Stop The Sun Critical Analysis

Words: 490
Pages: 2

American soldiers returning from the Vietnam war experienced consequences of combat many years after their term in the service. These ramifications of war were discovered until the damage had already been done in many veterans. The short story “Stop The Sun” by Gary Paulsen and “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien each detail the horrors of war thoughtfully. In order to do this, each author carefully implements lifelike characters. However, I prefer “The Things They Carried” due to the style O’Brien uses to detail both literal and nonliteral burdens of the Vietnam war. O’Brien identifies in great detail numerous physical equipment the characters haul. For example, O’Brien explains to readers exactly what is physically being carried. …show more content…
O’Brien incorporates abstract nouns into his writing in order to blend the psychological burdens of war with his literal burdens. These nouns include superstition, fear, jealousy, loneliness, responsibility grief, cowardice, terror, and guilt, among others. Furthermore, O’Brien reveals the characters’ feelings as well as figurative burdens throughout his writing. O’Brien describes, “To carry something was to hump it, as when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps,” (O’Brien, 2). O’Brien’s characters also carry beliefs and superstition, as shown when O’Brien writes “Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As a hedge against bad times, however, Kiowa also carried his grandmother's distrust of the white man, his grandfather's old hunting hatchet,” (O’Brien 1). I prefer “The Things They Carry” to “Stop the Sun” because O’Brien’s writing goes into greater depth describing both the tangible and intangible burdens of war. O’Brien offers a glimpse into the body of a soldier that provides readers with every aspect of war. O’Brien is capable of doing this wholly due to O’Brien’s experience as a veteran of the Vietnam war. O’Brien’s front row seat to the horrors of war help