Ronald Takaki is a social historian and is a professor at the University of California, Berkley. He is a professor of ethic studies. In addition to being a professor, he is also a fellow of the Society of American Historians. In his book, Double Victory: A Multicultural of America in World War II, Takaki focuses on the minorities during World War II. Most histories of the Second World War, focus on the politics, battles, or generals and leaders, whereas this book is about the experience of the different minorities in America.
The most relatable archetype in “The Street” is The Road of Trials, which relates most to the short story, because Richard Wright goes through and has to overcome many obstacles in his life. During the short story, Richard’s dad does not return to his family at home, leaving them hungry and hopeless. As a result, the young boy, Richard, is forced to learn how to be independent, gaining the responsibilities of the man of the house. One day, his mother gives him the responsibility to go get groceries; she writes a note, shows him his way, and sends him off. While Richard is on his way to the store, he stumbles upon a group of goons who jump him, taking everything he has, including his spirit.
Most war stories are labeled as fiction or nonfiction; however Tim O’Brien breaks this rule in The Things They Carried by creating a fictitious story that yet seeps the truth, and labelling it as a work of fiction. The book is compiled of various stories that correlate together, but it can be unclear what is fact and what is fiction. O’Brien purposely does this to draw in the reader to question what is and what isn’t, and no one exactly knows the right answer. By utilizing intentional, rhetorical tactics, O’Brien has the power of blurring the lines between fact and fiction; which allows the reader to distinguish between fact and fiction in chapters, such as “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, “Stockings”, and “Speaking of Courage”.
But Tim O’brien flips those ideas upside down using the chapter “How To Tell A True War Story” in The Things They Carried. The reader learns of a young man whose best friend dies in war, and how he writes a letter to the sister about his life, only to never get one in return. Throughout this chapter, the reader learns how truly contradictory the idea of a “true war story” really is. With a reflective and didactic tone, Tim O’brien effectively teaches those who have not fought in a war how to tell a true war story-- that “a
”(554) John reassured his father and told him” All you have to do with yourself is worry. ”(554) Frank knew his son had a job to do and was frustrated that he could do nothing. He watched on television as first responders and military personnel tried to find survivors. He felt proud of his son for being in the military and could look the other “men and women in uniform in the eye”(554) because his son
Without storytelling many important key factors like communication, as well as religion,, and many other things would not exist. This book portrays storytelling flawlessly, describing it as an important representation of life.
For example, he tells the story of Curt Lemon's death and proceeds to analyze and explain why it holds an element of truth. Ultimately, he surmises, "truth in a story is not necessarily due to 'factual' accuracy." Instead, if the story affects the reader or listener in a personal and meaningful way, then that emotion is the truth of the story. O'Brien tests these ideas by relating the stories that others told in Vietnam, like the story of a soldier who brought his girlfriend to Vietnam and grows more and more terrified as she becomes fascinated by the war and ultimately never returns home. The soldiers who hear the story doubt its truth, but are drawn into the story nonetheless, showing that factual accuracy is less important but emotions is kinda the big
Storytelling has such a large impact on all stages of life. Stories are told to teach a lesson, give hope, or get someone through a hard time. Tim O’Brien uses storytelling in his book, The Things They Carried, to teach lessons from war, and help readers understand about the baggage people bring to war. The publisher section of this novel has this warning in it, "This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author's own life all incidents, names, and characters are imaginary” (O'Brien).
Overcoming mediocrity by introducing tall tales, correlates to one aspect of the “better story” that makes life more pleasurable as opposed to “dry yeast less factuality”. Although the fabricated stories of Life of Pi and Big fish are rooted with different motives, both the “better stories” are created to transform reality into something that is worth living, strengthening human faith and
Hidden somewhere within the blurred lines of fiction and reality, lies a great war story trapped in the mind of a veteran. On a day to day basis, most are not willing to murder someone, but in the Vietnam War, America’s youth population was forced to after being pulled in by the draft. Author Tim O’Brien expertly blends the lines between fiction, reality, and their effects on psychological viewpoints in the series of short stories embedded within his novel, The Things They Carried. He forces the reader to rethink the purpose of storytelling and breaks down not only what it means to be human, but how mortality and experience influence the way we see our world. In general, he attempts to question why we choose to tell the stories in the way
The mind’s perception of an event creates a fictional story that reveals true emotions better than the reality of an actual event. O’Brien says that “What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way”(67-68), meaning, in certain events, there is a difference between what one person and another person sees. The way each person comprehends the event affects the way the situation is remembered, changing the memory to fit their personal reaction. The distortion of the memory affects how a person tells the story for others to understand the way the person felt at the time. When soldiers tell war stories, their feeling about the event causes them to embellish the story as a way to capture the effects of the event.
The sad thing about stories is that “once a story is told, it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world” (King10), that plane with no survivors cannot be taken back, the article in the news about the bus that flipped is read by thousands of people and cannot be taken back. The author of the “Truth About Stories” never says whether he thinks that not being able to take back stories is a good or bad thing, but rather he states that “you have to be careful with the stories you tell. And you have to watch out for the stories you are told” (King,10) because they will shape who you
Why Is Telling A True War Story Hard Lots of stories are hard to comprehend because they’re more brutal and traumatic for listeners, even the story-teller. In three stories: “The Man I Killed”, “How To Tell A True War Story”, and “Speaking of Courage”, Tim O’Brien showed how changing certain parts of a story and making them graceful, can make them easier to comprehend. However sometimes telling the story the way it was makes it brutal and gruesome, though some listeners prefer that over gracefulness.
Every single day, a silent horror kills more Americans than those that were killed on 9/11.This year alone over 34,060,630 babies have been killed due to abortion(“Abortions Worldwide This Year”). Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus (“Definition of Abortion - Google Search”). One of the most inhumane actions is murder. Abortion shouldn't be legalized for the following reasons: the unborn child feels pain during the process, it could possibly cause psychological damage, it shows that human life is disposable, and abortion is MURDER!!!! During the abortion process the baby feels pain in the womb.
The novel Black Boy by Richard Wright exhibits the theme of race and violence. Wright goes beyond his life and digs deep in the existence of his very human being. Over the course of the vast drama of hatred, fear, and oppression, he experiences great fear of hunger and poverty. He reveals how he felt and acted in his eyes of a Negro in a white society. Throughout the work, Richard observes the deleterious effects of racism not only as it affects relations between whites and blacks, but also relations among blacks themselves.
