ipl-logo

Who I Am This Time Analysis

761 Words4 Pages

Davis Briers Charlie Gale Composition 2 April 2017 It seems to me that there times in life when one least expects to find love, friendship or companionship. In the short story, "Who I Am This Time" by Kurt Vonnegut, the narrator introduces Harry Nash, the town's leading community theater actor, an emotionally distant and unfriendly man but a very talented actor. Nash can accurately portray any character no matter how different from himself. It's obvious that Nash has no friends and no social skills yet the story illustrates that anyone, anytime can find a connection to another individual. J.D. Salinger's story, "For Esme - With Love and Squalor', also proves that in the most unexpected times, a person can find an unusual connectedness …show more content…

The story is told through the eyes of a lonely American soldier, far away from home and his wife, who finds an unusual companionship with a 13 year old British girl. The soldier had seen the girl earlier in children's choir practice at a church, and then, she approached him a bit later in a small tearoom. He was sitting by himself enjoying a cup of tea, when the young girl, Esme, walks over to him, introduces herself, and proceeds to talk to him. She's intelligent, bold and quite mature. She tells the soldier that he looked lonely and "had a extremely sensitive face". Although Esme says that she's not usually sociable, she comes across as very outgoing and confident. The narrator/soldier is probably shocked a little by the young girl but he also finds her interesting and charming. Their meeting lasts only thirty minutes, but Esme tells the soldier that she wants to write him and writes down his address. The story takes a turn and suddenly, the soldier introduces two characters, Sargeant X and Corporal Y. The soldiers are in a hospital for those suffering from the trauma of war. Not until the very end, does the reader discover that the narrator is Sargeant X, who has suffered from a nervous breakdown and is reading a letter from Esme. Strangely, it's a young girl's words that seem to bring the soldier back to reality, providing

Show More
Related

Mary Anne Bell Chapter Summary Of War

303 Words | 2 Pages

Synopsis: In this chapter the protagonist, Mary Anne Bell, comes to be with her boyfriend Mark Fossie during war. When she first comes over she is a very innocent girl, but at the end of the chapter she is violent and addicted to war. Figurative Language: #1- (simile)“And over the next two weeks they stuck together like a pair of high school steadies.”

Read More

Generals Die In Bed Analysis

1102 Words | 5 Pages

The novella Generals Die in Bed was written by Charles Yale Harrison who was born in Philadelphia and raised in Montreal. Harrison fought in World War 1 with the Canadian army and later became a writer in New York City. Generals Die in Bed is a fictional novella based on Harrison’s personal experience with the army that mostly takes place in France from the early part of the war until 1918. The story follows a private throughout his time on active duty that offers a brutally honest depiction of the war trenches during World War 1. As the novella progresses, we gradually see the narrator’s growing hatred for war.

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Literary Devices

1667 Words | 7 Pages

In the story, the audience, is immersed in a typical Germans soldiers life when going to the front, waiting to go to the front, injured, and when on leave. The audience is shown the terrible experiences the soldiers experience and the emotions that they feel in many

Read More

Summary Of 'How To Tell A True War Story'

1177 Words | 5 Pages

They get on the radio and report enemy movement—a whole army, they say” (O’Brien 55). As an author, O’Brien had written the ordeal experienced by the troops to be a depiction of how isolation can result in a loss of sanity and a sensible state of mind. The experience Mitchell Sanders recalls reveals the power that silence can have over the imagination as well as the damage that can take place to a healthy conscience. After the soldiers return to the base, the soldiers on the assignment are unable to answer to their superior, instead “they just look at him for a while, sort of funny like, sort of amazed, and the whole war is right there in that stare. It says everything you can 't ever say.

Read More

Summary Of Unmaking Men By Kathleen Barry

1798 Words | 8 Pages

She also reveals about the various aspects of military training which drives these soldiers into the state of war. These soldiers are trained to kill without even thinking once, due to which they themselves suffer from both trauma and loss of their own souls. She

Read More

All Quiet On The Western-Western Front Thesis

665 Words | 3 Pages

From the first few pages, it reveals that Second Company has made it out of a battle, losing close to half their men. Soon after, we see a detailed description of Kemmerich’s death, a fellow soldier injured and amputated before the beginning of the story. The way his fellow soldiers reacted, not with apathy yet not with unbridled misery, immediately sets the tone for the book. Other scenes throughout the

Read More

Communication In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

939 Words | 4 Pages

The physical nature of war makes it nearly impossible for the soldiers to communicate their experiences to those living outside of the combat zone. Communication in war is different than how civilians communicate and that makes it impossible for the soldiers to escape their guilt by telling their stories to others. In war language becomes sharper and everything is in code however, after coming home the soldiers realize there are new codes that have been put in place that no one taught them. During the war the men try writing letters to those closest to them in an effort to express themselves, but are ultimately disappointed when the recipients fail to respond or do so in a way that minimizes their suffering. The war story that their civilian

Read More

New Historicism In Slaughterhouse-Five

1106 Words | 5 Pages

Soldiers were not viewed as brave men risking their lives, and the war was seen as an unnecessary event. This type of mentality is seen in the novel with the perceptions of the soldiers. The narrator expresses the view of the time period when he states, “They were soldiers’ coats. Billy was the only one who had a coat from a dead civilian” (82). The meaning behind this is very crucial because it establishes a definite division between soldiers and civilians.

Read More

Differences Between All Quiet On The Western Front Book And Movie

933 Words | 4 Pages

The movie Grand Illusion was very different from the novel All Quiet on the Western Front. The stories and settings were completely different, and had very little to do with each other. But even though the film and the book are completely different, they both give the same idea of the war being a horrible place, the movie had just approached the topic very mildly (in comparison to the book). The movie had avoided war on the battlefield, along with harsh conditions, and focused in a prison, instead. The novel however felt like a heavier topic, more emotional.

Read More

The Things They Carried, By Zora Neale Hurston

1746 Words | 7 Pages

One major theme authors universally write their stories around concern the power of human relationships. Though writers may take different paths to communicate this, the strength that comes from these unique connections that exist between individuals resonates with everyone. Authors clearly articulate through a myriad of rhetorical devices that maintaining relationships is a fundamental part in personal growth and allows for a stronger sense of self. In finding companionship and comradery. people become capable of evolving and arriving at better understandings of who they are.

Read More

Nationalism In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

1091 Words | 5 Pages

The author compares the soldiers because he wants the readers

Read More

Examples Of The Catcher In The Rye Belonging Essay

917 Words | 4 Pages

To achieve true peace and comfort, rather than trying to find love and comfort from others, an individual will search for someone who will give them a sense of belonging. This is seen through the novel, “the Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger where the persona, Holden, is seen searching for someone or a relationship. For example, the Holden tries to form many relationships including romantically, make friends, and with family members. Thus, to belong with a sense of peace and comfort, Holden attempts to interact with others.

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Theme Of Loneliness

602 Words | 3 Pages

Gretchen Rubin once said, “Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” However, in The Catcher in the Rye there is no one who understands Holden’s loneliness, and Holden does not quite know how to express it. In his novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops the theme of loneliness through Holden’s need for human contact, suicidal thoughts, and his separation from others around him. One way J.D. Salinger expresses Holden’s loneliness is through his need for human contact.

Read More

The Soloist Character Analysis

884 Words | 4 Pages

“A true friend accepts who you are and helps you become who you should be.” Steve and Nathaniel proved that friendship and happiness can be real in the novel The Soloist by Steve Lopez. The way friendship is portrayed in the novel is unexpected in such a way that we don’t see it happen often in our daily life. It is important to our society because finding a true friend is really difficult to find. True friendship is hard to find now in days because we expect many things in return from other people.

Read More

Quotes From A Separate Peace

522 Words | 3 Pages

One of the prevailing themes is that of the imminent war and enlistment. The war encroaches and finally dominates the boys lives at Devon. Starting with the boys shoveling snow off of the train tracks, then their friend, Leper, enlists, and finally when troops get permanently stationed at Devon. This story is relatable to teens that are the same age as Gene since they do not constantly think about war but as they get older they start to think more and more about

Read More

More about Who I Am This Time Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document