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.