Theme Of Fear In Fallen Angels

Words: 1100
Pages: 5
Open Document
The Fears of Fighting
In war, the frightening atmosphere is unfathomable, until you experience it. In the novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the story follows a scared seventeen year old boy who goes to fight in the Vietnam war as his first experience in the army. It also follows his friend Peewee, a character who acts tougher than he looks, but is even as scared as Perry. There are many casualties in the war that frightens the entire platoon. Throughout the book, Perry and his squad experience the terror of war, one they never imagined. A theme that emerges in the text is that fear makes people more cautious, but less focused.
One reason that the theme exists in the novel is because Perry is more scared after Jenkins’s death. This …show more content…
This event is that Perry’s part of the platoon is in the forest and are on the lookout for the enemy. This can be proven true because the novel states, “Someone opened up. A scream. We were all firing, it was too dark to aim, I just fired in what I though was the right direction,” (124).This is revealing that there is fearfulness in the book because a scream is heard meaning someone is frightened by the gunfire. The statement also illustrates that the squad is being too cautious because of Vietcong company, and are not focusing enough to realize that platoon are their allies not their enemies. Also, the platoon is unfocused because they fired in the dark not knowing who they would hit. The text also states that Perry is horrified at Lieutenant Carroll's death. The thought of him almost killing someone is something he is disgusted by. This means that since they fired at their own platoon, Perry is frightened by not only death, but killing someone himself. While the squad fires at their own platoon and they frighten each other, it shows that it impacts many characters involved. This makes Perry more cautious because after this event, Perry does not use his gun that much, and keeps it mainly on safety. Therefore, fear is evident in the text because the event frightens many characters and makes them more cautious. Overall, fear can be found in the novel because …show more content…
The valley ambush is when the platoon tries to attack Charlie company when they least expect it. Although some people might think that the Valley Ambush helped people gain more courage after working together, this is clearly not true because in the text Perry and Peewee are freaking out in a hole showing that they are both still scared after they successfully escape. Fear is shown when the text states that Perry is constantly thinking about the enemy than thinking about the Claymores that he needs to set up, and since he is not focusing on the claymores, he messes them up. This demonstrates that Perry is too cautious of the Charlie Company attacking him rather than working on the Claymore and he them up. This exhibits fear because Perry is too distracted as he is thinking about the enemy that may kill him than on the task he is given, which resulted in him almost getting killed. The novel also tells the reader, “The sounds replayed through my head. There had been fire in our direction, then the sound of a sixty. Was it Johnsons sixty or something they had? Where both sides waiting for the other to make a move? ‘Perry!’ Peewee’s voice in the darkness nearly stopped my heart,” (284). This displays fear because the surrounding atmosphere of the valley ambush got Perry so on edge, that he is scared of Peewee, his best friend. This can show that he is
Show More

Related Documents: Theme Of Fear In Fallen Angels

Haas Fallen Angels Essay

Sam Haas English – 8­5 10/21/14 How Real is the Vietnam War? In the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the story follows a bunch of young men who fight in the Vietnam War. Although there are many themes in the book, one stands out: the horror of war. The title of the book relates to this theme which tells us that the theme is valuable. The guys are thrown into the reality of war in a heartbeat when the war started. By the end of the book, the boys realize that the war is a b…

Words 1014 - Pages 5

Young Goodman Brown Essay

doubted his “faith’. He like so many others at that age past, present and future question their beliefs. Mr. Hawthorne (Hathorne) uses his experience with the Puritan times and metaphors to illustrate the theme of hypocrisy, loss of innocence or the battle of good and evil .This young man fights with “fear” throughout the story. The question posed to us in class was “Does it really matter whether or not the witch gathering really happened”. The answer would be No. In the text Young Mr. Brown defines himself…

Words 415 - Pages 2

Nature vs Nurture in Frankenstein Essay

creature tells Victor that he is the fallen angel. This means that he believes that Victor could have done a better job raising him. The creature indicated that he was born good and virtuous, but loneliness and misery due to the alienation he receives from mankind because of his outer appearance, have made him feel like a monster. Society sees him as a monster and makes him feel like one, so now he will begin to act like one. In the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the theme of nature vs. nurture is a strong…

Words 876 - Pages 4

English Tolkien and Lewis Essay

from it. Tolkien’s universe - Arda (the world that Is) – that began with 'Eru, the one – who is called Illuvatar' [1, the Silmarillion]. Eru is the source of the Anuir (angels) and all that was created through the first Great Music. This is a representation of God, but one of the key differences is that Illuvatar uses his Ainur (angels) to be the tool of creation. C.S. Lewis was a recently converted Christian at the time of writing his ‘Chronicles of Narnia’, having in fact been converted by J.R.R.…

Words 2055 - Pages 9

Essay on Frankenstein and Natural Order

Welcome to All you advanced English students tuned in today to our weekly segment of texts in time. our focus topic of individuals within Frankenstine who challenge the established values of their time. And so we shall begin. In retrospect, Mary Shelly’s epistolary novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus provides us with a gateway to the values and ideals of the time in which it was written. It is often difficult for any author to compose in isolation of their cultural, political and historical…

Words 1687 - Pages 7

Why Is Gothic Literature So Popular During The Victorian Era

The genre of Gothic literature greatly increased in popularity during the Victorian era. Gothic literature usually has the atmosphere of mystery, suspense, and fear. It also frequently features the supernatural, which is defined as any event or manifestation that does not follow the laws of nature (Burgess). Two famous Victorian works that used supernatural elements are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. During the Victorian era, supernatural elements…

Words 1692 - Pages 7

Essay about Cats: The Scarlet Letter

Scarlet Letter Puritan society: A group of them fled to Holland and subsequently to the New World, where they hoped to build a society, described by John Winthrop, as "a city upon a hill" — a place where the "eyes of all people are upon us." In such a place and as long as they followed His words and did their work to glorify His ways, God would bless them, and they would prosper. Hawthorne, of course, presents the irony of this concept when he describes the prison as a building already worn when…

Words 3941 - Pages 16

relg 203 Midterm terms Essay

Offers two accounts of the Creation. Primeval History (Gen 1-11) talks of the beginning of the world and civilization Patriarchal History (Gen 12-50) talks of Abraham and his descendants. Story of Israel, Egypt and the descendants of Jacob, which have fallen into slavery. Escape from slavery in Egypt Reception of God’s law at Mount Sinai (Horeb) Focus on the laws and the new covenant between god and his chosen people. Mostly devoted to Jews’ hardships: Rebellion, God’s Anger, and Conflict with Surrounding…

Words 5020 - Pages 21

Essay about Indiana Jones

1996, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, the character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also featured in the Disney theme park attraction, Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland which also exists in a similar form at Tokyo DisneySea. Jones is most famously played by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade) and…

Words 2255 - Pages 10

The Role Of Female Characters In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

mankind and Titan parallels Frankenstein by creating man. Victor in a way steals the secret of creation from G-d and his sin of trying to usurp the role of G-d results in his refusal to take responsibility. This could also be interpreted through the theme of science versus religion. Victor acts as the emerging scientific society which is overshadowing religious beliefs. Mary Shelley did this because in the 19th Century people were debating between religious creation (God) and scientific creation (the…

Words 1998 - Pages 8