Henry Van Dyke Essay

Henry is very determined to become a hero, and the story tells Henrys voyage from being a young coward to becoming a brave man. This voyage is the classic trip from innocence to experience.

Henry shows heroic traits fighting in the war. At the beginning of the story Henry runs to the woods, by the end of the book Henry fights and it turns out he actually likes fighting. This quote shows heroic traits by showing Henry actually fought. He like fighting and should not have ran the first time. Henry almost regrets running the first time.“He had fought like a pagan who defends his religion. Regarding it, he saw that it was fine, wild, and, in some ways, easy.” (Cane ) This quote proves that when Henry started fighting he liked and and he fought like a beast. This is not the only instance in which Henry shows heroic qualities.

In the beginning of the book, the author describes Henry’s beliefs about the war. He thinks war is about the glory soldiers receive or dying a hero’s death. As he gets into the first battle, he is suddenly faced with the reality. Passing be dead soldiers and watching the battle before him causes Henry to flee. As he is running away, he happens to stumble upon a rotting corpse, this makes the realities become even more clear. Shaken from the encounter, he moves on.

Henry fought among the other soldiers in the first battle. But come the second battle he had fled. Reasons could be the battle and death of friends and fellow soldiers were too much for him. Another reason could be he thought of the speech his mother made before he left for the battle. He thought he might not see her again. The last reason could be he might have thought about if he died he wouldn't be able to have a wife or kids someday. Those could be the reasons why he fled the second

He positions himself and as a Christian fighting for God in order to wind emotion and logic into one perspective. The religious colonists are able to better understand his viewpoint and think of it more logically due to his Biblical reasoning. The theological reference to the motif of light is the equivalent of fighting for God’s truth. “An act of disloyalty towards the majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly things.” Henry makes an appeal to pathos by creating God in a more superior image than earthly kings, as mentality and authority prevail over just jurisdiction.

The story takes a while to get off the ground, but perhaps it is best that way, so we can see a clear description of the steady peaceful (and somewhat dull) life Henry had before change brought

In the first paragraph of Henry's speech, he does not immediately discredit with the views of his audience but shows a different viewpoint by referencing the bible. He states

At this part of the text, Henry is back with his regiment after running away, his self-confidence and self-important ness had returned. He states that he then felt that his criticism towards nature was absurd and that he had no long held nature in contempt. By Henry thinking this it shows that he believes that nature has shielded him or helped him to hide in the protection of dark and that nature agrees with what he has done and was willing to help him. Also, Henry believes that nature punishes those who run from battle by exposing them in the light of day, it is clearly seen from this that Henry feels that he is greater than the other people who run away and that he is more important because nature favors him over others. The last example of personification is, “Trees, confronting him, stretched out their arms and forbade him to pass.

Henry first uses ethical appeal--ethos-- to convince the Virginia Convention to agree to a call to arms. Prior to his speech, other men were speaking against a war with the British. He first addresses their patriotism and says that if he does not speak now, it is like he is committing treason. This shows his character as someone

What makes Henry's speech so persuasive is his use of pathos in order to justify his argument. One particularly evoking moment in the eye’s of his audience would be when he says, “fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God”. Virginia colonists were primarily members of the Church of England and looked down upon those who

An American author and journalist Jeannette Walls once said, “When people kill themselves, they think they’re ending the pain, but all they’re doing is passing it on to those they leave behind”. This is certainly true of the characters in Susin Nielsen’s realistic fiction novel The Reluctant Journal Of Henry K. Larsen. In this novel, a young boy named Henry is trying to rebuild his life, after his older brother, Jesse, pulled the trigger in a murder/suicide, taking the life of one of his classmates with him. The actions and choices of the characters are reflected significantly in three notable themes: regret, tragedy, and fear. All of these themes entwine into each other and help us to understand the answers to a key question- what motivates

Henry sacrificed his romantic ideas of war to become a good soldier. When Henry enlists, he imagines glorious battles and being a war hero. “His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds.” (p. 4) However, in his first battle, war isn't the noble act he envisioned. He watches numerous people he knows die horrible deaths and runs away out of fear. “On his face was the horror of those things which he imagined...He ran like a blind man.”(p. 46) The scenes that he witnesses are so horrific, that it leads to him being unable to focus on anything, even running from those sites. After running, Henry realizes that he isn't going to be a war hero. It is this realization that allows Henry to become a good soldier. In his next battle, Henry forgets about himself and fights as a part of a group. “He suddenly lost concern for himself...He was welded into a common personality that was dominated by a single desire.”(p. 38) He becomes such a good soldier that his commander tells him “‘...if I had ten thousand wild cats like you I could tear the stomach outa this war in less’n a week!’”(p. 111). Sacrificing the idea that he is going to be a war hero is what allows Henry to become

His big break as a children’s book writer came as a result of his wife. She was a producer of a television show and invited one of the show’s guests home for dinner on night. After dinner she and Chris Van Allsburg showed him some of his illustrations as part of a casual after-dinner conversation. He was immediately impressed and gave the number of Walter Lorraine, an editor with Houghton Mifflin Company, to him and asked him to call him. When he finally contacted Mr. Lorraine, the man was so impressed with his drawings that he convinced Chris Van Allsburg that he should venture into children’s book writing.

Henry was a hero because he made it through battle and did not give up. Even though he may have been scared he showed true strength in himself

He also gives God the credit for various accomplishments. The fact that Henry gives God the honor of winning the war shows that he is not selfish or conceited, and that he recognizes a spiritual force behind his actions.