Analysis Of The Cay By Theodore Taylor

As stated in the thesis, Timothy O’Brien also writes his short story, “How to tell a True War Story,” in the first person narrative, although the style in which he narrates is quite different than from the style in “A & P.’’ O’Brien, who was an actual soldier in the Vietnam War takes on more of an autobiographical approach to telling his “true war story.”

The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

Almost like in a manual for story writing, O’Brien starts out every part of this short story by giving away a supposedly important feature of a “true war story” and then giving a matching example to help the reader visualize his lesson.

The short story that will be discussed, evaluated, and analyzed in this paper is a very emotionally and morally challenging short story to read. Michael Meyer, author of the college text The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, states that the author of How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O’Brien, “was drafted into the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart” (472). His experiences from the Vietnam War have stayed with him, and he writes about them in this short story. The purpose of this literary analysis is to critically analyze this short story by explaining O’Brien’s writing techniques, by discussing his intended message and how it is displayed, by providing my own reaction,

The Vietnam War was a troubling time for Tim O’Brien. He battles with himself over a decision he makes, which makes him feel like a coward. He tells of a personal experience he has shared with no one not even his wife. His short story “On the Rainy River” is absolutely captivating. In this true story he uses a plethora of literary devices that leads the reader from beginning to end to visualize, feel, and sympathize with him as he tells his personal and emotional battle.

This book also shows the dark sides of the generation that fought for our country. It points out the racism and ignorance shown towards those of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Although those who served in the military fought their hearts out, they still held the prejudices that they had learned and grown up knowing in their hearts. They treated those that were dissimilar with ignorance and in some cases malice. An example of this is the story of Johnny Holmes. During his military service, he was forced to undergo medical experiments such as getting his teeth drilled without Novocain. Holmes was an integral part of one of the first all-black tank battalions and served exemplary. Even

In Tim O’Brien’s short-story, On the Rainy River, the main character, Tim, is drafted to the Vietnam War. Later on in the chapter, Tim deals with mental and emotional issues on whether he should go to the war or run away to Canada and be a “coward”. This is a conflict for Tim because he does not agree with the war which makes it hard for him to attend, but on the other hand if he does not go to the war he fears that his family and friends will neglect him. Tim O’Brien reveals how an individual may discover the person deep inside themselves when insecurities and doubts are in one’s mind. O’Brien’s use of gloomy words, a depressing tone, symbolic events, and imagery, help the reader understand Tim’s situation as well as his purpose in the book.

In “The Things they Carried,” Tim O’Brien uses contrasts and contradictions to reveal the impact that war had on people throughout the novel. The war had a great impact on all the characters, however, it affected Tim O’Brien, Mitchell Sanders, and Mary Anne the greatest. O’Brien is affected by the war the most, especially in the fact that he was the one who wrote a book about it. He begins the novel by describing experiences of him and his comrades. He discusses a moment in which Mitchel Sanders had gone home after a time in the war, and was having a perfect life.

Have you ever gone through a tough time and come out a changed person? If so then you would be a lot like Phillip in The Cay by Theodore Taylor. In The Cay, Phillip ’s character reveals that through many conflicts, Phillip developed independance, calmness, and bravery. Phillip demonstrates independence after experiencing blindness as evidenced in the novel when Phillip was able to survive by himself on the cay after Timothy’s death. In the beginning of the novel Phillip is very stubborn when first becomes blind. A good example of his stubbornness is when Phillip tries to weave the palm mats. “I tried again, but it didn’t work.” “I stood up, threw the palm fibers at him, and screamed, “You ugly black man!” In this part of the passage Phillip is stubborn

Exploring new and challenging obstacles can change the way you perceive certain things and you might end up enjoying them. In this novel, Mary Anne was a sweet, fresh-faced young girl that had no intention of going into this Vietnam War although she ended up doing so after she learned more about it. Mary Anne Bell represents an outsider, someone who does not belong where she is. Her loss of innocence got stronger the longer she stayed there and adapted to her surroundings. In the fictional novel, The Things They Carried, the way Tim O’ Brien uses imagery, syntax, and symbolism develops Mary Anne’s character and shows the transformation that she goes through.

The decision to go to war is not a decision that is taken lightly. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien faces cultural, social and political push factors that end up leading him to forgo his plan to dodge the draft, and to report as instructed, a mere yards away from his destination of Canada. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Rocky and Tayo, two young Native American men, experience cultural, social and political pull factors that draw them into the Army, fighting the Second World War for a country that considers them less than human. The stories of these characters are not unique, they are stories that are representative of the stories of young American men at the time, that faced cultural, social, and political push and pull factors during both conflicts. The purpose of this inquiry essay is to determine what those push and pull factors were, and why they lead these men to willingly engage in two of the most destructive conflicts in human history.

In Theodore Taylor’s novel The Cay, a young boy named Phillip believes that war is a game, until he forced to survive on a deserted cay amidst blindness, with a horribly preconceived black man. Throughout this interesting journey he gains many positive character traits such as independence, gratitude, and maturity.

In “The Cay”, Phillip gets separated from his family, gets stranded on a deserted Island, and loses his sight. These events change Phillip’s life forever and cause an inner transformation in him. Through his inner transformation, Phillip learns to let go of racist beliefs, survive while being blind, and becomes a more mature individual.

The story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is an enormously detailed fictional account of a wartime scenario in which jimmy Cross (the story’s main character) grows as a person, and the emotional and physical baggage of wartime are brought to light. The most obvious and prominent feature of O’Brien’s writing is a repetition of detail. O’brien also passively analyzes the effects of wartime on the underdeveloped psyche by giving the reader close up insight into common tribulations of war, but not in a necessarily expositorial sense.. He takes us into the minds of mere kids as they cope with the unbelievable and under-talked-about effects or rationalizing

Tim O’Brien writes about the different characters he meant during the Vietnam War and what stories the character carried. In the beginning of the novel we are introduced to the main character Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. He is presented as a weak character who thinks about his love live more than being a leader for the platoon. As the novel progresses the characters are presented differently. O’Brien also highlights the physical objects the characters carried and how they connects to the emotional weight the characters carried. In the end, O’brien talks about how the old Tim saved the new Timmy explaining how the stories in his memories make up the person he is now. The novel presents so many stories that illustrate the hardship of the Vietnam War and each