My Boy Jack

One character is obviously the comic relief, another the beloved hero. The rest, valiant men fighting for their country, their lives, their freedom. The scene ends and the curtain rises, all of the pseudo soldiers take a bow and go home to their normal lives, far from the hands of death that grasp at the men forgotten in Vietnam, the real soldiers. They, who saw the hardships of war as more than just a script, beyond the glamorized versions that are seen by the American eyes. They saw the death and the tragedy, slowly becoming worn down into less of a human and more of a desensitized killing machine because that 's what war does. It permanently scars the soldiers, tearing away the feeling of loss and inappropriately replacing it with comedy, showing that war is destructive, stealing away an ounce of humanity with each bullet. As seen in The Things They Carried, written by Tim O 'Brien, the Vietnam War destroyed the minds of soldiers, causing them to lose their human emotions in an unglamorous setting, devaluing death as they lose their ability to appropriately handle situations.

The rambunctious behavior of the soldier’s triumphant victory is a strong message visually for the viewer. These soldiers struggle to find their identity and once the war ends, the identity they’ve build at war vanishes, (McCutcheon, 2007). As a result, they essentially lose a part of them selves, (McCutcheon, 2007). When they return home, many soldiers struggle with psychological issues that prevent them from resuming their once regular lives, (McCutcheon, 2007). The images of soldiers celebrating at the end of war give the viewer a taste of this problem. This also allows the viewer insight to the deeper issues surrounding an American soldier’s mental stability and mentality. Through this image, along with many others throughout the film, the viewer is able to dig deeper and truly analyze what they are seeing.

Within his text, Campbell writes about the hero crossing the first threshold and entering a Special World. Taking this action signifies the beginning of the journey and the hero’s commitment to it. When related to Jack, the Special World he crosses over to is Christmas Town, where he begins his journey toward making people happy rather than scaring them. After being celebrated by the town for the best Halloween yet, Jack sneaks off by himself toward the outskirts of the town into a twisted hill above a pumpkin patch and graveyard, it is there he sits and ponders what he is feeling, and thus he begins singing "Jack’s Lament". Within the song he sings about how others view him as terrifying and displays a few the scare tactics he has, but the chorus of the song is what reveals the crux of his dilemma, "oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones, an emptiness began to grow, there’s something out there, far from my home, a longing that I’ve never known" . Jack is unhappy with the life he is leading and as a result has become massively depressed. Zero, his ghost dog, even tries to cheer him up to no avail. This leads to Jack wandering the forest until dawn when he stumbles upon a place he has never been to before.

But Jack cannot change the past. Rather, he must reflect on it as it really happened, allowing those reflections to guide his future conduct and to enrich his relationships with those whom he has helped or hurt. By the end of the story, instead of running from his past, Jack has begun to make restoration for its mistakes by finally marrying his beloved Anne and opening his home to Elliot Burden, the man he long believed to be his father. Jack’s contemplation of the past leads him not to despair, but to a deeper understanding of and compassion for the human race.

Lastly, Jack forms relations with the new outside world, and consequently he further explores his role within society. According to a specialist, Jack’s limited exposure to the world will create a barrier towards interaction with the community and environment. “‘Like a newborn in many ways, despite his remarkably accelerated literacy and

20) O’Brien tells how these young men were drafted which were constantly in fear, they wished to be there obliviously but war takes up all of one’s attention; it played a big role in their life, changing their tactics, personality and becoming a new person. O’Brien uses this to show the stressful moments in war where one has pressure to be alive and in this case to fit in with everyone else and feel part of something, in a lonely place such as the war.

Jack took everyone in his tribe, leaving Ralph alone. Jack then with his tribe tries to kill Ralph; however, he is saved by some naval officers. Ironically, Jack's act of savagery is the cause of their finally being rescued. The naval officer, who is at war himself, thinks that the children are just playing a game (another example of irony), and also proving the idea that civilisation is powerless in front of

Tim O’Brien has shown repeatedly in this story that grief is the one thing that is the hardest to carry for any person. It stays with you and will sometimes cause you even more grief. This story shines a very bright light on what was happening to the soldier when they are not in combat, and how their very emotions can eat away with them. “It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do” (482), you can see through these final thoughts of Jimmy’s that he truly thinks that there is no way for any of them to let go of the emotions that they must carry every

Growing up, many young boys idolized the war heroes in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and American Sniper. However, the glorified heroism that is depicted in these films is far from the reality that is war. A more realistic rendition of war is seen in Tim O’Brien’s short story, The Things They Carried. Throughout the story, O’Brien uses metafictional characters to portray the physical and emotional burdens carried by American soldiers who were forced to conform to societal expectations upon being drafted for the Vietnam War. The literary elements O’Brien uses throughout the story to convey this theme are symbolism, imagery, tone, and inner conflict of the protagonist.

All of the sickness and under fed soldiers that just wanted to come home. Also, when the Creightons receive letters and Bill claims he didn't fire the shot that killed Tom and the small hospital that Shad stayed in when he was injured and when Jenny married him. There are many sad and depressing sides of the book when Tom dies and when the author describes Eb when he doesn’t look like the young healthy Eb. She shows that the war wasn’t just a big adventure like all of the young soldiers thought it was but a horror story full of death and

During the movie you start to realise that none of the soldiers use their first names, all their last names and nicknames. This shows the close bond they hav with each other. The film also shows a few burials

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, Your Honor, a terrible crime has been committed. Around five months ago, an aeroplane crashed into an abandoned island. This plane was carrying children and the only adults were the pilot and copilot who died on the scene. The children that survived created a society that kept them alive for two months, give or take a few weeks. They established a society where everyone had a place; a society that was ruled by a single chief, which was one of the elder boys. This boy tried to the best of his ability to keep everyone safe and keep peace among all the children. Ladies and Gentlemen, not all of the boys survived, some were killed by their fellow island mates. One of these boys was named Simon. Simon was killed

Jack Burden, the narrator of the novel, ultimately learns to accept responsibility by realizing the inevitability of making decisions. As a historian, Jack frequently and desperately clings to the past throughout the novel. Often, he dangerously substitutes the past of others for his own present, believing that he can evade change by dwelling in the stagnant world of the past and never proactively making his own choices. However, after the death of Judge Irwin, Willie Stark, and Adam Stanton, Jack realizes that his insistence to live in the past— his indecision in the present— has major consequences in his own life and in the lives of those he cared for. Jack ultimately discovers that change— the very

The navy helped give him an understanding of the flaws in humans and how humans contribute to the flaws in society. The book makes people wonder which is the correct way to organize the civilization of the group of boys by having the difference of leadership in Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. Piggy and Ralph both believe in democracy and letting others voice their opinion, they both want peace in the group/tribe, while Jack wants to have complete control and does not take anyone else’s opinion into consideration. It also makes others wonder what causes the boys to become so brutal, I believe it is the pressure and ones self defense towards the fear and the realization that it is not living life anymore, it is about survival in the

It’s the contrasts that keep the story going and make it so interesting. The books is told from Jack’s point of view, the perspective of a five year old; everything he sees passes through his own filter, such as the game Scream, the role of Old Nick, and Ma’s suicide attempt. Things that people say and do are shown to the audience, but Jack’s reactions are naive to the reality of his situations. This type of writing is almost dramatic irony in the sense that the audience understands what’s happening whereas Jack is ignorant because of this innocent child’s