A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove - 1

2. What might have happened for Carl to refer to it as “the sad vegie patch”? (p7)

In the fictional novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien vividly explains the fear and trauma the soldiers encountered during the Vietnam War. Many of these soldiers are very young and inexperienced. They begin to witness their acquaintances’ tragic demise, and kill other innocent lives on their own. Many people have a background knowledge on the basis of what soldiers face each day, but they don’t have a clear understanding of what goes through these individual’s minds when they’re at war. O’Brien gives descriptive details on the soldiers’ true character by appealing to emotions, using antithesis and imagery.

James Moloney’s “A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove”, uses varying family circumstances and community expectations to express how these things effect an individual. The novel displays character foils that even further explores this idea, as the protagonist interacts with these foils and situations, resulting in development of his ability to voice himself. Fluctuating amounts of dialogue and distinct characterisation of key and minor characters further explores this idea.

In his poem “The Great Scarf of Birds”, John Updike uses a flock of birds to show that man can be uplifted by observing nature. Updike’s conclusion is lead up to with the beauty of autumn and what a binding spell it has on the two men playing golf. In Updike’s conclusion and throughout the poem, he uses metaphors, similes, and diction to show how nature mesmerizes humans.

The author creates a neutral and sympathetic tone addressed to the reader about the setting and situation of the book. The reader already knows about the state of devastation Iraq was in due to war, but the author uses a sympathetic tone towards the soldiers to show that they are worn down and can not be in a state of relax. In the book, Birdy says, “..I kept reaching for the weapon I had left in Baghdad” (Chapter 14 pg 193). The author describes his mentality through his statement as a way of defense as he impulsively grabs for his weapon in what the reader can infer as fear. The author uses a sympathetic tone towards soldiers like Birdy to show how the war has affected their attitudes.

O’Brien used imagery to illustrate the war in a sense to make you feel as if you were there with the soldiers. While staying short and simple, he was also very specific of the details. “Ted Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. He lay with his mouth open. The teeth were broken. There was a swollen black bruise under his left eye. The cheekbone was gone” [423] is a perfect example of how O’Brien used imagery. This passage makes you see in your mind what the soldiers seen through their eyes.

Thus, through the initial impression of the man of the bird’s brave and challenging movements by the utilisation of poetic techniques, the reader is able to visualise the bird’s characteristic it inherits and gain a deeper understanding of nature and the impression of humanity distinctively.

The description of a wounded soldier falling is an image etched in the minds of the soldiers in the battlefield. “He danced with tall grass / for a moment, like he was swaying / with a woman” (lines 1-3). The soldiers had to hold on to whatever hope that had of seeing their families again. This is evident in the fact that the dead soldier had a picture of his loved one in his hand when he died. “I slid the wallet into his pocket / & turned him over, so he wouldn’t be / kissing the ground” (15-17). The black soldier putting the picture in the dead soldier’s wallet and the wallet back in his pocket shows respect for the fallen, no matter the race of the soldier or if he was the enemy. Turning the soldier face up, shows dignity and honor to the fallen one. This act also shows compassion on the part of the black soldier. A fallen soldier reminds them that they never know when they will become a casualty of war. When it comes to loss, all the soldiers on both sides share a common

This is very important for the story because it is what keeps them strong and keeps them moving forward without giving up, it’s the image of them being able to grasp them emotionally and give them motivation to continue on til the end of the war, the visual of this can assist the audience and allow the viewer to be empathic to the POWs.

The bird is also seen in Molly’s flashback whilst at the Moore River Settlement, the use of a close up of her face in bed fading to an undershot of the eagle in the sky, brought back memories and is followed by a close up of Molly and Maude giving her the determination to escape and find their way home. Again, when the girls are struggling on their long journey home and they collapse, Noyce uses an extreme close up shot of Molly’s eyes as she hears the sound of the eagle, her eyes slowly open and then the film uses a low angle shot of the eagle flying above the girls in the sky. The audience senses their vulnerability and the challenge that lies ahead. This is followed by a high angle shot of Molly standing and looking at the eagle providing her with the inner strength to continue the journey home. As they continue, there is an aerial shot of trees, the sound of an eagle, an example of diegetic sound and the audience has a sense that the bird is guiding the girls home.

They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing…They carried the soldier’s greatest fear which was the fear of blushing…It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. (O’Brien 333)

To understand what a soldier goes through, Jerrell’s poem must be explored. His poem’s time era is important, it taking place during World War Two, because it was the most prominent war America has faced. The title alone tells the reader that someone has died. Immediately in the first line, Jerrell reveals the speaker of the poem is retelling his death story. In the first line, Jerrell talks about him being in his mother’s belly and then falling into the state. By his mother, he means the B-17 bomber. He has physically fallen asleep and reawakened in the turret’s chair. He could also be talking about the stages of his life. When he sleeps, he reminisces

On his feet were cheap, low-cut civilian shoes which he had bought for his father's funeral. Billy had lost a heel, which made him bob up-and-down, up-and-down. The involuntary dancing, up-and-down, up-and-down, made his hip joints sore. ... He didn't look like a soldier at all. He looked like a filthy flamingo. (33)

The bird in the story represents someone who lost hope in receiving freedom. That concept is best shown in the story, “But the swallow no longer believes what people say”. The bird lost complete hope. The bird is promised that he will be taken care of, but each time he finds himself in the hand of a new owner. In each situation he begs to be freed but no one seems to understand him. The

He wonders why the birds are just waiting in the sky as if they are waiting for a command, why they are restless, and he thinks it is strange that they are little birds and they are the type of the birds that normally keep to their own territory and don’t have a history of attacking people . When he looks out toward the coast, he sees the birds flocking in his direction and he believes that for some odd reason, they are going to come down to the