Marine Corps Issue Viewpoint
Marine Corps Issue
The Points of View Essay Ali Raza M. Syed The short story Marine Corps Issue is written by David McLean. It is an account of a family who has been affected by the war; Jonathan’s father had fought against the Vietnamese and had become a POW. The past of the father had been kept a secret till Jonathan becomes curious and finds out the truth. It had been kept a secret because the parents did not want to expose the children to the cruel past they had faced. This is a very well written story told from the 1st person point of view. If it was written in any other point of view the essence of the story would be lost. 1st person point of view reveals the most about the character, it shows the emotions and the different phases he/she passes through in the story. I think that it is best that it is written in 1st person because it becomes more readable and interesting to hear a personal account. If it were to be written in 3rd person (limited/omniscient) it would not be the same and would not be as emphatic and moving. If it was told in 3rd person it would have sounded like a story in a history book. The author wants us to realize the real damage done by war on the victims and their families that are not taken into account but scar them emotionally. For this reason a first person point of view was the only way to tell the story. Flashbacks are used effectively to give us the sense of the past and help us identify with the characters. We are shown the war through the eyes of Jonathan. First person view gives the plot its strength, because it has the power to move our emotions. It is not an interpretation of the events by an outsider but a firsthand experience narrated by one affected. The point of view effects the characterizing in the story because you see the characters through a person’s eyes, and whatever the person thinks of these people is what passes on to you as their description. The theme presented in the
The Points of View Essay Ali Raza M. Syed The short story Marine Corps Issue is written by David McLean. It is an account of a family who has been affected by the war; Jonathan’s father had fought against the Vietnamese and had become a POW. The past of the father had been kept a secret till Jonathan becomes curious and finds out the truth. It had been kept a secret because the parents did not want to expose the children to the cruel past they had faced. This is a very well written story told from the 1st person point of view. If it was written in any other point of view the essence of the story would be lost. 1st person point of view reveals the most about the character, it shows the emotions and the different phases he/she passes through in the story. I think that it is best that it is written in 1st person because it becomes more readable and interesting to hear a personal account. If it were to be written in 3rd person (limited/omniscient) it would not be the same and would not be as emphatic and moving. If it was told in 3rd person it would have sounded like a story in a history book. The author wants us to realize the real damage done by war on the victims and their families that are not taken into account but scar them emotionally. For this reason a first person point of view was the only way to tell the story. Flashbacks are used effectively to give us the sense of the past and help us identify with the characters. We are shown the war through the eyes of Jonathan. First person view gives the plot its strength, because it has the power to move our emotions. It is not an interpretation of the events by an outsider but a firsthand experience narrated by one affected. The point of view effects the characterizing in the story because you see the characters through a person’s eyes, and whatever the person thinks of these people is what passes on to you as their description. The theme presented in the