The Themes In The 5th Wave By Rick Yancey

For this essay, I am going to be discussing the short story “Swimming” found on the New Yorker, and written by T. Cooper. I have chosen this story for many reasons, and among those reasons is the personal sadness I felt when I first read the story, almost as if the universe was placing a certain theme in my life, that only the main character could possibly understand. I am talking about running, the god given instinct felt by all men, inherent in the nature of fear, and brought out in all who feel sadness in its full intensity. Though in my short life I can not compare the sadness I have felt with that of losing a child at my own hand, but if I had been placed in that situation, if fate had tempted my soul with such a sequence of events, I would like to think I could find the strength to endure and the courage to not abandon all I had previously known. Yet I am able to reconcile the themes of grief, the mode of recovery, and the longing to escape such a terrible tale. I think in this piece, as I will discuss in later parts, the author was able to put into words a transformation we rarely get to observe in closeness, the kind of transformation that turns a kind man into a “just man” the kind of death that turns this world from a beautiful and happy place into a world that is closing in on our main character, that is forcing him to surface temporarily and gasp for air, much like he does when he finds peace in the water, wading breath after air, after sea. I firmly believe that

Little does Cassie know, there is one person who is willing to risk his life to help her save her brother, Evan Walker.

Finally, Cassie had little-to-no human contact before she was shot in the leg and saved by Evan Walker but she still did not hesitate to kiss him, cuddle, fight, or anything that a normal couple would do. After fighting with each other, “Evan Walker kisses me. Holding my hand against his chest, his other hand sliding across my neck…” Despite Cassie being shot in the leg by an unknown shooter, aliens trying to take over the Earth, her brother being taken, and her family being dead, she is still a teenage girl who enjoys male interaction.

Authors often create texts that share common themes to teach readers importance of certain aspects and hardships of life. Theme may be expressed through an author’s use of rhetorical devices and many other contributing factors such as figurative language and repetition. The essay, “Once More to the Lake” written by E.B. White and the poem “Forgetfulness” written by Billy Collins, both contain a theme of identity loss. In “Once More to the Lake” E.B White connects to a lake at young age and when returning with his son years later is unable to identify himself. In similar theme “Forgetfulness” describes different factors of human life and everyday things being forgotten and lost. Both White and Collins use repetition and metaphors to further push the theme of identity loss throughout the texts.

Death is the unavoidable end for everyone. The very real topic can bring people together, but can also pull people apart. This is evident in The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. A theme statement that can be found in both books is that surviver's guilt can be dealt with through kindness and friendship. This statement is evident in how characters cope with the survivors guilt by assist the living, talking to others about the guilt, and how the lives of the dead are celebrated.

One of the greatest impacts caused by disasters is one’s motivation for living. In Slaughterhouse-Five, many characters display twisted minds after experiencing wars. Billy and Rosewater find life meaningless, because they witness too many dead bodies in war; Lazzaro finds the sweetest thing to be revenge. As wars bring distorted senses to people, Vonnegut presents two opposing coping methods in Slaughterhouse-Five: One is the Tralfamadorians’ passive idea and the other is the narrator’s humane notion. The overall concept of the Tralfamadorians is to “ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones” (Vonnegut 150). They do not look back, not even forward; they focus on the scattering patch of good moments regardless of time. A similar idea is how they have come to regard death: “in bad condition in that particular moment, and that the person is just fine in plenty of other moments.” The thought – it is more important that a person has lived a brilliant life – is comforting; however, it disregards the possibilities a person has as long as he or she lives. In an interview, Vonnegut points out that he “resents” the promising ideas, the Utopianism, in science fiction (qtd in Simpson 261). This is disclosed in Breakfast of Champions, when Kilgore Trout indirectly

Discuss how the authors, Craig Silvey and Tim Winton, reveal the central character’s process and understanding of trauma and grief.

Death is the undeniable force that compels people into extreme situations. The Demon in the Freezer, by Richard Preston, is a dystopian novel that focuses on smallpox and the eradication of the horrific disease. On the other hand, Lost Horizon, by James Hilton, is a utopian novel set on a surreal island where a perfect society is idealized. These two novels present a central theme about human nature; however, it is displayed in different ways as shown through the contrasting genres of books. The novels' use of conflict, as well as diction, tone, and mood; along with motifs, present the theme that the fear of death pushes people to extreme behaviors.

In “The Bonds of Battle,” by Sebastian Junger, “Of Human Carnage,” by Richard M. Lange, and “My Heart Lies Between ‘The Fleet’ and ‘All the Ships,’” by Ela Harrison, the authors are all struggling with something inside of them. Lange is battling with seeing a person throw themselves into incoming traffic, Junger is battling with post-traumatic stress disorder, and Harrison is battling with her obsession to take care of herself.

Throughout the novel, the author voices the idea that the mental and emotional burdens outweigh the physical

Men and animals alike began to lose loyalty and the ability to feel emotions and “earth was only one thought”- the thought of death. Faced with the thought of death, no creature on earth fared better than the other. As life was taken from all creatures, the realization of a terrifying end became apparent and “no love was left.”

Any veteran who has ever been through combat, or has seen it firsthand, can attest to the fact that it is difficult to return to the normalcy of their everyday lives. The things they saw and heard on the battlefield tend to play over and over in their minds, often making it hard to function on a day to day basis. Kurt Vonnegut and Tim O’Brien are no exceptions to this post-war experience, and both use their writing to escape the overwhelming feelings that would have otherwise consumed them. Even though, Slaughterhouse Five and The Things They Carry are both coping mechanisms for the authors, they differ in the way in which the authors express their grief. Kurt Vonnegut uses his novel to create a world in which there is no free will, therefore

Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols,

Death is simply a part of life, and, is therefore, inevitable. Losing a loved one, or watching the life slowly leave them over time, can be can be an extremely painful experience. However, it can teach a person about themselves and the world around them. In the short memoir, “The Aquarium,” Aleksandar Hemon uses the fatal illness of his daughter, Isabel to communicate the idea that life is full of trials and tribulations that cannot be avoided and that said trials can cause a person to feel ostracized from those who are close to them.

In Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss gives life to The Four Corners of Civilization through his storytelling. Storytelling gives the author an opportunity to show their experiences and reflect their beliefs within the world they are creating. During the time this book was being written, there was the Iraq and Afghanistan War taking place which had been sending many soldiers back home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Rothfuss parallels this disorder within his book through the main character, Kvothe, when he experiences trauma and he shows how Kvothe copes with the persisting trauma through grief theory, “four doors of the mind” (135) . His four doors of the mind is similar to the Kubler-Ross Model, which is widely accepted by practitioners, but challenges it by believing the mind copes with pain through the central idea of numbing. However, this mindset of categorizing emotions experienced within grief can be destructive behavior towards any griever rather than helping them cope; stages of post-loss grief do not exist.