English 110—War Dances Essay
1. Most of our experiences in life are filtered through our own unique perception of events. Much of our perception is affected by our own sense of identity—in other words, who we are shapes how we “see” to some extent. Choose one or more aspects of identity (i.e. age, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality) that affect how characters in the stories or speakers in the poems in War Dances experience events in their life. Discuss the relationships between one’s identity and their thoughts and/or actions. Use specific examples to illustrate these points.
2. Many of the stories and some of the poetry show a modern-day males expressing strong emotion, often centering around some life-changing event. Emotionality is sometimes considered the flip-side of rationality, wherein one’s reason can balance one’s feelings as long as one achieves and maintains a balance. Choose characters in the stories or poems in War Dances that show men dealing with, or trying to deal with, their powerful emotions. What are the challenges? Who/What is successful? What, if anything, does this examination of male emotion in the book show to readers?
3. Human beings are both unique individuals as well as social animals. That is, our membership in various groups (familial, tribal, cultural, religious, etc.) and our relationships with other people may be nearly as important as our individual sense of identity. Analyze some of the relationships shown in the poems and stories in War Dances. What do these roles and relationships show about the characters/speakers in theexamples you’ve chosen?
4. In the story “The Senator’s Son,” the father tells the son, “[w]e are tested, all of us. We are constantly and consistently given the choice. Good or evil. Light or darkness. Love or hate. Some of those decisions are huge and tragic” (pp.91-2). Choose some of the poems and/or stories from the book where characters are tested. What choices did they make? How did they come to terms with those choices? What does it show? Are there dichotomies other than those from the above quote, which inform your understanding of the themes in War Dances?
Place this order with us and get 18% discount now! to earn your discount enter this code: special18 If you need assistance chat with us now by clicking the live chat button.