“I suspected i was glimpsing some part of him that had long been repressed; some frivolous, joyous core that hardship. childhood tragedy and the War had buried inside him too long.”…
5. Jerry Renault, the protagonist in The Chocolate War, is a brave and caring young man. He proved himself to be brave by standing up to the vigils like no other student had, and agreeing to be in the boxing bout knowing his chances of winning were slim to none. Jerry always felt sorry for his dad whose wife had died, and he always was trying to cheer up his best friend, the Goober, who had a low self-esteem. Both of these acts make Jerry a character with whom the reader…
One of Robert Cormier's top-selling novels is "The Chocolate War." His own son inspired this novel; his son refused to participate in selling chocolates at his school. The Chocolate War is about a boy named Jerry Renault who attends The Trinity, an all-boy Catholic school. Each year the school is to sell chocolates as a fund-raiser. Accepted as an assignment from "The Vigils," the respectable high school gang, Jerry refuses to sell the chocolates for ten days. It appears that after the ten days are up Jerry still refuses to sell chocolates by his own will. Jerry is more than a freshman, he is a hero to many who stands up for what he believes in, and many students start to realize this. The book continues on and demonstrates how life doesn't always go as planned, but you still shouldn't give up no matter what the case may be.…
Remarque illustrates loss of identity through the conceptual progression of a soldier’s identity, he does this using characterisation. This is evident when Paul kills a French soldier by the name of Gerard Duval. Paul reinforces the fact that Duval was “an idea to [him]” as well as “a concept in [his] mind.” This metaphor used by Remarque conveys the sorrow Paul shows towards Duval is one of both regret and remorse. Paul sees a helpless man who “could be just as much of a brother as Kat or Albert” in the same situation as he is in, on the opposing side. This highlights the similarities between the two opposing forces and how the individual soldiers had lost their identity through the conceptual ideas that had been given to one another. Furthermore, Remarque explores the isolation of a generation to convey the loss of identity. Remarque portrays this through the use of contrast. Paul stresses throughout the novel that he wants to “feel the same power” and the “eagerness of youth” he had before the war began. This is seen when he returns home and is trying feel the “nameless urge” that he used to encompass when he read his books. This contrast illustrates to the reader that Paul, who previously stressed his love for books, had lost his will to read. Ultimately, this shows the change in his identity, as a result of the war.…
When Henry returns home he is different, very quiet, so quiet and never comfortable sitting still anywhere but always up and moving around. Lyman describes, Henry of being jumpy and mean. (Erdrich 403). The convertible symbolizes how brothers express the concern over how relationship can change when soldiers cannot adequately express nor talk openly about thing that happen on a war torn battlefield, without proper medical treatment for PTSD. As he does not feel like the person he was before he went to serve for his county.…
The Butter Battle Book is a picture book written by Dr. Suess. This book was published in 1984, and it was written as an allegory to the Cold War. It is an anti-war story about the arms race, MAD, and nuclear weapons. This book was written in the Cold War era about the concerns of the time, and how all of life could be destroyed by nuclear war. The Cold War was the time after WWII that involved strong tensions between the Western Bloc and the United States. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union attempted to spread Communism, while the United States' policy was to contain this spread (Containment). To increase tensions further, another fear was nuclear war. Countries feared that nuclear war would destroy their countries and possibly even the world.…
In the book, A Separate Peace, the author, John Knowles, writes to us a novel about war, but happens to focus more on the war within the human heart. This novel tells a story of two boys’ co-dependency during World War Two, and explores the difficulties with understanding the self during adolescence. Identity is complicated enough as the narrator, Gene Forrester, enters adulthood in a time of war, but a difficult friendship with a fellow student and rival leads to a further confusion of identity. Early in the book, the boys’ relationship is charged by Gene’s jealousy and hate of Phineas’ leadership. However, after Phineas falls from the tree, Gene ejects his darker feelings from himself and turns their relationship in a new direction where co-dependency, instead of envy, drives it. The central relationship between…
Through Leper's enlisting, the boys find a way to bring the war to Devon. Attempts on Hitler's life were Leper's doings, the Tunisian campaign became "Leper's Liberation." In Gene's words: "In the silences between jokes about Leper's glories we wondered whether we ourselves would measure up to the humblest minimum of the army." While the boys are pondering how army life will be for them, Finny decides to hold a Winter Carnival; sports, ski jumps, slalom races and holly wreaths are all that matter, not Leper or the war for that brief time. All are intoxicated with life itself. Gene thought, "It wasn't the cider that made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, and separate peace." During this perfect, snowy afternoon of snow crystals and Olympics, they found their own peace from the war. It was as far from it as they ever could have gotten; a reach almost to the heavens, free of the troubles and stress they were used to, a utopia of friendship. Nothing could poison their peace, nothing until Leper's…
A profoundly poignant account portraying the internal conflict Simon Wiesenthal experiences when a dying Nazi soldier earnestly seeks his forgiveness, The Sunflower provokes introspective discussion about forgiveness, justice, mercy, and human responsibility. While metaphorically gazing upon the sunflowers displayed on the graves of soldiers, Simon is forced to mechanically march towards the Technical High School he once attended. The familiar surroundings evoke memories of the hatred and contempt he encountered while he was a student, particularly on the examination days that had been entitled "a day without Jews" by his Polish classmates (Wiesenthal 20). When he arrives at the Technical High School (now a military hospital), Simon and the other prisoners are instructed "to carry cartons filled with rubbish out of the building" (Wiesenthal 22).…
Throughout the novel A Separate Peace, John Knowles depicts a character-versus-self conflict through Gene Forrester’s, the protagonist, progressively worsening insecurities and a major epiphany. During his time at the Devon Boarding School, Gene shares a dormitory with his best friend Phineas, Finny. However, Gene’s jealousy of Finny’s natural athletic ability and leadership qualities causes him to create an internal conflict due to his low self esteem. His covetousness of Finny flourishes to the point that he must rationalize why he begrudges Finny to the extent he does; he reasons that the rivalry he concocts is mutual. Gene continues with this mindset that Finny is equally envious of his own intelligence until the evening when Leper states…
In the underlying after war years, the economy battled and costs of buyer merchandise expanded in light of the fact that the wartime value controls were expelled. An arrangement of strikes cleared over the nation in 1946.…
In The Chocolate War, written by Robert Cormier, Archie Costello is the main antagonist who enjoys torturing his victims psychologically. In the novel he is portrayed as a manipulative and cunning person. Archie Costello is a character who is powerful enough to control the entire school. The novel shows how Archie can turn a bad situation for him into a good one – demonstrating just how powerful Archie is and how he can use it to his advantage. In fact, his power seemed so destructive to other characters that many try to stop him but he is always one step ahead. His assignments – cruel assignments, had affected his victims emotionally, showcasing that Archie Costello can control the ‘entire school in the palm of his hand’ because it was his assignments that enabled them power.…
1. What is revealed in the first seven paragraphs about the characters of Goodman Brown and Faith?…
Assess the impact of the conflict in Indochina for the citizens of Vietnam and Cambodia…
We are offered a personal perspective into Cross, who spends his time at war fantasizing about a young lady named Martha from back home. He believes he is in love with Martha and spends his time finding comfort in daydreams of a woman who does not love him back. Throughout his reveries he begins to take less notice of his surroundings and loses focus of his duties as a lieutenant. “His mind wandered. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the…
