Stephanie Dawkins - Fallen Angels

By -


I definitely began this book thinking that it would be a drag to get through being as though the book started off so weirdly and slow. However, the progression was amazing and provided me with insight on the emotions of soldiers fighting in the war. Many will agree that we don’t always get the truth when it comes to wars, we are often told the good (the little that does occur) and left in the dark about the bad. This book provides it all.


Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Richie often questions his purpose for being in the war. He questions the acts of those who are ranked above him because they are so concerned with receiving a promotion that they are not concerned with the safety of their soldiers and also shows signs of racism. “My plans, maybe just my dreams really, had been to go to college, and write like James Baldwin. All of the other guys in the neighborhood thought I was going to college. I wasn’t, and the army was the place I was going to get away from all the questions. I wanted to win the tournament, to walk away from the streets I had been raised in with my head high, a winner” (15). His intentions were always good but his reality turned out to be not so much. Richie begins a search for self and questions whether his enlisting in the army was a selfless or selfish move on his part. He wants to remain alive and often prays to god “God…what to tell God? That I didn’t want to die? That I was like everybody else over here, trying to cling to a few more days of life?” (289) but doesn’t know what he has to look forward to if he stays alive. He yearns for a relationship with someone who isn’t in the war; like a wife and children but comes up empty. The only people who really cares about him is his brother Kenny, his alcoholic mother, and his dear war buddy Peewee. Luckily for him, the care of these people and his determination allowed him to return to combat for a short period of time until he is injured and is ordered to return to the states.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 11, 2016 at 9:14 AM

    I agree that the beginning of this book began slowly and dragged. This was one reason why I did not care for this book. I like that the book showed the dark side to war as well because most of it is sugarcoated. I found it interesting how Perry committed himself to something that he later began to question. What message do you think that Walter wanted adolescent readers to attain from this story?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ms LopezNovember 11, 2016 at 3:08 PM

    I found this book pretty interesting. I didn't think the beginning dragged too much. I agree that it really presents the reality of war - there's the death of innocent people, accidental shooting of fellow soldiers, even an interrogation scene...
    Perry's relationship with God is pretty interesting. What did you think of how the need the soldiers felt for prayer was portrayed?

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownNovember 11, 2016 at 4:57 PM

    I agree that because of the beginning, I didn't know whether or not this novel would be interesting to me. One aspect i like,is how it makes you feel as if your fighting along side with them because, of the details included and their thoughts and emotions behind them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Postmodernism in Curious Incident

By -
Before I start writing, I first want to acknowledge that I just really loved this book! It seemed like a lot of the class had trouble enjoying or appreciating the novel because it's so different stylistically, which is understandable, but all of those unique elements helped make the novel more authentic. The main topic I want to focus on (also what I'm writing my paper on) is how a lot of postmodernist elements were used in the novel to make Christopher come to life. While obviously not every postmodern novel is about an autistic kid, I think Haddon really used a lot of these elements to his advantage and they ended up working out really well to characterize Christopher. One of the major postmodern elements which helps this book really craft an authentic portrayal of autism is the fact that it's metafictive. Basically, this means it's a "story within a story." Readers would be extremely limited just reading the parts of the novel which are meant to be C
Read more