Themes Across Genres
"Ambush" by Tim O'Brien
"Ambush" immediately launches readers into one of the narrator's internal conflicts. This conflict comes at the beginning of the story when his daughter, Kathleen, asks if he has killed anyone. The narrator's response illustrates his dilemma: It was a difficult moment, but I did what seemed right, which was to say, "Of course not," and then to take her onto my lap and hold her for a while. Someday, I hope, she'll ask again. But here I want to pretend she's a grown-up. I want to tell her exactly what happened, or what I remember happening, and then I want to say to her that as a little girl she was absolutely right. The narrator reveals that he wants to answer his daughter honestly but holds back, understanding that she is too young to fully grasp the gravity of the truth. Instead, he imagines that she is an adult and that he can reveal the real story. This truth leads to the larger internal conflict that the narrator struggles with: the shock and guilt of having killed an enemy with his own grenade during the Vietnam War.
Although William Bradford and Robert Frost both explore the theme of "discovery," what differences do you notice in how the authors relate this theme?
"The Road Not Taken" by Frost and Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford share the theme of "discovery." For William Bradford and his party, arriving in the New World was rife with discovery. As the excerpt shows, they spotted American Indians and followed them but soon lost their way. At the end of the excerpt, they discover fresh water, a moment of great satisfaction for these settlers. On the other hand, the discovery made in Frost's poem is more personal and abstract. The speaker of the poem discusses his choice of taking the less-traveled path of the two paths before him. For the speaker, the less-traveled path represents pursuing and discovering a personal identity. The speaker in the poem describes how going down an infrequently traveled path has led to personal discoveries.
Nonfiction
-Biography: A biography is the story of a person's life written by another person. The books Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn Brodie are examples of biographies. -Autobiography: An autobiography is the story of a person's life written by that person. Autobiographies are usually written by prominent, public figures that people want to know more about. For example, A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela and The Story of My Life by Helen Keller are autobiographies. -Persuasive Writing: Persuasive writing has the aim of trying to influence or convince readers to accept the writer's viewpoint. Essays that students write for college applications are an example of persuasive writing. -Informational or Technical Writing: This type of writing intends to provide readers with relevant information about a specific topic. An example is a home appliance or electronics manual.
Fiction
-Historical Fiction: Historical fiction is about fictitious characters in a historical setting. Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo and Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind are examples of historical fiction. -Realistic Fiction: Realistic fiction is about what could have happened and involves fictitious characters. Examples are Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. -Science Fiction: Science fiction is based on the imaginative depiction of aliens, advanced technology, and futuristic concepts. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is one example. -Fantasy: The fantasy genre involves fictional settings, supernatural occurrences, and characters that are often supernatural creatures. Some examples are J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. -Horror: Horror involves fictional writing that aims to evoke terror and shock in readers. Some examples are Bram Stoker's Dracula and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. -Folklore: Folklore includes stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, including fables such as Aesop's Fables and fairytales such as Cinderella. Book cover of a folklore
Sub genres - Fiction
-Prose: Prose includes literary works written in ordinary form, without using metrical structures. Some examples of prose include novels such as Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Most nonfiction is also written in prose. -Poetry: Poetry includes literary works with a distinctive poetic form, such as a specific meter or rhyme structure. Some types of poetry are sonnets, haikus, and blank verse. Some examples include "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. -Drama: Drama is a type of literary work characterized by dialogue and stage lines that depict emotions and actions, which may be written in prose or verse. The two main genres of drama include tragedy and comedy, with subgenres such as farce, musicals, opera, and melodrama. For example, William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tragedy written in verse, while The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a comedy written in prose.
Consider your response to the previous question and the essay "Symptoms" by John Steinbeck. Do O'Brien's actions during the battle and his later reflections on the battle fit with Steinbeck's analysis about soldiers in war? Cite textual evidence from the two texts to support your response.
Both O'Brien's "Ambush" and Steinbeck's "Symptoms" discuss the aftereffects of war on soldiers. However, the authors have different points of view. O'Brien's tone toward soldiers and victims of war is sympathetic. The aftereffects of war include guilt, flashbacks, and denial. The following lines from O'Brien's essay portray the feeling of guilt the author experiences after the war: Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't. In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then, when I'm reading a newspaper or just sitting alone in a room, I'll look up and see the young man coming out of the morning fog. I'll watch him walk toward me, his shoulders slightly stooped, his head cocked to the side, and he'll pass within a few yards of me and suddenly smile at some secret thought and then continue up the trail to where it bends back into the fog. On the other hand, Steinbeck discusses war and its effect on soldiers in an almost scientific way. He believes that a soldier becomes reticent and does not like to remember the events of war because the memories are traumatic. The following lines from Steinbeck's "Symptoms" convey this feeling: During the years between the last war and this one, I was always puzzled by the reticence of ex-soldiers about their experiences in battle. . . . Only recently have I found what seems to be a reasonable explanation, and the answer is simple. They did not and do not remember--and the worse the battle was, the less they remember. While both writers have different perspectives, it seems as though O'Brien experiences trauma when he thinks about war and so he doesn't want to think about it, which is what Steinbeck has written about. O'Brien writes, "I want to tell her exactly what happened, or what I remember happening," as though he cannot remember what he had undergone because he doesn't want to remember, as is evident from his admitting that "In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it. . . ."
Despite discussing similar themes of war in the story "Ambush" and essay "Symptoms," O'Brien and Steinbeck chose different genres and modes to present their views. Compare the format from both these texts and evaluate how the chosen mode influences the presentation of ideas.
Both Tim O'Brien's "Ambush" and John Steinbeck's "Symptoms" have the same theme of war, but they convey contrasting messages. While O'Brien's story indicates that soldiers never forgets their actions and experiences at war and can often be riddled with a lifetime of guilt and regret, Steinbeck claims that soldiers block out wartime experiences because they are traumatic. In "Symptoms," Steinbeck describes war experiences in a matter-of-fact and scientific manner. He uses a sympathetic tone to portray the harsh realities of war, employing the analogy of childbirth to make the reluctance of remembering trauma more relatable to readers, most of whom have not been directly involved in war, but who may have experience with childbirth. On the other hand, "Ambush" conveys the writer's personal memory of what happened at war. He killed an enemy soldier, but one who possibly would not have harmed him and was just passing by. This act of killing haunts the writer throughout his life. He thinks about the soldier he has killed—about his background, his personal life, his hopes and dreams—and thinks about how his grenade destroyed all that. He wants readers to think about the killed enemy soldier as a human being, not just a soldier who is at war to kill or be killed. He makes war personal. O'Brien lies to his daughter because he is unable to come to terms with his guilt over killing another human being. His personal touch makes his writing about war more convincing and effective in conveying its central meaning to readers.
Drama & Stage Direction
Drama is written to be acted on stage, which is why scripts involve the use of stage lines and directions. These techniques are the writers' way of expressing their vision. Stage directions are notes that usually appear in italics and in brackets along with the dialogue. The effectiveness of the dialogue is heightened by employing stage directions. Look at this example of dialogue: SHEILA: Why don't you come with me? Now read the same dialogue with a stage direction. SHEILA [Excitedly, while jumping up and down]: Why don't you come with me? Note how the stage direction in the second example gives readers a better feel for the character's emotions and provides the actor an idea of how to act out the specific dialogue to fulfill the scriptwriter's vision.
Themes and Literary Elements Across Genres
For example, William Bradford builds on this theme in his nonfictional work Of Plymouth Plantation, and Robert Frost explores the theme in his poem "The Road Not Taken." William Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair is a blend of historical fiction and satire, and William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is both a romance and a tragedy.
"Symptoms" by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck's essay "Symptoms" is an example of a process analysis. He begins by discussing the reluctance of soldiers to speak about their war experiences. The author illustrates his curiosity about this behavior before he examines the reasons behind it: I was always puzzled by the reticence of ex-soldiers about their experiences in battle. Steinbeck gives examples supporting his claim that soldiers do not speak about their war experiences because their minds and bodies block them out, and the examples bring him to the thesis of his argument. It is not until the end of the text, after the reader understands the dangers a soldier faces during war, that Steinbeck concludes ". . . when afterward they seem to be reticent—perhaps they don't remember very well." "Symptoms" is an informative essay, originally written as a newspaper column while Steinbeck was a war correspondent during World War II. He was aware that the majority of his readers, the US population on the home front, did not have any direct war-related experiences. His tone reflects this fact: he is distant, speaks in a straightforward manner, and is nearly scientific in his descriptions. However, he does speak in the second person, which softens his harsh language and creates a tone that is sympathetic to the soldiers and their incredible burdens. Steinbeck uses analogy to compare war to childbirth to replicate the feeling of something unfamiliar—being in combat—to another powerful, yet, according to Steinbeck, traumatic event that many have experienced. The conclusion of the text explains the phenomenon of forgetting these experiences: Perhaps all experience which is beyond bearing is that way. The system provides the shield and then removes the memory, so that a woman can have another child and a man can go into combat again. This analogy compares multiple aspects of the two events—war and childbirth—specifically pain and the body's ability to forget the events that occurred. By likening war to childbirth, Steinbeck makes war experiences more personal and more relatable to the readers of his newspaper column. Although most of his readers had not been in a war, they probably understood or even related to the pain faced by a woman during childbirth. In the following activity, you will consider the similarities and differences between the Tim O'Brien story "Ambush" and the John Steinbeck essay "Symptoms."
