The book that I would like to do for this book report is called Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. In this book it talks about a good story about a boy willing to do anything for a dog that he loves. While with the author some things that I found interesting is that she is best known for her children and young adult stories that are in fiction. Also before she even started writing she worked as a teacher and an editor before writing full time om 1960. This is very interesting because it shows that even though she didn’t start off as a writer she still had big success onto what she wrote and so on.…
Stephen Crane uses pervasive imagery throughout the book. He describes scenes with such detail that at times it seems you can become lost in the description. For example, “Presently he began to feel the effects of the war atmosphere-a blistering sweat, a sensation that his eyeballs were about to crack like hot stones” (39). The author also tends to name soldiers by their appearance rather than their name. He shows this in names such as “the tattered man”, or “the spectral soldier”.…
At the beginning of his memoir, Beah illustrates how the civil war split many children, including himself, from their families causing affliction among them by showing how he and other children from his village were abandoned and forced to join the army—or even get captured by rebels. For example, Beah recalls the exact moments when the rebels attacked his village, “When the rebels finally came [into my village], I was cooking. The rice was done and the okra soup was almost ready when I heard a single gunshot that echoed through the town…My heart was beating faster than it ever had. Each gunshot seemed to cling to the beat of my heart…I thought about where my family was, whether I would be able to see them again, and wished that they were safe…
In Amber Bierce’s harrowing short story “Chickamauga,” the author portrays that war is not all honor and glory, but momentous and deathly through imagery. In a make-believe game of battle, a little boy ventured further than his normal grounds and “went forward toward the dark inclosing wood.” The writer uses the words “dark” and “inclosing” to make the reader feel more on edge, and assemble an ominous atmosphere. It hints that this boy is no longer playing a recreation for children. Later on, the child runs into damaged soldiers who’s “creeping figures” had been lit up by a “strange red light,” giving them “monstrous” shadows.…
War affects all of us, even those not directly involved. Although both “For 7515-03296” and “Army of Music” have their suffering based on the same war and similar situations, the type of suffering portrayed is based on two different (but not opposite) tones. These tones dictate to whom the characters’ emotions are directed.…
Bruce Dawe's "Homecoming" is a deeply moving poem, which follows the long journey home for the corpses of dead soldiers. The Vietnam war inspired Dawe to write this poem but it can easily be applied to any war. The message is the same - war kills and wastes lives.…
¨Nothing stayed put. Nothing had a name.Nothing was as it once was.¨ In ¨The Drummer Boy of Shiloh¨ by Ray Bradbury, Joby, the drummer boy, thinks he is not an important part of the war. He wants to be a soldier and have a gun but the general changes his mind by telling him how important he is to the army. And how, if the general were to die, he would be the general. After hearing this, Joby realizes how important he is to the army. Thus, becoming a proud drummer boy. In the story, there are symbols of hope, fatherhood, and strength. A symbol is something with a hidden meaning. In Bradbury's story there are the drummer boy symbolizes hope, the general symbolizes fatherhood, and The Battle Of Shiloh symbolizes strength.…
Fictional writing is generally done just to entertain readers. Some authors create stories with a singular point of view, while others introduce more complex plots and storylines. When it comes to author James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues, there is much depth given to the storyline and the characters. Sonny’s Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements. From Baldwin’s skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references, this story is insightfully and complexly written. A simple story about a man and his brother leaves readers with an inside look into family, drug addiction, socioeconomic struggles in the Black community, and the language of Jazz music.…
War has existed since the dawn of time and, since the beginning, has impacted humanity in various ways. While wars do mold and transform nations, more importantly, wars have had and will have a great impact on soldiers, those willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. The novels A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien give us a glimpse into how war has impacted soldiers and those close to them. The novel A Farewell to Arms talks of a man who falls in love with a woman he works with, a nurse in the hospital, Catherine Barkley. The narrator, Frederic Henry, meets the nurse while he is working in the army.…
For example, the lines “there are zepplins helicopters, rockets, bombs bettering rams armies with trumpets whose all at once blast shatters the foundations” give strong mental images of war, destruction and death. This also is another large detail that may signal the reader to realize that this poem is taking place during a war. Internment and concentration camps occurred historically during major wars. Also, “wailing prayers to utter special codes to tap birds to carry messages taped to their feet” gives images of people praying and of a bird with a paper message tied to its feet. This is another historical clue as during the war as this was a way of communicating. The lines “a voice cries faint as in a dream from the belly of the wall” gives the mental picture of being in a kind of dream-like state where you can hear a faint voice but can’t see anything…
The brief plot of “Sonny’s Blues” meticulously examines two adult brothers and their divergent approaches to coping with their depressing lives in the dilapidated, drug-ridden streets of Harlem. James Baldwin’s attempt at demonstrating his concern with families, roots, and identity is quite apparent, but the theme of suffering is most prominent. He expresses his thoughts on this subject through his distinctive and eloquent prose which accommodates an abundant use of rhetorical devices and symbols.…
The story “The Sniper” is a story about a sniper going through what seems like a civil war. The man constantly has to stay quiet just to get around from area to area. Even after getting hurt and nearly killed, the sniper shows determination to get through this. By painting pictures in the readers head, the author shows how violence is not a good solution.…
The interview that Michael Meyers has with Billy Collins about the writing of this poem gives a person insight to what the author was thinking about as he wrote this poem. Mr. Meyer asks Mr. Collins about the images in the poem, he feels that they are of a photojournalistic quality, and he asks Mr. Collins “isn’t a picture better than a thousand words?” The response that is given is that he wanted to” avoid moralistic antiwar rhetoric”, so he stuck with the visual aspects of a war zone. (Collins, 2005, p. 942)…
In the realistic fiction story “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty there is a war. Based in Dublin, the Republicans and Free Staters are not at peace. In fact, they are in the war. This war is tearing families and friends apart because of their own beliefs. By using the story’s sentence variety, Liam O’Flaherty creates the lesson that every action has a consequence through different craft moves.…
We see here an example of the displacement of war on a close, personal level, the family is being separated as the young man is sent to fight. A very vivid depiction of the boy is created, as he appears completely ready for war, furthermore the use of sibilance, “Bristling with spikes and spits and bolts of steel...” creates a harsh and aggressive sound, as if the young man is ready to fight, turned into a machine of war. As we see “the stream flows on” to the next section, describing the effects of war on a small…