How might one compare and contrast Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway's book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young with A Rumor Of War by Philip Caputo?

Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway’s memoir of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young, and Philip Caputo’s Vietnam War memoir A Rumor of War are two distinctly different histories of the conflict in Southeast Asia that would end in defeat at the cost of over 58,000 American lives. Both books depict events that occurred during 1965, the year then-President Lyndon Johnson authorized the first of a series of large-scale U.S. troop deployments to Vietnam and the year that the United States initiated major aerial bombing campaigns against communist-led North Vietnam. Both books reflect the disillusionment that began to seep into the consciousness of American soldiers sent to fight a war of ill-defined objectives and limited means. And both books take serious issue with the way the war was managed “back home” in Washington, D.C. In short, both Moore-Galloway’s book about the first major engagement between American and North Vietnamese soldiers (the American effort in Vietnam previously focused on the communist insurgents known as the Viet Cong) and Caputo’s memoir of his tour of duty—a tour that included his near-court martial for ordering the killing of two Vietnamese civilians, a crime for which he admitted guilt but the guilt for which he contributed to the psychological toll this divisive, ambiguous war took on his psyche—describe in vivid, first-person detail the frustrations and resentments that began to degrade U.S. military morale and the effectiveness of those soldiers in executing that ambiguous mission.

While the two books share these similarities, however, the differences are perhaps more profound. The Battle of Ia Drang demonstrated the Americans’ superior leadership and skills at the “small-unit” level of warfare while bringing into question the merits of the broader enterprise. Caputo’s memoir, in contrast, focuses much more on the debilitating effects of the Vietnam War on those American soldiers who fought in it. Moore and Galloway, the former a battalion commander during that battle, the latter a war journalist who covered the battle, place much of their emphasis on the development of combat tactics, especially with respect to the integration of large-scale use of helicopters to provide infantry with a level of mobility never before attained due to technological limitations. Caputo’s book is more of an autobiography that centers on its subject’s tour in Southeast Asia and the effects of warfare on the individual combatant. By describing his evolution as a platoon commander in Vietnam from idealistic young officer to jaded potential war criminal, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder but spared the harsher judgement of a formal court martial, Caputo’s memoir is more limited in scope, while serving as an indictment of the American role in Vietnam.

A Rumor of War and We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young both depict events during the early, formative period of major American military involvement in Vietnam. Both reflect the cynicism that inevitably developed among military personnel forced into impossible circumstances. Caputo’s book, however, tales a far more limited story, that of the author. Moore and Galloway’s book, in contrast, is a study of a major battle during that war that would come to symbolize much that was right about America and much that was wrong with the decision to wage a half-war against a very determined adversary.

How does the quote "Well, girl, thou weep'st not so much for his death" show that Lady Capulet and Juliet's relationship is weak?

In Act 3, Scene 5, Juliet is crying because Romeo had to leave her, to head to Mantua, where he’s been banished. They just had their wedding night, but when the sun came up, he had to leave quickly so that no one would see him and put him to death. Now she doesn’t know if she’ll ever see him again, and she’s terribly sad about it.

But remember, also, that her cousin Tybalt recently got killed (by Romeo—which is why he’s banished!) When Juliet’s mom finds her crying, she assumes that it’s because Juliet is still upset about her cousin’s murder.

Juliet’s mom, Lady Capulet, says:

“Well, girl, thou weep’st not so much for his death,

As that the villain lives which slaughtered him.”

What she means is, “You’re not really crying over Tybalt’s death now, it’s more like you’re crying because the guy who killed him is still alive.” Which is really funny! Because it’s Romeo who killed Tybalt. Obviously Juliet’s not upset about Romeo still being alive!

But what this misunderstanding shows us is that Juliet has a weak relationship with her mom. She doesn’t keep her mom in the loop about what’s going on in her life. If they were close, if they had the same kind of warm, loving relationship that Juliet and her nurse do, then Juliet’s mom would obviously know why Juliet is so upset. But instead, Lady Capulet doesn’t even know that Juliet loves Romeo or that they even got married.

What are some examples of real life people who are similar to Mathilde Loisel in Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace?"

In describing Mathilde as a character, we first must extrapolate the traits that make her salient and unique. Then, you can take those traits and make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections with them. 

• Text-to-text connections- Compare Madame Loisel to another literary character.


• Text-to-self connections- Compare Madame Loisel to someone you know from a personal experience. 


• Text-to-World connections- Compare Madame Loisel with anyone you have ever heard of worldwide that is comparable to her. 

This is the most effective way to accurately tie Mathilde to someone either in literature, or real life, that has a life or story similar to her own. 

All this being said, let's focus on Mathilde.

Mathilde is:

1. unrealistic-  She dreams of things and situations that cannot possibly occur within her current set of circumstances. Dreaming and wishing are different from expecting for things to change essentially on demand, like Mathilde did. It is impossible to turn a lifetime of genteel poverty into extravagance and riches overnight, or just by wishing it. 


2. ungrateful- Regardless of having all that she needs to live in relative comfort, even with a helping girl for the household, Mathilde shrugs off what she has and keeps wishing for things that she cannot afford. 


3. unrelenting- She refuses to tell Madame Forestier that she lost her necklace. This is a combination of ridiculous pride and a weak ego. Instead, she ruins her life looking for a replacement that was not even worth the effort. 

Now, think about the type of people who reunite those three qualities.

Real Life: Text to World In a real life scenario, think about people who continuously wish to have more, become more powerful, or act like something that they are not. Wanting more is not the problem. The problem is wanting more of what one is not really able to reach, rather than setting realistic goals. 

Hence, think of people at your school or at your workplace, for example. Specifically, people whose ambition and wish to detach from others whom they consider lesser than them leads them to act and behave in a way commonly known as "fake."

Think of these very people, and notice that their tendencies are similar to Mathilde's in comparable, albeit modern, behaviors.

a) Many drive cars that they cannot truly afford, or live and buy things that are above their limitations for the sake of appearances. 

b) They are always dressed to impress, and not for productivity.

c) They also separate themselves from others and tend to hover in cliques so that they an be perceived as important people, whether they are or not.

They do all of these things because, like Mathilde, they are not truly anchored in their immediate "here and now." They are not using their common sense. 

Those are people who are also, like Mathilde:

• unrealistic- They live above their means in the hopes of presenting and image of something that they are not.


• ungrateful- Rather than make do with what they have, they want to push their own limits and forget the things that they have already been able to achieve. To them, these things are no longer important, nor worthy of being thankful, or feeling grateful. These people only want to appear to be better than everyone else.


• unrelenting- People who live for imagery and unrealistic expectations are often unhappy. They, however, think that happiness is made of material and monetary goals that they continuously try to meet, but to no avail. They continue to be unhappy and unsatisfied with their lives, whether they get the material gains that they hoped for, or not.

Therefore, anyone in your own life who has acted and behaved this way is no different in characteristics from Mathilde. 

Text-to-text connection 

From a literary perspective, the character of Emma Bovary, from Madame Bovary is very similar to Madame Loisel. Being that both characters are products of the Belle Epoque, and that their respective authors, Gustave Flaubert and Guy deMaupassant, were close friends, it comes as no surprise that the two women share traits and behaviors typical of their time and place. 

Like Mathilde, Emma was completely unrealistic. She, too, wanted to belong to an aristocratic social circle that is as exclusive as it is historically impossible to penetrate. She would also day-dream about a grandiose state of things, of having servants in livery, exotic dishes to eat, and essentially everything that she could never have. Again, hoping and wishing is not the issue. It is the fact that she truly thought that this is something that she was born to be, and that she (like Mathilde) was wrongly placed by fate in another set of circumstances. 

She was also ungrateful. Even though Charles Bovary's high intelligence is marred by his less than sophisticated behavior, he is still a great husband to Emma, just like Monsieur Loisel is to Mathilde. Both husbands get their wives tickets to grand events. Both husbands put up with their wives' whims. Both husbands suffer as a result of their wives' thoughtless actions. Both husbands are also unloved by the wives they loved so much.

Finally, Emma is also unrelenting. She only gets worse with time, just like Mathilde does. While Mathilde succumbs to a life of unnecessary sacrifice for the sake of replacing what she thought to be an expensive necklace, Emma's life also goes into a downward spiral of excessive overspending, shallow lovers, and unsuccessful attempts to fill the void of love and desire in her heart. 

In all, both women suffered from a tremendous need of something that only they could have helped themselves to get rid of. If only they had common sense, and if they had lived in reality, they could have been able to forfeit their shallow emotions in favor of healthier and happier lives.  

Provide a character sketch of Mr. Keith.

Merton S. Keith was Helen's mathematics teacher.  He also helped Helen with Greek and Latin.  He lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  For months, Mr. Keith tutored Helen twice a week.  Eventually, he increased their instructional time to five one-hour sessions per week.

Mr. Keith was a patient teacher.  Helen felt that she was not bright in math, but despite this Mr. Keith "was always gentle and forbearing."  He was a teacher who "made [math] interesting" and "he succeeded in whittling problems small enough to get through [her] brain."  Math was one of Helen's weakest subjects, so her teacher simplified the content to make it easier for her to grasp.

As Helen's entrance exams to Radcliffe College approached, Mr. Keith worked hard to prepare her.  They were anxious about whether or not Helen would pass, but Mr. Keith remained devoted to helping his student.  Helen passed and was able to enter Radcliffe.  Mr. Keith continued to tutor her for one more year.  

What literary devices are used and where in chapter three of Lord of the Flies?

Chapter 3 is full of a variety of literary devices including similes, a metaphor, imagery, verbal irony, foreshadowing, allusion and a foil. Golding uses several similes to describe Jack as he tries to track a wild pig. He is "like a sprinter," and he stared at the signs left by the pig "as though he would force them to speak to him." He is described at one point as "dog-like" and later as "ape-like." Imagery is used in the first part of the chapter to describe Jack's experience in the forest and at the end to describe Simon's. Sound imagery includes the following: "whine of insects," "silence shattered and echoes set ringing by a harsh cry," "hiss of indrawn breath," and "the quick, hard patter of hoofs, a castanet sound." Visual imagery is apparent when describing the pig droppings: "They were olive green, smooth, and they steamed a little." The chapter ends with visual and olfactory imagery when the moonflowers are described. 

An interesting metaphor describes how Ralph and Jack have different perspectives: "They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate." Verbal irony occurs when Ralph says, "Meetings. Don't we love meetings?" The contrasting descriptions of Simon are also ironic, coming so close together: "he helps," "Simon's always about," "he's buzzed off," and "he's queer. He's funny." 

Jack's expression of the "feeling [of] ... being hunted" foreshadows the dark times ahead for the boys and the last chapter when Jack hunts Ralph. In addition, when Ralph warns Jack, "So long as your hunters remember the fire," it foreshadows Jack's letting the fire go out in the next chapter. 

Golding is setting up Simon to be a Christ-figure, and he builds an allusion to Jesus into this chapter to help plant that idea. When Simon goes into the forest, littluns follow him, and he ends up picking fruit for them. The description of Simon passing out food to "the endless, outstretched hands" is an allusion to the miracle of feeding the five thousand.

Finally, Golding sets up Simon as a foil to Jack. Just as the beginning of the chapter is rich in description of Jack's lone activity in the forest, so the end of the chapter contains vivid imagery surrounding Simon in his "little cabin." Jack is described as frustrated and "nearly mad" in his pursuit of the pig. In contrast, Simon sees butterflies and hears peaceful bees buzzing and the sound of the ocean. Simon's serenity as he connects with his environment presents a stark contrast to Jack's adversarial relationship with nature. 

In this chapter, Golding is deepening readers' understanding of setting, character, and plot, and his use of literary devices helps him in achieving that end.

What would you put in a box of "treasures" that belongs to Jem?

There would be several items that I would include in a box of "treasures" that belong to Jem. The first items I would place in the box would be several football magazines. Jem is obsessed with football and wishes to start on Maycomb's football team. There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict Jem flipping through football magazines, daydreaming about being a star one day. Depending on the size of the box, I would include the pair of pants Boo Radley stitched in Chapter 6. When Jem ripped his pants escaping from the Radley yard, he returned to find them sewn and folded on the fence. I would include Jem's favorite item that he found in the knothole of the Radley tree, which was the silver pocket watch. Scout mentions that Jem was obsessed with the item and continually checked the time just to look at the watch. I would also include a copy of the novel Ivanhoe. In Chapter 11, Jem is forced to read Ivanhoe to his racist neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, as a punishment for ruining her camellia bushes. Jem learns a valuable lesson about "real courage" after he finds out Mrs. Dubose conquered her morphine addiction in the last days of her life. The last item I would include in the "treasure" box would be his air rifle. Uncle Jack gets Jem an air rifle for Christmas, and Atticus teaches Jem never to kill a mockingbird because they are innocent beings that do nothing but bring joy to the world.

What does Odysseus do in book 9 that shows that he is a good leader?

In Book IX, Odysseus recounts stories from the time immediately following the Greeks' victory in the Trojan War.  He and his crew first stop in Ismarus, killing the men, raiding the city's treasures, and raping the women; Odysseus advises his crew "swiftly to fly," but they do not listen.  Instead, they get very drunk and pass out.  The men who'd fled the city had run for help, and those men attacked Odysseus's crew during the night, killing six from each ship.  His wise advice to his men is no less wise for their not having heeded it.  His forethought and sagacity make him a good leader.

When they go to the land of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus -- intelligently -- sends only three men ashore to get a sense of the inhabitants.  When they eat the lotus, they no longer want to go home.  They want to stay there and eat lotus fruit forever.  Odysseus, knowing their true desire to go home, physically forces each of them back to the ship.  He looks out for their best interest even when they do not know it themselves.  His intelligence and loyalty to his men make him a good leader.