Manette Tanelus Fallen Angels

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Fallen Angels for me was a very telling story with a raw feel and great exposure into the mindset of a young Vietnam War soldier. The main character (Richie) was easy to relate to because he had thoughts like many teenagers our age and he did not really know what he wanted to with his future.

What struck me about him trying to find himself was the different ways he criticized himself based on others and his opinion. That is a very self aware quality to have. He begins innocently using the army as a way out "I wanted to win the tournament, to walk away from the streets I had been raised in with head high, a winner"(15). I think this is the first time in the novel that Richie starts criticizing himself, his life, and the people around. He goes on to criticize his religious beliefs and his relationship with god later on "I felt guilty about waiting until I got to Nam to think about god. On the other hand I didn't want to not be close to God"(94).

Most Importantly, he started questioning the purpose of life. Whether it be his own life, his close friends' lives, the enemy's life, and the lives of people he barely knew fighting alongside him in the war. He learned at the beginning his life was extremely Important to him and that he was willing to pray for it and in fear he would sometimes hide from danger to save himself. He also learned the enemy had no name unless you gave it a name, and that the less you know someone the less it hurts. For Example, In regards to Turner, he stated "We didn't talk about the wounded man or about Turner, who died. I think we were glad that we hadn't known him better"(167).

At the end I think that Richie learned one thing from war that takes us all years or a lifetime to learn. He made the conclusion that everyone's life mattered, and that even the enemy had a family, so nobody was really right or wrong in war, just fighting for different sides.
One of his final thoughts was "I just wanted God to care for them, to keep them whole"(309).

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 11, 2016 at 6:10 PM

    Wow, what a powerful connection. I absolutely love your thoughts on this book. I hadn't taken Perry's relationship with God into account. That is an excellent theme in the book. I think that his criticism of his younger self is something that all adolescents will eventually come to do. I, too, question myself, both formerly and presently. But I think the way Richie does it here makes him a stronger, harder, and more mature man. The questions of God come frequently in the novel, and I'm not sure how I've overlooked that. I'm glad you made that apparent to me. I know I could not fight in the war because of what you mentioned about Richie's realization: everyone's life DOES matter. I can barely kill a bug, and I cannot imagine having to pull the trigger on a man or woman whose family may be out there, expecting them to come home. Again, this blog was very well written with a powerful message. Thank you

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