ipl-logo

Symbolism In The Thirteenth Valley By John M. Del Vecchio

1532 Words7 Pages

The book The Thirteenth Valley, by John M. Del Vecchio, follows the story of James Vincent Chelini and Alpha Company’s journey to the tree while going under hardship during the Vietnam War. Multiple soldiers from the Oh-Deuce are unfortunate enough to not make it to the tree, or die at the base of the tree. There are multiple symbolism scattered throughout the novel, such as the names of the boonierats, references to the bible, and what the journey to the tree means. The names that the boonierats possess gives an insight of what type of person they are and the impact they have in the book. The main character of the book, otherwise known as James Vincent Chelini, is given the nickname Cherry. The nickname Cherry is given to a new troop. After …show more content…

He made the distinction that his action was wrong. Throughout The Thirteenth Valley, Silvers acts as Cherry’s morality. In chapter eighteen, Silvers tries to comfort Cherry about killing a North Vietnamese soldier by telling Cherry that he saved multiple lives, however Cherry continues to feel guilt (Del Vecchio 240). The death of Silvers in chapter twenty-three did not affect Cherry until chapter twenty-five. Cherry had a vision of a figure that rose from the enemy trail and had control of the image. The image had the face of the North Vietnamese soldier he had killed, and shifted into Silvers. Cherry tormented the image by calling it Satan and calling himself God (Del Vecchio 372-373). In the vision, Cherry accepts the fact that Silvers is dead, and in return his morality changes. He no longer feels guilt for killing the enemy soldier, instead he embraces it. In chapter twenty-six, Egan gives Cherry a binocular to watch the enemy soldiers battle the ally soldiers. While observing the battle, Cherry counted the casualties of the North Vietnamese soldiers with enthusiasm (Del Vecchio 402). In chapter thirty, Cherry becomes a savage and is considered crazy amongst the other boonierats. During a battle between the enemy soldier and Alpha Company, Cherry gets caught up with fighting and acts like an animal: “Cherry bites his face, the nose crushes, Cherry bites, …show more content…

The journey to the tree is the journey to rebirth and hope. In the Holy Bible, a tree symbolizes hope and rebirth. In the second chapter of the Holy Bible, Adam and Eve eat from the the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Taylor-Weiss). As a result, God punishes Adam and Eve for disobeying by kicking them out from the Garden of Eden. Human life changed after God cursed creation. The human world was filled with peace and greatness, but was reborn with pain, conflict, and struggle (Cortez). In the final chapter of the Bible, the tree of life reappears with the task to heal and give hope (Taylor-Weiss). In chapter thirty-one, hope is shown when Egan is under the tree after he receives medical attention. Egan has a vision of him and Stephanie spending time together at the park. Egan hopes to see Stephanie again, which fuels his will to continue on living and leave Vietnam (Del Vecchio 548-549). The tree symbolizes hope again in chapter thirty-one. Brooks gives Alpha Company orders to blow up the tree on top of the knoll (Del Vecchio 551). After the tree was blown up, enemy soldiers surrounded Alpha Company and started to attack them. The enemy soldiers appeared out of nowhere and killed soldiers from Alpha Company, which resulted in the lost of hope amongst the boonierats (Del Vecchio 560). Rebirth is shown after Alpha Company leaves the knoll where the tree used to be. Cherry states that the soldiers who

Show More
Related

  • Symbolism In The Veldt By Ray Bradbury

    515 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society kids have access to more technology; this access gives them extra freedom to connect with others. Even though Ray Bradbury wrote his story “The Veldt” over 60 years ago, he addresses this everlasting issue of kids indulging in material possession, specifically technology. Through his story, he describes two parents, Lydia and George, struggling to disciple their spoiled children who care more for their technology than them. In “The Veldt” Bradbury uses symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing to show that technology restrictions are needed in order to have a healthy life. Bradbury uses symbolism in the story to represent the effects that technology can have on kids, and that restrictions are needed.

    Read More

  • Consider A Tree In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree. " When reading the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the reader will steadily notice that, as the story goes on, Melinda's artistic abilities will improve. In this essay, I will explain how trees are used to portray Melinda's transformation, by using quotes from the text and support to back it up. In her first Art class, Melinda randomly chooses the "tree" as the object she will try to draw for the rest of her school year.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this scene from Night by Elie Wiesel (published 1958), Elie and many other men were crammed into train cars as they were transported from one concentration camp to another. Many men on the train had either reached their fate or were struggling though their last minutes. The men had been deprived of food for a very long time and were in desperate need of even the smallest crumb of food. Then, pieces of bread had been thrown into the wagon’s and everyone fought for the bread, not because they thought it would taste good, but because their lives depended on it. It was every man for themselves and people will willing to kill for a crust of bread, showing that life or death situations expose the evil side of people by showing their selfish natures.

    Read More

  • What Is The Theme Of Ambush By Tim O Brien

    800 Words  | 4 Pages

    The true realities of war is such an important topic to draw attention to, and many authors, such as Tim O’Brien, successfully draw attention to these realities through their writings. In “Ambush”, Tim O’Brien manages to show some of the realities of the Vietnam war by describing the story of two fictional characters. Tim O’Brien shows the PTSD, violence, and guilt that Vietnam war soldiers experienced. His story communicates the trials that Vietnam soldiers would have had and the thoughts and emotions they could have felt.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel

    1614 Words  | 7 Pages

    After losing World War One in 1918, the Germans were in an utter state of disillusionment and despair. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, they lost vast amounts of territory, became demilitarized, and had to pay millions in restitutions. A bleak time such as this was the perfect opportunity for fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler, to rise to power. Hitler managed to brainwash millions of vulnerable Germans into believing that the Jews were responsible for all the misfortune that had befallen them. Countless images and videos of Nazi propaganda circulated through Europe, depicting Jews as evil vermin that must be exterminated in order for the “master race” to reign supreme.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    1076 Words  | 5 Pages

    Like a raindrop can foretell a storm, any object, action, or event can have a deeper meaning. A Separate Peace tells the story of boys at a boarding school under the backdrop of World War Two. John Knowles, the author, uses descriptive language to give power to the troubles that Gene, Phineas, and their classmates/friends go through, whether it be the effects of war, identity struggles, or friendship. The main conflict, Gene’s love/hate relationship with Phineas, ends with Phineas’s accidental death and Gene’s newfound mature awareness. John Knowles uses symbolism in many instances to strengthen his storytelling.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Rain Reign By Ann M Martin

    690 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sometimes life can be hard for those that aren’t “normal”, but then again, who is? In the book Rain Reign, a very important symbol that the author, Ann M. Martin, was trying to show readers is that Rain represents hopen and strength.. Rose is a twelve year old in fifth grade. She has Asperger’s syndrome or autism so she had to start school later. Living with only a father, life is hard for her with little money to afford comfort items and such.

    Read More

  • Stand Tall Analysis

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Mom and Dad smiled at each other and laughed. It was a sound that Tree hadn’t heard from them in the longest time” (132). This shows how Tree wasn’t sure his parents were ever going to get along again, but they end up having a good time. This is an example of how family matters most and hope is always around. This situation gave Tree strength to preserve.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Truth Is The Cave In The Black Mountains

    208 Words  | 1 Pages

    In "The Truth is the Cave in the Black Mountains,” Neil Gaiman uses gold as a symbol to compel the reader to question their reality with the realization that humans only see what they want to see. When the main character is in the cave, he comes across a whisper who informs him why he isn't seeing gold. The whisper tells the protagonist, "You are thinking like a mortal man, making things always to be one thing or another. It is gold they would see, and touch" (Gaiman 17). The whisper also explains the strong desire for material objects among the mortal humans, "What does it matter if it is there or no if they can see it, touch it, steal it, murder for it?

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Veldt By Ray Bradbury

    609 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, he focused deeply on the craft move symbolism. He did this to help travel emotion through the story and develop character. In the story he uses the screams, the lions and the nursery as the main points of symbolism. He uses them to symbolize fear and confusion. In the story there is a certain room in their machine filled home, that changes depending in the children's thoughts.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Veldt By Ray Bradbury's The Veldt?

    1029 Words  | 5 Pages

    As time has gone on, technology has become an increasingly large part of our lives. The advances that have been made in technology are stunning, and it is only going to continue to develop. While the thought is scary and hard to accept, one day, technology will be able to do everything that we that we can do, and more. In the story “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, the idea of technology becoming better than man is emphasised by the author 's use of symbolism, imagery and syntax. make introduction little bit longer.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Nightingale

    1102 Words  | 5 Pages

    Near the end of the novel she observes, “In the years she had been tying scraps to the branches, the tree had died and the fruit turned bitter. The other apple trees were hale and healthy, but this one, the tree of her remembrances, were as black and twisted as the bombed-out town behind it.” (Hannah 368) The apple tree represents the outcomes of war. It portrays the author’s perspective that lives wither and lose life due to such violence.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In John Wong's Grapes Of Wrath

    197 Words  | 1 Pages

    Violent tendencies stay with David since he jabbed out his high school bully’s eyes not feeling guilty because “he’s not that type of person” to Amy (his love interest) (334). In one scene, David realises after his blackout that he has killed Amy while on “soy sauce”. This is problematic as David kept a promise to her old brother (Big Jim) that he will look after Amy if he dies. Yet, Wong uses analepsis of Big Jim ’s wish (isolating his last line: “I want you to promise me”) to play in David’s mind to contrast the image of him “[unwrapping Amy’s] corpse” in his shed (279).

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The 5th Wave By Rick Yancey

    595 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trying to Defeat “the Others” Imagine that your parents were deceased and your brother was taken by aliens whom were trying to destroy the human race; how would you save him? The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is about Cassie (Cassiopeia) Sullivan, the main protagonist, who lives in an unusual modern-day reality. A species of aliens known as “the Others” who are trying to obliterate the human race to subsequently occupy Earth to themselves. The Others have a form of attacking called “waves”. Four of the waves have passed and they have killed many people, including Cassie’s parents.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Planting A Sequoia By Dana Gioia

    1100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dana Gioia’s poem, “Planting a Sequoia” is grievous yet beautiful, sombre story of a man planting a sequoia tree in the commemoration of his perished son. Sequoia trees have always been a symbol of wellness and safety due to their natural ability to withstand decay, the sturdy tree shows its significance to the speaker throughout the poem as a way to encapsulate and continue the short life of his infant. Gioia utilizes the elements of imagery and diction to portray an elegiac tone for the tragic death, yet also a sense of hope for the future of the tree. The poet also uses the theme of life through the unification of man and nature to show the speaker 's emotional state and eventual hopes for the newly planted tree. Lastly, the tree itself becomes a symbol for the deceased son as planting the Sequoia is a way to cope with the loss, showing the juxtaposition between life and death.

    Read More

More about Symbolism In The Thirteenth Valley By John M. Del Vecchio

Open Document