Stop The Sun Literary Analysis

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War has a way of affecting everyone. When a soldier returns home from their service, they may not be the same as they left and it may take some time for their family to adjust to the changes. This change in a veteran’s behavior has been known by many names throughout history. It really isn’t something people want to bring up in conversation or even accept as an issue. This story in particular deals with a boy who is not adept to adjusting to his father's Vietnam syndrome. Terry Erickson is bothered by the way his father’s eyes seem to have vanished and how he would pause abruptly during a meal. He inquires with his mother about this and decides to do some research on the war. His father begins to act out and Terry finally picks up the courage to ask him about Vietnam. “Stop the Sun” by Gary Paulsen heavily regards the effects of PTSD and by doing so provides a great example of point of view and theme. This author uses point of view to tell this story in a different …show more content…

Point of view is a large element of the story, because it changes how the story is told and if it were told any other way, the story would be changed dramatically. Terry’s insight on the story is completely different to what his father’s would have been. The theme is extremely important to this story, because it is what the author wants the reader to take away with it. Paulsen probably didn’t write this story for any other reason than to teach his readers the lesson that knowing about something is different than going through it. If the author didn’t focus on point of view and theme throughout the story, the reader would not have been able to understand why the story was written and take away the moral he would’ve wanted them to. Both of these elements support one another, without the focus on both, the story would be