And Symbolism In Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong, By OBrien

Nature has a powerful way of portraying good vs. bad, which parallels to the same concept intertwined with human nature. In the story “Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, the author portrays this through the use of a lake by demonstrating its significance and relationship to the characters. At one time, the Greasy Lake was something of beauty and cleanliness, but then came to be the exact opposite. Through his writing, Boyle demonstrates how the setting can be a direct reflection of the characters and the experiences they encounter.

The author symbolizes the water as transition and spirituality, the lake is symbolized as the elusive badness the boys want so badly. The narrator notices that none of them are as bad as they try to act. After that night the narrator realizes he cannot make it in that life, rather the narrator wants to go to the safety and security of his home and parents.

Many of troops are coming back home to an isolated mindset due to being traumatized from their experience from combat war. Furthermore, many of them are unable to balance back to society after being exposed to much of death. Tim O’Brien the author of “Speaking of Courage,” draft by the Army; served in Vietnam in the late 60’s and 70’s. O’Brien’s discussion about a character by the name of Norman Bowker, who just return home from the war as he noticed that everything has change. Also, he has no friends to talk about his issues with the mental condition from the war. The reflection of his surroundings reminds him of some of the scenarios from the war. Therefore, the visual from the lake has placed Norman in an isolated mindset due to the mental health intervention that he has gains during his time of war.

After O’Brien subconsciously tossed a grenade at a young soldier that killed the man, he absorbed in a state of shock and guilt upon examining the body. Unlike other passages where the author left the overall picture to our imagination, he emphasized the true sight of the young man providing the reader with meticulous descriptions of the injuries in this chapter. For example, through the eyes of O’Brien, he began by noticing the most distinct feature, the jaw lodged in his throat. Then, as if he was following O’Brien’s trail of sight, he proceeded to focus upwards, describing the mouth, the eyes, and finally the hair. Thus far, even though his statements were too detailed to be “true,” O’Brien seemed calm and composed. However, as the author’s

In the short story “Greasy Lake”, we see the crucial role a setting can play in literature. We can also see how closely the plot and characters are related to a symbol within a story. When looking at the lake as a symbol and not just a setting, it

In many war stories, people become intrigued with the events that happened during the war and are very curious what happened. They become interested in it because the storyteller gives a very deep description about everything, whether it’s from violence or gory happenings. However, not all war stories are all true. The stories that some storytellers explain becomes surrealism. Surrealism is a mixture of fact and fantasy, where it will become unreal or bizarre. Some parts of the story will be real, and some will be unreal and over the top. Usually, surrealism is added to the story, because if they say the actual, true story of what happened during the war, then sometimes the people who are listening will get bored. Surrealism adds more of an

By describing his experiences as “magnificent” and “timeless”, he implies a whimsical and original feel to the Refuge. He continues by personifying the elements of nature, painting a picture for the reader as he describes the “lichens that hugged the tundra” he animates the situation for the reader to relate. Through this personification Carter solidifies his emotional appeal and personal

In “The Man I Killed”, O’Brien conveys his feelings without ever using the first person. He discontinues his role as the narrator. After O’Brien kills a man in My Khe, he falls into a trance-like state and begins to imagine the life of the man he just killed—a life that parallels his own. While his friends attempt to console him or comment on the dead man, O’Brien does not say a word. Ironically, his silence in this chapter is what conveys the most about his inner feelings of guilt and sorrow. Throughout the novel, many instances show how sensitive O’Brien truly is—his feelings about Martha, his shame following Ted Lavender’s death, and his reaction to the dead man in My Khe. What truly separates O’Brien from the others is shown by what follows

In Alistair MacLeod’s The Boat a reoccurring theme appears of whether to follow the fishing tradition or to step away from the familiarity of the sea and create a new life for oneself. The aforementioned passage is a window into the life of a family in which the severity of this topic is unmistakable. In the passage, an argument takes place between a mother and a father regarding the future of their children. The mother is strictly standing for tradition and fears losing her daughters to businessmen and city folk from afar; meanwhile, the father stands up for his daughters as he wants to allow them to leave in order to further their education and make a new life for themselves. The reader sees this altercation unravel from the eyes of the youngest child (who is also the narrator) as he is peaking in through the door. In this passage a tense atmosphere is evident; MacLeod used a creative yet powerful style of writing to magnify the gravity of the situation and to further the rest of his

O’Brien uses a plethora of writing styles throughout The Things They Carried. He changes his style of writing based on what he wants the reader to take away from a scene. For instance, O’Brien is incredibly descriptive while explaining how Curt Lemon dies. By explaining how “the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss,” the author finds the beauty in a very gruesome death (O’Brien 67). O’Brien also chooses to use descriptive language to convey tragedy when he describes the man that he has killed. By starting the chapter “The Man I Killed” with such a detailed description of the young man followed by that young man’s

The lake is where Grendel and his mother reside. Unlike the heavenly features of Herot Hall, the lake is steamy with boiling water and compares to the features of Hell. In passage eleven a deer gets chased by snarling hounds. If the deer wanted to escape, it could jump into the lake and swim away, however, it would rather stay on the sandy banks and get massacred by the hounds that are trailing it. After the battle with Beowulf, Grendel retreats back to his home, leaving a bloody trail behind him. He dies in the bottom of the lake, suggesting that the lake represents death. My last example of imagery in this poem would be Beowulf’s last battle. Beowulf is described as having a grey beard with matching grey hair. However, his frail body refuses to back down from the mighty dragon. The dragon spits fire at Beowulf, but it does not phase him. It coils and uncoils its scaly and slithering body. Beowulf refuses to give in to the beast, even in the smoky haze of the cave. However, the dragon impales the warrior’s neck with a fatal blow. With the assistance of Wiglaf, Beowulf is able to have the last punch and conquers the dragon in their deadly

An unmodified, relaxing resort that changes everyone blessed enough to know of this wonderful lake. A place with no worries, in the deep northern Wisconsin wood, with a clear spring-fed body living in the middle that sustains the rest of the life in this small piece of Mid-Western paradise. The smell of your next meal emitting from the blindingly white building that constantly stares at the small Lake Clare, with the eagles and osprey floating above it. You can hear the lagoon lapping against the shore as you reflect on life and unwind from your troubles and worries. The lake takes everyone back to the past when they contained less days under their belt and reminds them of the days they stood by their side. Along the lakeside lays simple,

The lake mirrors my reflection back to me showing what is merely on the outside. I am the lake for one cannot measure the depth of a person’s life and struggles by just filling up a graduated cylinder and finding the meniscus, just as this essay cannot fit a life story of tragedy and pain between these two margins. They told me to put a face to the name printed on the paper.

This story has the exciting theme of a test of man working in harmony with nature, while also against it. The protagonist is determined to fight defeat with all of his will with honor, pride, and bravery. At the same time, the author adds in foreshadowing, hinting at the sail. Being filled with ugly patches and soot, it symbolizes total defeat. For the marlin, the hook on his mouth symbolizes the exact same thing, but they both keep working toward their end goal. Both of them are completely at realization of another powerful them: to kill, or be killed. It is for the two brethren that a specialized Death looms right around the corner, but they continue nonetheless. The author uses vague and subtle imagery alongside with repetition to describe only the necessary, but not the deeper part of the story. Readers are only presented with the tip of the

He has arrived at a fragile state where reason is affected by intense emotions that prepares him for a complete mental change. Though for a moment he has almost returned to his old self as a rebellious youth, pondering about reckless suicides and contemplating “some sort of excuse to give to [my] parents”. However, as he fully observed the rotting corpse, the transition of emotions and thoughts was set forth to a motion of no return. In contrast to the rebellious, colloquial and vulgar tone at the beginning of the story that suggests a carefree and immature life, the voice of the narrator while sunk deep into the lake was fearful and morbid. The echoing words of “This victim of time and circumstance”, “shot”, “drowned” “dead man” reflected a genuine distress and dread. The narrator, the teenager, has now learned the true nature of “badness”, its consequences, and perhaps even his