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Fallen Angels and The Man I Killed

            The loss of innocence is an evident theme in both Walter Dean Meyers' "Fallen Angels" and Tim O'Brien's "The Man I Killed". Both pieces depict young men as they lose their innocence in the Vietnam War facing the inhumane acts that comes along with war. Although they are quite similar they also have vast differences as the characters go through their different endeavors thus enabling them to eventually lose their innocence. These experiences contribute immensely in their coming of age, as both characters realize how malicious the world can be.
             The concept "Loss of Innocence" deals with a period in one's life, usually during adolescence when they are exposed to troubles of life and see evil, pain, or suffering in the world around them. During, this stage of life it leads the individual to a coming of age moment, where they become aware of the troubled reality going on in the world. Thus far, this is shown as the young men go into the Vietnam War sheltered and not really being revealed to immorality in the world. Comparatively it is evident in both pieces from Myers' with Lieutenant Carroll calling the dead soldiers "angel warriors" because usually young boys were the ones who fought the war; despite the fact that they were quite young and most of them couldn't vote. This is ironic since the young men were out in combat defending their country, yet they were not even mature enough to truly understand what they were fighting for in Nam along with them not being legally able to make a difference in their country. Whereas in "The Man I Killed" the theme is evident after O'Brien kills the man and is feeling guilty. He begins to imagine what the man's life might have been before the war started where he saw him as an young boy who loved mathematics and only reason for joining the war was because in his family the highest honor for a man was to defend the land of his people, such as the man's father and uncle had done.


Essays Related to Fallen Angels and The Man I Killed

1. Fallen Angels

... must include an organized, clearly written answer to each of the questions. 1. What is the significance of the title? The name "Warrior Angels" was given by Lieutenant Carroll to American soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. When soldiers are killed in action, they become "Fallen Angels." I think this title fits the book well because the soldiers came into the war as innocent teens that are not even old enough to vote ... think about how he had come into the army as a kid and how the war didn't mean anything to him then. He was immature and had no idea of what war was really like. An...

  • Word Count: 994
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Shakespeare and the Bible

... assay! Bow, stubborn knees; And, heart with strings of steel, be soft as sinews of the newborn babe! All may be well. This is Claudius' long monologue. In Genesis 4:8, it described: "Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose against Abel his brother and killed him." After that the God cursed Cain: "When you ... till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." Shakespeare cited "Cain killed Abel" this allusion to display Claudius' guilty conscience ... V, Sce...

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3. The Bond Epic

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4. pulp fiction bible refrences

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5. Manson Family Values

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6. Midevil

... them. In return for their lord's generosity the warriors accepted a number of social obligations. The most important obligation was the duty to fight in the warband and, if their lord was killed, to avenge him or die in the attempt. This was the way the world worked back then they served their lord and worshiped their god. A great example of this was in The Battle of Maldon: I vow it, that I shall ... reproach me with their words, now that my lord has fallen, that I travel lordless home, and turn back from warfare; rather shall weapon dispatch me, spear point and iron sword; Resolution ...

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7. Midevil

... them. In return for their lord's generosity the warriors accepted a number of social obligations. The most important obligation was the duty to fight in the warband and, if their lord was killed, to avenge him or die in the attempt. This was the way the world worked back then they served their lord and worshiped their god. A great example of this was in The Battle of Maldon: I vow it, that I shall ... reproach me with their words, now that my lord has fallen, that I travel lordless home, and turn back from warfare; rather shall weapon dispatch me, spear point and iron sword; Resolution ...

  • Word Count: 2514
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Characterization

... on night patrol with their squad. On their way back to the camp Jenkins steps on a land mine and is killed. Later Richie says "Seeing him lying there like that, his mouth and eyes open, had grabbed something inside my chest and twisted it hard."" Him saying this shows that he is sympathetic about others. In "Fallen Angels-, I believe that there is one character that really makes ... the story more interesting and he is Harold Gates also known as Peewee. One ... . "Mama Cong!- He can also be very brave even when he doesn't have to be. For example, when they arrive at the base near Chu La...

  • Word Count: 514
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9. Beowulf

... , we are utterly ignorant. (Chapter 13) Just as God creates his "kingdom" in which Adam and Eve are his subjects, along with the guardian angels, here Hrothgar can appear to be the divine ruler of his newly created haven, or heaven, on earth. He eventually calls upon a hero to defeat the evil that threatens to disrupt his "new world". Beowulf, in a similar manner, is seen ... as a traditional epic hero. Although he has not created a new world as Christ has done, he has performed extraordinary deeds, and "bloodied by enemies where I crushed down five, / killed a tribe of giants, and on th...

  • Word Count: 1142
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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