Short Story : The Story Of Song Tra Bong

Joseph’s narrative voice exhibits images of truth and story within a story. He completes Becca’s chapter on her quest for her Grandmother’s past. The novel is divided in 4 sections. Home, castle, home again and the author’s note. They separate the steps that lead to Becca’s journey.

Loneliness is usually a common and unharmful feeling, however, when a child is isolated his whole life, loneliness can have a much more morbid effect. This theme, prevalent throughout Ron Rash’s short story, The Ascent, is demonstrated through Jared, a young boy who is neglected by his parents. In the story, Jared escapes his miserable home life to a plane wreck he discovers while roaming the wilderness. Through the use of detached imagery and the emotional characterization of Jared as self-isolating, Rash argues that escaping too far from reality can be very harmful to the stability of one’s emotional being.

Throughout the second section of the novel both Jack and Stephen are intertwined. Each chapter starts with either Stephen or Jacks point of view. Faulks uses this narrative technique to ensure readers develop this parallel time frame into a

The concept of journey portrayed in the two texts are representative to the notion that human conditions are directly associate with the accompanying emotional journey of everyone. Chapter four in the novella serves to portray the character of Crook, one of the pathetic character who always shunned by other men. As the narrative progresses, he made a sentimental confession to Lennie, exhibited his profound emotional pains, which seemingly parallels his physical pain - ‘crooked’ back. Crook’s status of a dispossessed

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.

Norman Bowker shames himself because he did not win the Silver Star of Valor. He thinks he should have won it if he had saved Kiowa. Bowker hangs himself because both shame and guilt follow him with such forcefulness. Many of the soldiers blamed themselves for the death of Kiowa that they all feel guilty. Jimmy Cross blamed himself about Kiowa’s death and said "When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war. A moment of carelessness or bad judgment or plain stupidity carried consequences that lasted forever." (In the Field.115) They all kept thinking that if they were faster, braver, and little smarter, they could have saved Kiowa and so they will never be able to lift the guilt from their

Tiredness, hurt and disappointment were revealed upon his deep frown, deeper than the 7 seas. Where did this arrogant go? Utterly dragging his feet along the hall. Only the sound of his slumps echoed as silence and emptiness was all of what was there. Kristopher was broken, the arrogant boy; who no longer could look up. It was obvious, he buried his emotions deep within himself, lying to himself as an escape of reality, Kristopher struggles to accept his reality, he wasn’t willing to be like them, he just couldn’t be the

Finally, he is “haunted by waters” because they contain the memories and words of everyone Norman has ever connected with. This demonstrates Norman’s deep connection to the river, and how the way he understands his life is through the river, and without it, cannot find the words to explain how he has grown accept his life. For Maclean, the river was

Norman drives around a lake multiple times while thinking back to Kiowa’s death. This chapter goes back to the Vietnam war when Normans platoon was camped on a sewage field in which Kiowa ended up drowning in. Norman feels he could have saved Kiowa and that he was not brave enough to help him. As Norman’s story is being told, O’Brien states “There were flares and mortar rounds, and the stink was everywhere—it was inside him, in his lungs—and he could no longer tolerate it” (143). Norman’s morals bring him survivors guilt even though he is not to blame for Kiowa’s death.

The rain was pouring and the men could not get comfortable enough to sleep, whenever they laid down they feces and water combined and found itself oozing into the men's pants and boots. Later in the night mortar fire started, the rounds drifted closer to the men trying to rest when finally, when the third mortar went off Bowker heard a scream from Kiowa. Kiowa screamed, slowly submerged in the sewage, Bowker grabbed Kiowas left boot and tried to pull him out. Bowker let go when the smell got to him, and he still blames the wretched smell on the reason he did not a Silver Star for saving Kiowa, which he could have used as another medal to impress his father. Bowker saved himself from the quicksand like holes from the mortars.

The personal Narrative “Music Tonight” by Stephen Policoff is unusual because it is all about the daughter, but written from the father’s perspective. I was at first confused as to who the transformation would happen to, and it seems that both the father and daughter experience transformations within the piece, but because it is told from the father’s point of view we will focus on him being the character. At first, this story made me feel somber because I was sympathizing with the daughter, however after reading the entire story I realized that this story is not meant to be morose but rather to celebrate the joyous effect that music has on Anna. Simply because she was diagnosed with a neurological degenerative disease I was beginning to

1. “… I knew that it meant “happy,” like when I’m reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the world.” (3.2) _Christopher In this chapter, Christopher talks about emotions and how his happiness comes from being in his own company. Solitude is Christopher’s desire, and he longs to be by himself.

After passing through the rugged ocean, Howland and his shipmates had no friends to welcome them. No houses or towns to repair when feeling down. As summer coming to a close, the weather was brutal, the whole country was full of woods, in which all represented a terrible

Nevertheless, this friend, who departed his body and freed himself from the impeding extremities, spoke to him. 'Go back,' he said, 'the end of this road resembles its beginning,' and the friend listened to his voice. Although he may not dissemble it, the writer attends various strains in every way he jaunts to the once deserted land of free men.

In the line " But is there for the night a resting-place?" it sounds like the author is exausted, and feeling weak. They are searching for rest, and unable to find it. It gives me a sort of sad feeling, like the author has already given up.