Atmosphere In Fallen Angels

But, with war comes tragedy and in this novel, tragedy is a common occurrence in Richie Perry's platoon. The saddest part of the novel was the death of Jenkins shortly after arriving in vietnam. For instance, “ There was a shard of metal protruding from jenkins chest. The blood gurgled out of the wound, it made and sprayed along the concave metallic surface. He tried to bring his hand to it, to touch it.

During war, many people change physically, mentally, and socially. War itself is disturbing to the mind. In Walter Dean Meyer’s Fallen Angels, the characters undergo many changes as they learn the true meaning of war. Perry, Peewee and Johnson all change in the sense of their personalities and their outlooks on life. In the beginning of the novel all the characters have very distinct characteristics. As the story progresses they start to see how war can have a huge impact on your life.

Unsure of his future, Richie Perry goes to Vietnam at seventeen years old to fight in the U.S. Army. His medical profile for his knee is not put in yet, so Perry is forced to go out on the battlefield with his company alongside friends that he has made like Peewee. He experiences terrifying moments where he has fortunately escaped from, but encountered deaths of fellow squad members and witnessed extreme levels of destruction and brutality. Perry ponders on going back to “The World” due to these horrific and life-threatening events but knows he won’t be able to take care of his brother and mother since he doesn’t have a good education. After getting injured badly in a battle, he returns from the

     Richie, the narrator and protagonist, and the members of his squad fantasize of their first sexual experiences. Peewee, a member of Richie’s squad, even sets goals for himself. He says he will “drink wine from a corked bottle, smoke a cigar, and make love to a foreign woman. These are all immature ideas the boys have but they are soon taught that the real things that must focus on are not alcohol and sex, but the virtues and values they will learn as a soldier.

It made me feel a little better to see him crying like that” (24). Soon after, the group arrives at their base and encounter a booby trap where Jenkins steps on a landmine and dies. The reality of war sets in even further for the other men, as they realize how easily they could have been in Jenkins’ position. Since the group acknowledges their time overseas is far from over, they try to make the best of their situation. For instance, when their Sergeant, Simpson, asks how they like Vietnam, PeeWee responds saying, “I loves it here...I ain’t never seen no place in the world better than this place right here. You know what I love the most? ...The bugs” (55). Although the men are homesick and miserable, they try to keep a positive mindset, as mindset is crucial in a life-or-death situation such as theirs. Later on, Richie gets sick, which causes him to miss a patrol with his group and have to patrol with another squad. In the hectic threat of attack, Richie’s squad accidentally attacks the entire first platoon-- their own men. Deeply disturbed over the incident, Richie analyses the situation; the fear, the confusion, the reason the men were in Vietnam in the first place. “The guys our artillery blew away didn’t

Wars have been fought for many different reasons through the years, and that holds true for the American Civil War (1861-1865). In Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the reasons for fighting the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a famous battle site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented battles of the whole war. It took place over a span of three days and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate demise. As in any conflict, there are two sides to the story. The Union and the Confederacy each had their own views as to why they were fighting the war. Victors write the history so too often only the Union side is

Themes are fundamental and sometimes universal ideas that are explored in literary work. The loss of innocence is one of the different themes of Fallen Angels. The title of the novel immediately emphasizes the theme of innocence and youth. As Lieutenant Carroll explains in Chapter 4, all soldiers are “angel warriors,” because most of the soldiers are still young boys and still as innocent as angels. By naming the novel Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers suggests that the soldiers’ innocence and youth are some of the most important aspects and can be more important than their religion, ethnicity, class, or race. The novel is foremost a tale of a loss of innocence in a squad of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Richie enters Vietnam at seventeen years old, and the other members of the squad including Peewee are also teenagers. Peewee is incapable of growing a mustache. His three life goals are to drink wine from a corked bottle, smoke a cigar, and become in love with a foreign woman. Both Richie and Lobel are virgins, and they fantasize about their first sexual experiences.

Honor played a major role in novel, Killer Angels. Throughout the book, Honor was a concept that remained important to members of the armies, regardless of whether they were supporting the Union or the Confederacy. Every action and decision was made with the intention of being heroic and as honorable as possible.

Walter Dean Myers historical novel, Fallen Angels takes place in Vietnam during the war. The main character Perry, recently enlisted in the army, to fight in the Vietnam war. Perry could not afford to go to college because of his rough childhood in Harlem, also growing up with no dad. He faces many problems throughout war even when he is homesick for his family in the beginning. One of the closest warriors and his bestfriend he finds in the army is Peewee a very experienced veteran who is a great leader. Perry and his fellow warriors have to fend off the Vietnamese and use determination to win the war. The theme expressed in this story is that personal experiences enable people to mature.

Killer Angels is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara. The book tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel is told through the voices of both Union army and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia leaders who were in battle there. The novel is laid out in days and each new chapter for the day gives a number and the name of the man who is the focus of the chapter. In Killer Angels, the Army of Northern Virginia’s demise is highlighted by a few different features. The failing health and age of Robert E. Lee served to distract him from military obligations, the advantage point the Union side had over Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, and the most significant reason for demise, was the

The conditions in Vietnam are very harsh for Downs to endure; it is extremely hot and humid, and the bugs are miserable. On his way to his company he was clean shaven and very put together, and the men who surrounded him were absolutely filthy with cuts and dirt on them, while smelling horrendous. He gets questioned to why he was carrying so much with him in his pack because those extra few pounds will make a huge difference while having to climb through the jungle going from village to village. The quality of living is unimaginable having to be on guard 24/7 would only make things worse. While talking to the men in his platoon two hundred yards away a BAR was fired upon them and all the men threw themselves into the dirt in a defensive position. He asked one of the men next to him how he knew what exactly had been fired upon them and he writes, “Once I had been shot at with a particular weapon, I would never forget it, he causally remarked” (29). It blows my mind that this was an everyday life style for these men, and people actually volunteer for these kinds of things.

The Vietnam war was a horrifying experience for not only the soldiers that were shipped away, but for the families involved. Many people go to war because they want to fight for their country and imagine that they are capable of being able to survive the entire tour of duty. For some people survival is much harder than others, but by keeping a good mental state, being able to handle death, and creating friends are beneficial to anyone. In the book, Fallen Angels, Richie and the other men on his squad have to learn how to survive the war and be able to find a balance within their lives to do so.

Air is used to show how war disrupts human sanity and sense of community. War has made many people feel no longer connected to other humans and caused insanity and lack of intelligence in some soldiers. : “The man had been trapped in a fire and his vocal cords destroyed when he swallowed the flames.” (Findley 107) The violence of the war has stripped Captain Villiers from being able to communicate with his voice ever again. He wasn’t even able to speak to his love Barbara, which has caused him to lose his sanity. Other soldiers have also lost their sanity. “The shells could be heard in the air when they got about four seconds distant from you. Standing up after one of the closer calls, a bright young man with popping eyes turned to Robert and gushed at him: ‘isn’t it marvelous!’” (Findley 128) The war has tainted this young man’s intelligence. Something whizzing past him that has the potential to kill him, he finds exciting. He has also lost his sanity. War has also caused others to lose their sense of community. “Slithering over the crater’s rim – a pale blue fog appeared. Like a veil his mother might’ve worn.” (Findley 137) The use of gas in the air represents how humans are no longer unified; they are no longer part of a community. War has caused the disruption of human cooperation, and sense of

Isolation from the world and other people can sometimes be good for people. For those that choose to step back and take a break from the world, isolation can be a time of growth and self- discovery. However, if a person is forced into isolation, like Gregor Samsa and the angel were, it has a completely different effect. For the angel in “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and Gregor Samsa in “The Metamorphosis”, their isolation was physical as well as mental.

To this end, Christ’s attack proceeds directly against hell, opposing the sexual lies of the gods of distortion this rocky place embodies. Conceivably, Jesus came here to proclaim sexual freedom to the people that exists in sexual bondage. He tells of building his church, upon the sexual filth of this world, and He gives them the keys of knowledge to overcome Satan’s paralyzing possession of deceitful lust. (Matt 16:19). During this time, a declaration of Peter announces Jesus as the “Son of God” (Matt 16:16), while Jesus proclaims His own destiny, telling of His death and resurrection (Matt 16:21). To further this mood of events, Jesus called the local people to Him, (Mark 8:34) proclaiming,