“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy”( Gandi)? Gandi, arguably the most influential advocate for world peace, said this quote in response to war-mongering imperial nations in the 20th century. Known for his pacifist ideology during the movement to liberate India, Gandhi exercised civil disobedience rather than entering an armed conflict against the tyrannical British Government. His ultimate conclusion about war was that the horrors of war do not justify any moral corse or ideology. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, both authors subtly battle this idea. In The Things They Carried Tim O'brien remarks on the impact of war on soldiers serving in Vietnam. For Whom the Bell Tolls focuses on an American soldier during the Spanish Civil War. Known as a testing ground for fascist dictators, the Republic of Spain faced a terrifying adversary of fascist rebels supported by Hitler. The main character, Robert Jordan, known as Roberto, fights against the rebels via guerilla warfare. In both novels, The Things They Carried and For Whom The Bell Tolls, the main characters must evaluate whether they are willing to sacrifice their morals and ideology during wartime; ultimately, their end conclusions differ as to whether war is justified.
The Things They Carried and For Whom The Bell Tolls illustrate tragic events in war, refiguring the main characters initial thoughts on war and their moral ideologies. Hearing the story of the Republican massacre, Roberto reflects the tragic fate of those lost in war as he realizes,“ You never see the mother...
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.... Hemingway equally displays another juxtaposition for Roberto. Each situation in war requires him to kill other human beings while he vindicates his actions under the pretense of war. Yet, after each death, he balances both conflicting beliefs. On one side he agrees the cause requires killing. He does believe the right for people to govern themselves, yet ironically he believes the destruction of life is just to allow the people to govern themselves. Ultimately, the author does conclude killing is justified, yet Hemingway hints towards another direction. Doubt is slightly introduced when the author adds “not reassuringly”. These two words introduce the beginning of self doubt that Roberto never does solve about killing and moral ideology. However, the author does have a strong stance for personal sacrifice.
IDEAS TO INCLUDE AFTER TOLL ON CITIZENS
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how gandi's quote in response to war-mongering imperial nations in the 20th century argues that war does not justify any moral corse or ideology.
- Analyzes how the things they carried and for whom the bell tolls illustrate tragic events in war, refiguring the main characters' initial thoughts on war and their moral ideologies.
- Analyzes how tim's lack of understanding plagued him for the rest of his life. he knew he committed wrongdoings, but they were blurry and distorted.
- Analyzes how roberto and tim o'brien acknowledge the humanity of the men they killed while both are forced to treat them like bitter enemies.
- Analyzes how both authors present characters distraught by atrocities in war, yet characters who differ in opinion regarding if their own lives were worth the sacrifice for war and moral ideology.
- Analyzes how o'brien's novel was written to recount and remember each death, in order to restore some order into the senseless hell.
- Compares hemingway's character to tim o'brien, who believed war was worth personal sacrifice for moral ideology.
Related
- analytical
- opinion
- comparative
- argumentative
- The Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger once said “Perjor est bello timor ipse belli”, which translates to: “the dread of war is worse than war itself”. With this quote, Seneca identifies that war has both its physical and mental tolls on its participants. The psychological and emotional scars of war do much more damage to a solider than the actual physical battles. Tim O’ Brien repeats this idea many years later in his novel “The Things They Carried”, by describing how emotional burdens outweigh the physical loads that those in war must endure. What keeps them alive is the hope that they may one day return home to their loved ones. Yet, the weight of these intangible “items” such as “grief, terror, love, longing” overshadow the physical load they must endure since they are not easily cast away.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how seneca identifies that war has both its physical and mental tolls on its participants. tim o' brien repeats this idea in his novel "the things they carried".
- Analyzes how tim o' brien alternates between narrative and descriptions of the tangible items that they soldiers carry.
- Analyzes how the vietnam war forced many young men to leave their loved ones and move halfway across the world to fight a questionable war in an unfamiliar land.
- Analyzes how doubt and fear weigh on the soldiers' hearts. when ted lavender is killed and kiowa constantly repeats the scene, the men anxiously wait for their time and this only adds to their baggage.
- Analyzes how the men carried the burden of responsibility before lavender's death. they fear death, but also fear disgrace, so they crawled into the dark tunnels.
- Analyzes how the soldiers in "the things they carried" carry heavy weaponry and equipment, but intangible items such as emotions, shame and reputations cannot be discarded. lieutenant cross realizes that the only way to release these things is death.
803 wordsRead More - The Meaning of “Story-Truth” and “Happening-Truth”analytical essayA true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain ...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how tim o'brien's the things they carried has readers and critics scratching their heads with wonder about the meaning of "story-truth" and "happening truth."
- Opines that a true war story is never moral. it does not instruct, encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior.
- Analyzes how o'brien doesn't believe anything good results from war. he believes that the truth ultimately lies in conveying emotions, which in turn conveys the ultimate truth of the story.
- Analyzes how o'brien is trying to get the reader to understand that war is not a hollywood movie. he explains that the truth is ugly, whether it be "story-truth" or "happening truth."
- Analyzes o'brien's use of irony to give the story a deeper meaning.
- Analyzes how the man's upper lip, gums, and teeth were gone. the butterfly was making its way along the young man’s forehead.
- Analyzes how o'brien places the beauty of life and the horror of war side by side and allows them to coexist.
- Analyzes how o'brien's "good form" chapter takes the cake, as far as confusing and frustrating when reading and trying to understand the "story-truth" vs. "happening truth."
- Narrates how they watched a man die 20 years ago near the village of my khe. they did not kill him, but their presence was guilt enough.
- Analyzes how o'brien's willingness to contradict himself in this story illustrates the point that he is trying to make. he believes facts are only a small and practically irrelevant piece of the truth.
- Analyzes how o'brien creates a whole new experience for the reader by reliving the emotional truth that the war caused him.
1005 wordsRead More - Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carriedanalytical essayAnother unique aspect to this book is the constant change in point of view. This change in point of view emphasizes the disorder associated with war. At some points during the book, it is a first person point of view, and at other times it changes to an outside third person point of view. In the first chapter of the book, “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien writes, “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity (2).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how tim o'brien's the things they carried is a uniquely written book with countless stories that intertwine and capture the reader’s attention through the end of the novel.
- Analyzes how o'brien's novel, the things they carried, is written in a genre of literature called "metafiction."
- Analyzes how the constant change in point of view emphasizes the disorder associated with war.
- Analyzes how o'brien uses repetitive imagery to get across exactly what the narrator is feeling.
- Analyzes how o'brien's "how to tell a true war story" has the greatest impact on the reader.
- Analyzes how tim o'brien's the things they carried is a masterpiece of contemporary war literature. the constant imagery, repetition, questionable aspects, and unique short story technique keep the reader absorbed in the words on the pages.
1258 wordsRead More - Myth of Courage Exposed in The Things They Carriedanalytical essayAs students we are brainwashed by ancient myths such as The Iliad, where war is extolled and the valorous warrior praised. Yet, modern novels such as Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (THINGS) challenge those very notions. Like The Iliad, THINGS is about war. It is about battles and soldiers, victory and survival, yet the message O'Brien gives us in THINGS runs almost contradictory to the traditional war story. Whereas traditional stories of war take place on battlefields where soldier battles soldier and the mettle of man is tested, O'Brien's battle occurs in the shadowy, private place of a soldier's mind. Like the Vietnam War itself, THINGS forces Americans to question the foundations of their beliefs and values because it calls attention to the inner conscience. More than a war story, O'Brien's The Things They Carried is an expose on personal courage. Gone are the brave and glorious warriors such as those found in the battle of Troy. In THINGS, they are replaced by young men who experience not glory or bravery, but fear, horror, and a personal sense of shame. As mythic courage clashes with the modern's experience of it, a battle is waged in THINGS that isn't confined to the rice-patties, jungles, and shit-fields of Vietnam. Carrying more than the typical soldier's wares, O'Brien's narrator is armed with an arsenal of feelings and words that slash away at an invisible enemy that is the myth of courage, on an invisible battlefield that is the Vietnam veteran's mind.
In this essay, the author
- Compares tim o'brien's the things they carried to the iliad, where war is extolled and the valorous warrior praised.
- Opines that an analysis of structure in things is important to our exploration of courage within the narrative, because it creates an atmosphere in which belief must be suspended. absolutes are absent from the text, if o'brien is to illustrate how our mythologies, including courage, frequently fail to meet up to actual experience.
- Analyzes how o'brien ingeniously facilitates a mood of incongruity, or disconnection, between fiction and fact in the things they carried.
- Analyzes how o'brien blurs fiction and fact through his narrator's constant and contradictory claims as to the veracity of his stories.
- Analyzes how o'brien's juxtaposition of fact and fiction forces the reader to search for an underlying truth in the bevy of contradictions.
- Analyzes how o'brien is a master at illustrating the ambiguities of myth as it collides with actual experience, and the myth of courage.
- Analyzes how o'brien attacks unrealistic notions of courage in things by contrasting external mythologies to internal ones and comparing them to experiential truths.
- Analyzes how o'brien's irony is that by acting courageous as defined by external myth, the soldiers learn themselves to be cowards.
- Explains that being a courageous individual, or failing to live up to his own expectations of courage, is critical for the narrator.
- Describes how they feared the law, ridicule, and censure. their hometown was a conservative little spot on the prairie, where tradition counted.
- Analyzes how tim's lack of courage, proven by what he knows to be true experientially, is at odds with what his society believes is a courageous and brave act.
- Analyzes how o'brien explores the conflict between internal mythologies we have about ourselves and our experiential truths.
- Analyzes how narrator tim does not reveal the story of little linda until almost the end of the book.
- Analyzes how the difference between courage and cowardice can be life altering, as seen in the "stupid" incident with the flashlight that gets kiowa killed.
- Opines that the things they carried is a true war story. it's purpose is to shatter myths that don't acknowledge the reality of events.
- Explains that with myth-shatters like o'brien at the helm of modern war novels, the term courage takes on new dimensions. it requires an honest quest by the individual to discover his or her internal truths.
- Describes calloway's "how to tell a true war story: metafiction in the things they carried".
- Analyzes how tim o'brien's inventing a new form helps talk about war, memory and storytelling.
- Explains homer's iliad and robert fagles' norton anthology of world masterpieces.
- Analyzes jarraway, david r., "excremental assault" in tim o'brien: trauma and recovery in vietnam war literature.
- Explains kaplan, steven, and the undying uncertainty of the narrator in tim o'brien's the things they carried.
- Explains ken lopez's book, "tim o'brien: an introduction to his writing."
- Explains chen, tina, and the embodied poetics of displacement in tim o'brien's the things they carried.
- Analyzes king, rosemary, o'brien's "how to tell a true war story." the explicator.
- Opines that passaro, vince, "the things they carried (review)." harper's magazine.
- Describes robinson's "getting it right: the short fiction of tim o'brien".
2673 wordsRead More - Earnest Hemmingway once said "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." (Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Reference) War is a gruesome and tragic thing and affects people differently. Both Vonnegut and Hemmingway discus this idea in their novels A Farewell to Arms and Slaughterhouse Five. Both of the novels deal not only with war stories but other genres, be it a science fiction story in Vonnegut’s case or a love story in Hemingway’s. Despite all the similarities there are also very big differences in the depiction of war and the way the two characters cope with their shocking and different experiences. It is the way someone deals with these tragedies that is the true story. This essay will evaluate how the main characters in both novels deal with their experiences in different ways.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how billy's time travel is a sanctuary away from the war, and reminds him of it. by reinventing time, he reconciles with the destruction seen in dresden.
- Analyzes how henry, like tralfamedore in slaughterhouse five, has a place to escape the harshness of the war, and that is with catherine.
- Analyzes how pilgrim and henry struggle with their experiences in the war and both have ways to distract themselves from their surroundings, whether it be time travel, or love.
- Explains that trogdon, robert w. ernest hemingway: a literary reference. new york: carroll & graf, 2002.
- Analyzes how vonnegut and hemmingway discus the idea of war in their novels a farewell to arms and slaughterhouse five.
- Analyzes how billy pilgrim, like kurt vonnegut, is passionate about telling people about his experiences in life.
- Analyzes glasser's "a farewell to arms" and harris' "time, uncertainty, and kurt vonnegut, jr.
1622 wordsRead More - ddddopinion essayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, drummer Tré Cool and guitarist and backing vocalist Jason White. Green Day is one of the worlds best-selling groups of all time, selling over 75 million albums worldwide. They are best knowen for their realease of the song "American Idiot" on September 20th 2004 which can be found on their "American Idiot" Album. American Idiot quickly became popular worldwide and created a lot of contrivercy because people believe that it is anti-American due to its title and harsh sarcastic comments throughout the song. However, if you pay attention to the lyrics you may see that in many ways the song is highly patriotic.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that green day is an american punk rock band formed in 1987. they are best known for their realease of the song "american idiot".
- Describes how green day began in rodeo, california, where ten-year-old billie joe armstrong and michael pritchardin met in their school cafeteria.
- Explains that the most well-known member of green day is billie joe armstrong, who composes all of their songs and is known for creating a lot of contraversey in the media.
- Analyzes the lyrics of american idiot, which express 's attitude towards the george w. bush administration, as well as relevant political and social issues.
- Opines that this song is an overview of the album's most important ideas, as well as a warning calling out to the people across the country: don't let them take away your personality.
- Opines that the message that green day was trying to make their listener aware of was sucsessfully put on display because of this song.
789 wordsRead More - dddddddddddanalytical essayStar Trek into Darkness: Fighting Against the Time J.J. Abrams’s science fiction and action film, Star Trek into Darkness, is an entertaining piece of work and gives a concept of belief and ritual throughout the movie. In this respect, a key message in this film is that trust and honesty are essential for a team’s success. This aspect of belief and ritual can be supported by Malory Nye, Religions the basics. I shall analyze the means in which “belief [,] reductionism” (Nye, 108) and “rituals [,] symbolism” (Nye, 135) relate in the film as I emphasize on the ideas presented by J.J. Abrams.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how j.j. abrams' science fiction and action film, star trek into darkness, gives a concept of belief and ritual throughout the movie.
- Analyzes how the character's belief in star trek into darkness has strong effects on the members of the team.
- Analyzes how the rituals and symbolism component is found throughout the movie, and how it is shown in the struggles of the task each character faces.
- Analyzes how john beattie's theory represents expressive actions, which are done to express certain ideas, or maybe to act out in symbolic form ideas or wishes that cannot be achieved on an instrumental level.
- Concludes that star trek into darkness highlights important aspects of belief and ritual in terms of saving another. the ideas portrayed by j.j. abrams connects with the theories in malory nye’s text.
817 wordsRead More - dddanalytical essayF.Scott Fitzgerald wrote one of the best novels in American history. The book named “The Great Gatsby” is about this mysterious individual named Jay Gatsby who is very wealthy and famous. Gatsby from a very young age despised poverty and had big dreams for himself. Gatsby was not lucky enough to have been born to a wealthy family and because of his lust for money he got involved with organized crime and bootlegged alcohol. The narrator and self-proclaimed author of the book is Nick Carraway who is also a next door neighbor of Jay Gatsby and is very confident and honest person. Jay Gatsby is a one confused man who is stuck between past and future and cannot get over the fact that time has changed and now he can rekindle his past relationship with Daisy.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how f.scott fitzgerald wrote one of the best novels in american history, "the great gatsby," about a wealthy and famous man named jay ga
- Analyzes how fitzgerald doesn't tell readers about gatsby's ulterior motive for the parties until the end of the novel. he is distraught and cannot go back in the past and fix what he has ruined.
- Analyzes how gatsby's greatness evolves over the course of the novel. his wealth is something which makes him great and makes people think that is so great.
- Analyzes how gatsby is pitiful and aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves. daisy has never faced the problems faced by the poor people.
- Analyzes how daisy, tom's wife, can be described as the most flawed person in the novel. her deminar is an ideal woman from an upper class because she cares for money and loves to display her wealth.
- Analyzes how daisy can be seen as an upper class woman who has no love or passion for people who are less fortunate. after killing myrtle, she forgot about gatesby and cut off all communications with him.
- Explains that dasiy's name is based on a flower which has two color white and yellow on the inside — the white color is associated with innocence and the yellow color with evil.
- Opines that every woman in the great gatsby is different from another one in some respects. dasiy is a superficial woman that only looks for wealth and materialistic things.
- Opines that nick can be described as the hero of the story because he is the one who is always trying to make things right for everybody and is very selfless.
966 wordsRead More - dfddfdcomparative essayShort Answer Identification Questions (50 Points) 3. The stark contrast between the non-violent and civil disobedience stance of the Civil Rights Movement and the self-reliance and self-defense stance of the Black Power Movement is best exhibited through the legacy of Robert F. Williams. Williams was the leader of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1956. Williams’s militancy culminated in his admission to the National Rifle Association and the formation of the Monroe Black Guard, a self-defense group developed to provide protection for Black residents in the town. Williams was candid in his stance on self-defense.
In this essay, the author
- Compares the non-violent and civil disobedience stance of the civil rights movement and the self-reliance and self defense of black power movement through the legacy of robert f. williams
- Explains that amiri baraka championed the rights of black americans in the struggle against white oppression, and the black liberation movements in africa.
- Explains baraka's legacy to the black power movement represents the internal transformation that many activists of his generation experienced.
868 wordsRead More - DFDDargumentative essayWhen one thinks of the term “Black Power” what is first thought that comes to one’s mind? To answer this question successfully one must understand the complexity of the term and the larger movement of the Black Power. Depending on the organization, Black Power can refer to self-cultural awareness, self-expression of blackness, and self-embracement of the Black identity. For other organizations, Black Power can refer to self-preservation through violence and Black supremacy over all other races. This complex definition of “Black Power” highlights the complex nature of Black Power organizations. One of the most prominent organizations of the Black Power Movement, the Black Panther Party adhered to the definition of Black Power as a promotion of self-awareness. Whereas, its “successor”, the New Black Panther Party has been known for its supremacist and venomous ideology. How, then, are these two organizations then related? Why, if the two organizations have similar names, would the definition of “Black Power” be so stanchly different? While the Black Panther Party and the New Black Panther Party share a common name, this connection is the only plausible point when comparing the two groups. The Black Panther Party and the New Black Panther Party are a separate as Blacks and Whites were in Jim Crow Birmingham. They are distinct entities with completely opposite agenda and methods toward obtaining goals that should not be mistaken for one another.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the complex definition of "black power" and the larger movement of the black power. the black panther party adhered to the definition as a promotion of self-awareness.
- Explains that the black panther party was formed in 1966 with huey newton and bobby seale as its founders and executives. they advocated self-defense in communities of color against the oppressive regimes of local law enforcement.
- Describes the new black panther party as a splinter group of the nation of islam, which advocates against the oppression of people of color internationally.
- Compares the legacy of the black panther party to the new black. the ideological differences are too grave to overlook.
773 wordsRead More