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Stop The Sun Terry Erickson Character Analysis

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“Stop The Sun” by Gary Paulson is about a boy named Terry Erickson who had a father that suffered from the “Vietnam Syndrome”, also known as “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”. Terry tries to figure out why his father has it so he can help him, but he can’t get a good understanding of it. After a long, terrifying story that his father told him one day, Terry realizes that he’ll never understand what happened during the Vietnam War, however, he still continues to support him. Through the dialog of the characters, readers understand that Gary Paulson shows that whether or not someone understands what someone else is going through, they still have to try their best to support them. The story begins with taking notice of Terry Erickson’s father’s “Vietnam Syndrome”, and how his eyes always “went away”. Terry seems to be bothered by this, and he wants to find out why this happens. “He knew almost nothing of the war, and when he tried to find out about it he kept hitting walls.” (Page 122) As Terry tries to do his research, he is clearly confused and lost when it comes to the Vietnam War. But what matters most is that Terry is trying. This shows how hard people can try when it comes to giving support to people. …show more content…

While Terry and his father were in the mall one day, he started squirming on the ground and crying in the hardware store. While this was happening, “He knelt next to his father and helped the owner of the store get him up on his feet.” (Page 123) Terry was clearly embarrassed by this. However, he helped his father regardless. This represents the supportiveness people can give to others, whether or not it’s an embarrassing

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Tim O’brien’s historical fiction book The Things They Carried is focused around soldiers involved in the Vietnam War. This war was a difficult time for both the Americans who were drafted to fight in the war as well as for those who were at home and disagreed with the idea of currently being in war in Vietnam. As he writes about his own fictional experiences during the war along with the stories of many other fellow troops, O’brien expresses that it is difficult to “tell a true war story”. With the use of imagination and invention, he is able to successfully convey the difficulties involving truth-telling and wartime conditions. O’brien is open with his intended audience and blatantly states that it is hard to tell a true war story.

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Readers, especially those reading historical fiction, always crave to find believable stories and realistic characters. Tim O’Brien gives them this in “The Things They Carried.” Like war, people and their stories are often complex. This novel is a collection stories that include these complex characters and their in depth stories, both of which are essential when telling stories of the Vietnam War. Using techniques common to postmodern writers, literary techniques, and a collection of emotional truths, O’Brien helps readers understand a wide perspective from the war, which ultimately makes the fictional stories he tells more believable.

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Many soldiers that served in the Vietnam war suffered dramatically pertaining to mental and physical health. O’Brien and many other soldiers also had the same views on the Vietnam War, such as that it was pointless for the United States. Most soldiers were frustrated with the fact that they were fighting for their country with no purpose or benefit for the American people. In the book O’Brian said, “I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop thinking of what a waste it all was” (O’Brian 7).

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