deal of negative connotations. Therefore, due to the severity of the situation and the extensive use of words with negative connotations the overall tone of the novel appeared to be very depressing or serious. This selection also demonstrates just how mythical the character of war that many individuals who have not experienced the tragedy of battle believe to be true by illustrating just how appalling and grim war is in reality.
a realistic picture of life in the trenches as he had known it and a
It is evident that the occurrence of war throughout history has made a lasting impression on soldiers and civilians alike. This has been expressed over the years through different works of literature. The cost of war to the individual is illustrated in “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, and “The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick because each story shows some element of mental, emotional, and physical toll.
The horrible conditions and quality of life in the trenches of World War One are emphasized with Owen’s use of figurative language, such as similes, metaphors and personification. An excellent example of a simile would be what he wrote in the first line of the poem, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge” (stanza 1, line 1 and 2). This description portrays the soldiers to be ‘crippled or ‘broken’, and shows them to be left both psychologically and physically scarred. It really helps us to visualize a group of young men who are in fact exhausted and so “drunk with fatigue”(stanza 1, line 7) that they are unable to even stand upright, and have lost most control over their physical actions. By bringing in these similes, Owen adds mo...
One of the literary techniques most prominently featured throughout the passage would be that of imagery. The author takes great care to interweave sentences comparing the traits
Owen’s poem ‘Exposure’ is focused on what the soldiers felt on the battle field. Although there is absolutely no engagement with the enemy directly from beginning to end, they are still exposed to the elements of nature surrounding them and the psychological tension of warfare. The extreme cold is especially horrifying as conditions such as hyperthermia may occur. On the other hand, Sassoon’s poem ‘Counter
A certain matter-of-fact quality pervades the descriptions of the wounds inflicted and received by soldiers; the face-to-face attacks with rifle butts, spades, and grenades; the sounds, smells, and colors of death and dying in this book.