How Societal Pressures Affect Individuals Within War Torn...

How Societal Pressures Affect Individuals Within War Torn Environments Many common objects, such as a paperweight, can hold significant value to its possessor. Memories that are associated with these types of objects can create a strong bond that may sometimes weigh more than the object itself. This type of correlation between memories and objects is an important theme within Emily St. John Mandel’s novel, Station Eleven, as well as Tim O’Brien’s short story, The Things They Carried. At a young age Kirsten, the protagonist of Station Eleven, is abrasively thrust into a new and desolate world where most of the population has been killed by a virus. Whereas Jimmy Cross, the protagonist of The Things They Carried, is a fully-grown man†¦show more content†¦Symbolism in any type of short story, poem, novel, or drama, can help a reader to better understand a character and their associated background. Through a symbol intricate details of a characters psyche ca n be revealed. For Jimmy, the letters he carries helps the reader to come to the conclusion that he is just a young kid at war; he does not necessarily believe in violence and surely does not wish to be in Vietnam. The reader can infer this because he is constantly distracted by thoughts of Martha and how he wished he were with her, â€Å" Kneeling, watching the hole, he tried to concentrate on Lee Strunk and the war, all the dangers, but his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside [Martha’s] lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered.† (O’Brien 328). Similarly Kirsten carries a comic book that she uses to escape her reality. Despite not having much recollection of the Arthur, the man who gave her the comic, she finds purpose in this item. Readers can deduce this from the fact that although she should only carry what she needs to survive Kirsten still lets the comic take up storage space. PROOF QUOTE 11. Kirsten also finds solac e in another thing that reminds her of Arthur; preforming Shakespeare plays. Similarly Christopher Thurman proposes the idea of the importance of Shakespeare within the post-apocalyptic novel Station Eleven: â€Å"Shakespeare and classical music are