Final Draft

Natzem Lima

Mrs. Sejkora

AP English 12

February 21, 2012

Identical Themes in Two Distinct Eras

            Universally, themes are known to incorporate an author’s background and follow traditional methods of literary construction, while mirroring the plot of the novel. However, two very different illustrations of identical themes appear when studying Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Analyzing two books with identical themes lacks originality; yet, novelty arises from examining how the two time periods established very different writing styles. While Beah published his novel in 2007, Wells published his novel 1897. Nearly one century lies between the two books, yet they both go onto argue an equivalent global theme: the detriment arising from war. Differing characteristics of construction arise because Wells utilizes novel methods of literary construction  – according to his time – while Beah also discards tradition and produces abstract literary techniques.

In sum, Beah in Memoirs of Boy Soldier tells his own story of how he endured civil strife in Sierra Leone. Eventually, the government goes onto rescuing him by placing him in a rehabilitation center. By venturing into his own mind as a child warrior, Beah goes onto establishing the theme of the detriment behind war through very unconventional and unseen methods.  As highlighted by Boyd, Beah’s:

Knowledge is shocking, but it's the reader's imagination that delivers the cold sanguinary shudder, not the author's boilerplate prose. It is a vision of hell that Beah gives us, one worthy of Hieronymus Bosch, but as though depicted in primary colors by a naive artist. (Boyd 2).

Undoubtedly, Beah does illustrate an image of hell through war in his depiction of the events he witnessed. Yet, he does so in a neutral tone which is supported by the notion that the boy-soldiers’ “conversation [showed] no compassion for the people they killed and no remorse for their actions" (Hope 2). Beah establishes novelty based on the fact that his depiction of hell is done with a neutral voice. Without a doubt, he mirrors no common literary technique. Instead of incorporating an emotional tone and leading readers to which emotions they should feel, he avoids any emotional bias and establishes neutrality with his voice. Alone, this confuses readers because they don’t know what they should make of the information being presented to them. Therefore, readers draw their own horrific conclusion, which overall enhances the theme of the book.

Coming from a different scope, Wells in War of the Worlds tells the story of an unknown narrator that undergoes the invasion of Martians. In the story, the narrator must split with his wife and undergo an adventure of glorified death scenes. Nearing the resolution, the Martians are devoured through a bacterium which humans have developed resistance to. With War of the Worlds, Wells establishes the theme of the detriment behind war through originality behind literary construction – according to his time. In War of the Worlds, a tone of frenzied survival becomes ruthlessly enhanced. Wells was the first of his time to “transmute the new public fascination with Mars into powerful art and polemic” (Crossley 10). Previous to Wells, nobody had undertaken the challenge of looking at the end of science and attaching fiction to it. Easily, Wells’ self inflicted responsibility led to an era of speculation of the “end of human hegemony” (Crossley 10). More simply, for the first time ever humans didn’t feel superior. Alone, the thought of other alien inhabitants brought a new perspective to humility for readers of War of the Worlds. To add to Wells’ boldness Crossley describes how “it was a shrewd move on Wells's part, therefore, to build the famous first paragraph of The War of the Worlds on the global preoccupation with telescopic surveillance” (Crossley 11). With doing so, Wells immediately within the first paragraph places the reader in a total-war state of mind. Subsequently, the reader automatically reads everything with speculation leading to hostility, thus enhancing the theme of detriment arising from war.

With both stories having identical themes, the question now becomes ever-prevalent: how can a universal theme have so many different variations from which it is constructed? Much of the answer lies through how each author chose his form of narration. Beah was quite original in the way he approached his first person narration. By having the theme of the detriment behind war, any one would have imagined that the Beah would’ve been intrinsically intertwined among his stories of the people he brutally murdered or the people he watched die. Yet, despite the personal attachment for the things which were ripped from him, Beah, as a narrator, seemed so disconnected from it all. It was almost as if Beah was narrating from a black and white camera, not being able to understand that the ruby red blood gushing wasn’t a mere stream of grey. His disconnect from the book placed Beah as a bystander and with this, Baeh is truly original with which how he narrates. Not only that, but for the first time ever a pubescent warrior-killer was given a literary voice. On the other hand, War of the Worlds, depicted the equivalent theme, however, through a very different narration technique. Wells wasn’t nearly as novel, but he did something most books would never do and that is to demonstrate the theme “at the outset” (Crossley 13).

Most often the plot of the book parallels the theme of the book. Meaning a violent plot will give rise to a violent theme. Yet, Beah’s memoir does not align with this generalization. Despite its very violent plot, Beah’s memoir radiates itself as having very peaceful plot. Ironically, this peaceful tone arises to a violent theme. Through this, Beah’s construction of theme can be seen as an oxymoron when contrasted theme is contrasted to tone. Parallel to this concept, Publisher Weekly takes note of Beah’s opposing methods of construction:

Beah’s even-toned narrative is particularly disturbing because it’s almost exactly the same whether he is enjoying the company of a newly found uncle or busy shooting and maiming rebels and even burying them alive. His monotone works particularly well when he is recounting his dreams, for he cannot distinguish his nightmares from his walking life. (Publisher Weekly 59)

While the peacefulness with which the story is told can be confusing, careful analysis reveals that Beah just simply presents information and then lets the facts speak for themselves. In this case, Wells isn’t novel as his plot aligns with his theme.

How two identical themes differed in methods of constructions is still unresolved. Historical placement plays a major role. With nearly a century between when the two books took place, global concerns differed vastly. In the early 1900’s, the individual was highly emphasized, thus books mirrored themes that appealed to individual interests. Other popular examples besides Wells’ War of the Worlds include Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, which emphasizes the individuals consumer safety. At the turn of the century Beah’s Memoirs of a Boy-Soldier demonstrates a shift in individualistic themes to globally concerned themes. Though the themes were the same, it is important to note War of the Worlds only brought awareness to individuals and to non-specific global events. Conversely, that equivalent theme in Memoirs of a Boy-Soldier did address a global concern of detriment arising from war in Sierra Leone, an ongoing conflict today.

In all, the two identical themes have a very different foundation. Most foundations of a building often correspond with the building code of their time just like the construction of the theme’s of book vary in correspondence to their time in history. Often older building codes do not provide sufficient support for modern catastrophes, just as older methods of literary construction do not provide a sufficient hook for readers to grapple a book. Newer building codes are more responsive to the modern environment, just as newer, novel methods of literary development are responsive to the demands of readers. Therefore, the previous analogies allow for a safe conclusion that in order for books to be successful they must not only align with their time period, but they must also present a new method of constructing their theme. To close, the latter conclusion was derived by comparing theme creating between Wells’ War of the Worlds and Beah’s Memoirs of a Boy-Soldier.

References

"A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier." Publisher Weekly: 59. Print.

Audiobook Biographies and Memoirs. Advertisement. Spotlight 2007: 112. Print.

Boyd, William. "Babes in Arms." The New York Times Book Review 25 Feb. 2007: 12(L). Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

Crichton, Sarah. "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier." Publisher Weekly: 55. Print.

Crossley, Robert. "H. G. Wells, visionary telescopes, and the 'Matter of Mars'." Philological Quarterly 83.1 (2004): 83+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

Hope, Joan. "A Long Way Gone." Magill’S Literary Annual 2008 (2008): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

Rough Draft

Natzem Lima

Mrs. Sejkora

AP English 12

February 16, 2012

Rough Draft 1

            Universally, themes are known to incorporate an author’s background and follow traditional methods of literary construction, while mirroring the plot of the novel. However, two very different illustrations of identical themes are displayed when analyzing Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Baeh and War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

In sum, Baeh in Memoirs of Boy Soldier tells his own story of how he endured the attacks of rebels and went onto being one himself. Eventually, the government goes onto rescuing Beah and placing him in a rehabilitation center. Baeh goes onto establishing the theme of the detriment behind war through very unconventional and unseen methods.  As highlighted by Author X, Baeh’s:

knowledge is shocking, but it's the reader's imagination that delivers the cold sanguinary shudder, not the author's boilerplate prose. It is a vision of hell that Beah gives us, one worthy of Hieronymus Bosch, but as though depicted in primary colors by a naive artist.

Undoubtedly, Baeh does paint a picture of hell and does paint a picture of war in his depiction of the events he witnessed. Yet, Baeh does so in a neutral tone because the “[his] conversation shows no compassion for the people they killed and no remorse for their actions" (Hope). The neutrality with which Baeh paints his picture of hell mirrors no common literary technique. Baeh is very original in what he does because he doesn’t tell the reader what to think. He sets a tone so neutral that the images which he portrays are difficult to emotionally interpret. Therefore, readers draw their own conclusions instead of being led by a string of cheese. To further support this notion, "in the end, the book gives no evidence that one side had greater moral authority than the other" (Hope).

In a different scope, Wells in War of the Worlds tells the story of a narrator that undergoes the invasion of Martians. In the story, the narrator must split with his wife and undergo an adventure of glorified death scenes. In the end, the Martians are devoured through a bacterium which humans have developed resistance to. In War of the Worlds, Wells establishes the theme of the detriment behind war through more conventional methods. It is important to note that conventional methods refer to schemes and tropes. With War of the Worlds, a tone of determination becomes ruthlessly enhanced. His conventional methods are also seen through his archetypal storytelling and his establishment of a very specific environment.  Although conventional, Wells uses these literary devices with a twist as author x describes that “It was a shrewd move on Wells's part, therefore, to build the famous first paragraph of The War of the Worlds on the global preoccupation with telescopic surveillance." When Wells did this, he set himself apart from the normal and placed himself as an outlier because normally, a global theme is built upon. Instead, Wells was boldly outright. He built upon his theme in one paragraph instead of what often takes 200 pages or more. Not only was this original, but also, when Wells did this, he did so in order to place the reader in a total war state of mind so that everything the reader encountered could be treated with hostility. On another note, when Wells tell his story through an archetype, he is very conventional. When Wells uses an archetype he creates familiarity. Familiarity allows for readers to cross reference other books with similar themes and thus build upon their understanding of war.

With both stories having identical themes, the question now arises: how can a universal theme have so many different variations from which it is constructed? Much of the answer through how each author chose his form of narration. Beah was quite original in the way he approached his first person narration. With the theme of the detriment behind war, any one would have imagined that the Beah would’ve been intrinsically intertwined among his stories of the people he brutally murdered or the people he watched die. Yet, despite the personal attachment for the things which were ripped from him, Beah, as a narrator, seemed so disconnected from it all. It was almost as if Beah was narrating from a black and white camera, inot being able to understand that the ruby red blood gushing wasn’t in reality a stream of grey. His disconnect from the book placed Beah as a bystander and with this, Baeh is truly original with which how he narrates. Not only that, but for the first time ever a pubescent warrior-killer was given a literary voice. On the other hand, War of the Worlds, depicted the equivalent theme, however, through a very different narration technique. Wells wasn’t nearly as novel, but he did something most books would never do and that is to demonstrate the theme “at the outset” (Author x). While both books depict the equivalent theme they do so in very distinct ways.

Most often the plot of the book parallels the theme of the book. Meaning a violent plot will give rise to a violent theme. Yet, Beah’s memoir does not align with this generalization. In Beah’s memoir, despite its very violent plot, is told in a very peaceful tone. Yet this peaceful tone arises to a violent theme. Through this Beah’s construction of theme can be seen as an oxymoron when contrasted to theme is contrasted to tone. The cluelessness of war behind the voice of the author is noted because “Baeh's memoir describes a society in so much chaos that it is not clear that even the military leaders have a good understanding of what war is about.” (author x). The latter demonstrates how peaceful a mind can be, but how that peacefulness contributes to chaos because it is unaware. The peace of mind which Beah was at is demonstrated in his book because of theway he narrates. The reader, let alone, the author, has no idea what’s going on. This peacefulness in which the author constructs his theme is truly unique.

In all, the two identical themes have a very different foundation. Most foundations of a building often correspond with the building code of their time just like the construction of the theme’s of book vary in correspondence to their time in history. With that stated, it is quite safe to say that more modern books are constructed through more modern techniques, while the reciprocal is true. Therefore, modern author’s should focus more on delving into new techniques rather than following the old conventional ones. This deviation is most likely common because the traditional becomes boring and outdated, and in some ways incomprehensible by the more modern generations. Hence, why there exist so many classes for old literature in comparison to more modern literature.

Research Paper Outline

·         Introduction:

o   Attention Getter: While nearly every research paper provides evidence to support an argument, this one will differ as evidence is used to create a “writing theory”, one which will appeal to any audience, whether it be a Facebook addict or a journalist for the New York Times.

o   Background, overview of critical lens: In order to go onto unveiling the content of the writing theory, two novels will be introduced, one being “The Memoirs of a Boy Soldier: A Long Way Gone” by Ishmael Baeh and the other “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells. Both novels incorporate identical themes yet do so differently; this distinction alone inspires the efforts of creating a writing theory.

o   Thesis: Through addressing how a universal theme can have so many different variations of construction, addressing how strongly an author’s background influences the theme, and addressing methods mirroring the concept of an oxymoron in order to create a theme, a theory of writing will begin to develop and fall together like puzzle pieces.

·         1^st Paragraph

o    Highlights the narration technique of how Baeh goes onto establishing the theme of the “detriment behind war”

§  Will not focus on conventional narration techniques

§  Baeh places on emphasis on narrating a neutral tone

§  Establishing a neutral tone allows readers to draw their own conclusions of neutral descriptions of war scenes

o   Evidence used in this paragraph to support points:

§  "Their conversation shows no compassion for the people they killed and no remorse for their actions" (Hope).

·         Quote from a literary criticism to exemplify the overwhelming evidence at a neutral tone

§  "In the end, the book gives no evidence that one side had greater moral authority than the other" (Hope).

·         Quote from a literary criticism to once more provide evidence for the neutrality of tone

·         2^nd Paragraph

o   Highlights the narration technique of how H.G Wells onto establishing the equivalent theme of the “detriment behind war”

§  H.G Wells goes onto creating a tone equivalent to that of a strife for life.

§  His narration technique follows closely with archetypal story telling

§  With his precise detail, H.G Wells creates a very specific environment in order to place the reader in the story.

o   Evidence used in this paragraph to support points:

§  "It was a shrewd move on Wells's part, therefore, to build the famous first paragraph of The War of the Worlds on the global preoccupation with telescopic surveillance."

·         Quote from a literary criticism in order to demonstrate his precise detail behind his storytelling

§  "The human role is displaced from the surveyor to the surveyed as Earth's inhabitants fall under the envious gaze of Martian observers"

·         Quote from a literary criticism that supports H.G. Wells original descriptions of setting

·         3^rd Paragraph

o   The purpose of this paragraph is to introduce how a universal theme can have some many different variations from which it is constructed

§  Compare and contrast of narration techniques of both books

§  Introduce of Baeh was revolutionary in his form of narration by giving literary voice to distressing phenomena like that of pubescent or prepubescent warrior-killer.

§  Definite of pubescent is provided in the paragraph with an example

o   Evidence used in this paragraph to support points:

§  "Such knowledge is shocking, but it's the reader's imagination that delivers the cold sanguinary shudder, not the author's boilerplate prose. It is a vision of hell that Beah gives us, one worthy of Hieronymus Bosch, but as though depicted in primary colors by a naive artist.

·         Quote used from a literary criticism to show how Baeh’s narration leads the reader to draw their own conclusion while Wells hands the reader their conclusion

§  “Those observatories and the dispatches emanating from them throughout the 1890s are mentioned repeatedly in the first chapter, but the dominant theme, at the outset, is of our world under scrutiny. "

·         Quote from a literary criticism to demonstrate Wells narration technique and his way of providing conclusion to readers

·         4^th Paragraph

o   The purpose of this paragraph is to highlight oxymoronical methods of assembling a theme

§  A more concise statement will be provided to elaborate on this idea, plus an example

o   The motif of violence will be examined in each story prior

o   Next,  peaceful the connotation of literary construction will be addressed.

o   Contrasts now appear between the theme and its form of literary construction

o   Evidence used in this paragraph to support points:

§  Hope's secondary support lies in her recognition of the first person account by a child with little understanding of the reasons for the war.

·         Quote from a literary criticism to demonstrate how a memoir has far-reaching effects it wasn’t intended to have. What one boy thought was just a memoir provided far more voice to war-repressed children in 3^rd world countries

§  "In fact, Baeh's memoir describes a society in so much chaos that it is not clear that even the military leaders have a good understanding of what war is about"

·         Quote that demonstrates peaceful militants contribute to chaos in society because of the passivity

§  "It was a moment of pure potential anarchy that could have gone any way.”

·         Quote to demonstrate the elasticity of literary construction

·         5^th Paragraph

o   Background information will be provided in regards to Baeh

§  A significant life experience which influenced his story will be presented

o   Background information will be provided in regards to Wells

§  A significant life experience which influenced his story will be presented

o   Contrasts will then be drawn of each life experience

o   One life experience will be attempted to be related to the both books and how they portray the theme, and if a  critical moment in one of the author’s life can be related to how both themes are formed, it will hold self evident that an author’s background in fact does not influence how the theme is constructed. If a critical moment in one of the author’s life cannot be related how both themes are designed, but instead only one theme, then in fact the author’s background can in fact influence the construction of the theme of the book. If a critical moment in one of the author’s life cannot be related to both themes, then it can be concluded the author’s previous experiences are independent of his writings.

·         6^th Paragraph

o   The purpose of this paragraph is to tie all concepts explained earlier to write one unifying theory

o   Theory is going to provided in whole as it still requires more research

o   Other research in this portion will include written sources from the library that highlight the writing process of story telling

·         Conclusion

o   Reiterate thesis statement: Through addressing how a universal theme can have so many different variations of construction, addressing how strongly an author’s background influences the theme, and addressing methods mirroring the concept of an oxymoron in order to create a theme, a theory was created. This theory serves useful to future writers as they will be able to go onto establishing universal themes in far more unique ways.