Michael Herr: "Illumination Rounds"

Immediately, the reader is involved in the war with the author. Written in first person, the author provides real-life experiences from Vietnam War. The battles, the soldiers, and the stories the author hears are all relayed to the reader to show the war’s psychological and emotional effects on people. Like the title of the essay, Herr illuminates and reveals the hidden sights of war. By offering a different perspective of the Vietnam War, the reader is able to have a better understanding of the atrocity that is called war.

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Illumination Rounds is from Michael Herr’s memoir, Dispatches. As seen in the picture on the left, Herr was a military correspondent during the Vietnam War. He stayed there for over a year, sharing the sights he saw, the men he encountered, and the gruesome effects of war. Because Herr was actually there, his memoir is realistic and believable.

Because Michael Herr has experienced, first-hand, the horrible effects of war on the soldiers, he is raising awareness. From the perspective of the reader, many do not understand how much a war affects its soldiers. We only hear stories about amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc., but Herr explains stories from the Vietnam War vividly. Therefore, Herr is targeting the audience of the common people, the average Joe. The common people cannot begin to imagine the gut-wrenching sights and battles soldiers have went through. Yet, from Herr’s successful descriptive story-telling, the reader begins to understand only a small fraction of what the soldiers have went through.

Diction is evident when the soldiers’ speak vulgarly and casually. The author’s diction for the dialogue of the soldiers is irreverent and detached. From their cursing the reader is able to see how hatred, a common sight in war, has influenced their speech. Also, the detached words of the soldiers are frightening. Casually, the soldiers speak of depressing, gory events. This detachment shows how the soldiers became “used to” such events. This shift is seen in the narrator himself. In the beginning, Herr writes, “A dark spot the size of a baby’s hand showed in the center of his fatigue jacket…And it grew-I knew what is was, but not really… this isn’t anything at all, it’s not real, it’s just some thing they’re going through that isn’t real” (328). The shock of first entering the war changes when the author writes, “At 800 feet we knew we were being shot at” (331). The casualness and change is evident in the author’s diction and tone.

E.B. White: "Once More to the Lake"

In an inevitable cycle of life and growth, a father and his son visit a lake. Sacred to the father, the lake holds a special place in his heart; years ago, he spent summers at the same lake with his father. Nostalgia arises as the narrator and his son perform the same tasks as the narrator did with his father: fishing in the lake, seeing a dragonfly, and meeting the waitresses. Throughout the trip to the lake, the narrator realizes the changes of the people and buildings, though the lake continues to stay the same: placid and holy. Nature’s timelessness is compared to the inevitable cycle of growing up. 

E.B. White wrote Once More to the Lake in his farmhouse in North Brooklin, Maine, that overlooked the sea. Published in 1941, his essay discusses how mortality is inevitable.The essay is centered around White himself and his son, Joel. The thoughts that the father had in the essay is from White himself, who was having difficulty discerning the past from the present. Once More to the Lake is an essay from White's personal experience at a lakeside resort.

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White shows through the thoughts of the narrator how people and technology changes, yet nature offers a never-changing, timeless view. The lake has stayed the same, through the waitresses, transportation, and the people visiting change. The narrator holds onto the similarities that he notices of the lake, yet as the story progresses, he realizes that things have changed. The father attempts to draw parallels between himself and his son by fishing, the dragonfly, and taking a swim in the lake, yet when he says, “as he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death” (185), he has understood that he is no longer a young boy, but that his time of death will soon come too.

To illustrate the comparison of the past and the present, which is something that the narrator struggles with, White uses juxtaposition. An example of juxtaposition is seen when E.B. White writes, “In those other summertimes all motors were inboard…the noise they made was a sedative, an ingredient of summer sleep…But now the campers now all had outboards. In the daytime, in the hot mornings, these petulant, irritable sound” (183).  In this example, the narrator notices the change of sound. Technology has developed and the world is still revolving. From the trip to the lake, the father learns how his time as a child has passed. Seeing his own son, the father realizes how he will soon grow older and come to pass just like his own father.

Maya Angelou: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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Addressing the issues of racism, Maya Angelou discusses the depressing times of inequality. Through the characters in I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, the essay is written from the perspective of a young, Black girl. From the lens of the narrator, the reader empathizes and experiences a small fraction of the inequality Blacks had to go through for centuries.

Born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, Maya Angelou experienced similar treatment to her characters. Making the essay all the more authentic, Maya Angelou uses this essay to reflect on the brutal, unfair treatment of Blacks at the time. Yet, just like it is seen in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou endures racial discrimination with the help of her family, African-American traditions, and culture.

In the beginning, the narrator mentions the difficulties of growing up as a Black girl, something that Angelou can relate to. The narrator says, "If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat" (344). The narrator recounts memorable events in her life such as the daily life at the Store, the possible lynching of Uncle Willie, etc. Through all events, the narrator stresses: the importance of family, racial discrimination, and the huge role African culture and traditions.

Angelou's essay shares the past struggles of African-Americans. Angelou, like her characters, endured through the times of inequality and is raising awareness. Not only is Angelou raising awareness of the inequality Blacks underwent, but she is also displaying the fire and passion of the African-American spirit, which is seen through their gospel songs and fighting spirit.This is seen when the narrator says, "She stood another whole song through...Her face was a brown moon that shone on me...Whatever the contest had been out front, I knew Momma had won" (357).

Angelou's purpose was accomplished through the use of rhetorical devices and strategies. Just a few were figurative language, anaphora, and juxtaposition. Here are some examples:

• Figurative language: "I knew that once I put it on I'd look like a movie star" (342).
• Anaphora: " No louder than before, but no softer either. No slower or faster" (355).
• Juxtaposition: "When I was big, elbowy, and grating, he was small, graceful, and smooth" (352)

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is a beautiful essay written by Maya Angelou. She brilliantly uses the Black characters in her essay to show the prejudices of society and the fervent African-American spirit. Maya Angelou has done a wonderful job of communicating her message and accomplishing her purpose. Understandable and easy to follow along, the essay can target any audience. Her essay is not limited to only Blacks or Caucasians, but people of all races can empathize with the narrator.