Fire and Forget Response

Tips For A Smooth Transition 

“This is what she wants to do: … This is what Colin wants to do: …” (Fallon 23-24). 

Juxtaposition 

The literary term used here is juxtaposition because it is showing the difference between Colin and Evie and what their ideal vacation would look like. Putting their two vacation ideas right after the other shows that they will have controversy in deciding where to go. This also tells me that if they do finally choose a place to go there will be arguing wherever it may be. The author's perspective on war is that people change when they are gone for years at a time. Not only does war change the soldier whos fighting but it changes the spouse back at home waiting for them to come back. 

“...to two bodies snapping together like puzzle pieces, still fitting, new and familiar at once.” (Fallon 26)

Simile 

In this quote is Colin and Evie beginning to at least get comfortable and remember how things used to be before the war. This simile helps me understand that Colin and Evie can go back to their old ways in their relationship and possibly get more and more comfortable now that Colin is home. The author's perspective is that people's outlook on life can change, but they will always have memories of how things used to be. 

The message the author is trying to tell the reader about war is, that being away from someone you love over long periods of time can change both people and the connections you have with each other. 

  Fire & forget

“Evie thinks that he must know about the man in austin… ” this is a Plot, foreshadow/flashback. This is showing what's to come in the future or what already happened. She met this guy in Austin and cheated on her husband who was in the war fighting for survival. It helps understand the story because even when you are fighting for life some people will go behind your back and do things. It helped me better understand the author's perspective by showing you how life still goes on even when you're stuck in the same situation. The author's perspective on war is that nothing will be the same when you get back. The message I took away from this story was that coming back from war won't be the same weithe it’s metally, physically, or socially. 

“Everybody always says it's like a bad dream” This is a simile. Henderson is saying that war is like a bad dream, you can't wake up from it. It helped me better understand the story because he was going through rough times in the desert with his buddies and the further they went they got into enemy fire, while a huge sand storm hit, killing all but henderson. It helped me better understand the author's perspective on war because things can happen so quickly and you don't even realize it until it is too late.The author's perspective on war is that no matter how you look at war, it is a bad dream, no one wants to be in it. The message I took away from this story was that sometimes having bad dreams wakes you up from them, other times it could be the last dream you have. War is a bad dream. 

1. “everybody always says it’s like a bad dream” (Turner 54)

This quote shows a simile about what the author feels about the war, he is so desensitized he just sees it as a bad dream. It helps me understand how war feels in his head and shows the author's idea of war.

1. “The turning of day nearly indistinguishable to night” (Turner 56)

This quote shows plot about the author's story about the further desensitization the character feels. It shows that he does not recognize the coming of dawn compared to night. They are so disconnected from reality and do not notice such things that people usually care about. 

The author's message on war is that War can change people. The message I took away from the story is that war can change people in a way they won't be able to look at things normally. 

The Wave that Takes Them Under 

“‘ Everybody always says it’s like a bad dream” (Pg 54) the literary term for this quote is Simile. “The turning of day nearly indistinguishable to night” (Pg 56) the literary term for this quote is the plot. These quotes helped me better understand this story because it tells me how some people feel when they are in war.

The author's perspective on war is that war can cause a person to disconnect with their emotions war can also desensitize and numb a person 

In the story “tips for a smooth transition i found 2 literary devices, 

Imagery and metaphor

“His body is an animal that must be tended fed, groomed, and put out to run”(turner 24)-metaphor helps me understand the story because it talks about a body that needs to be tended to like being fed, properly cleaned, and tended. And that even soldiers need to be tended to.

“He came home to a wife in a thong and high heels, frying up pork chops….”(turner 22)-imagery helps me better understand what soldiers could be thinking about and whey they want.

I think the author's perspective on war is that soldiers need to be taken care of more because they are risking their lives to protect us and they don't get to be taken off and want to love and have fun. The message I took from the story is that soldiers need to be taken care of better by having to be able to eat better and being able to groom while on missions 

“The Train”: 

  1. “The fear and the pounding brought on the tightness like a hand across her face, her neck, and squeezing all her breath out until spots danced before her eyes.” (Kalinowski 67). 

This quote showcases simile by comparing her fear and tightness to being choked. This helps me understand the whole story better because throughout the text the main character has been stuck in this cycle, being pushed back by her own conscience, her memories of war and the fear involved with them still have a hold on her. She clearly has a form of PTSD, her feelings still follow her, they cling to her heart and mind, and she struggles to suppress them, but they stay poignant in her life. 

   2. “She could feel worry growing somewhere inside her, deep, a tiny worm that twisted and writhed only enough to be noticed. She grew stagnant, numb against this fear until this worm grew and grew and dug into her and finally she felt compressed, constrained. She felt squeezed between the past and the present” (Kalinowski 66). 

This quote showcases metaphor and character by connecting a worm to her feelings of worry and fear. Her feelings have been linked to her throughout the story, however, the metaphor of the worm really shows how deep those feelings are, how they dig into her and grow inside her as she thinks more and more about war. These feelings are also nesting in her, emphasizing her character development. 

The author’s perspective on war that it emphasized the most is that war does not just go away, it remains a part of you for the rest of your life. This is also a message that I took away from the story, it primarily showcases how PTSD affects someone, and how the trauma clings to you and takes over your life. 

“His body an animal that must be tended, fed,groomed, and put out to run.”- Metaphor, Imagery 

This quote helped me better understand the story by emphasizing how he is like since coming home and how much war can change a person. Saying his body is an animal shows that while he was out there he had to adapt and become an animal in a way.  

“Two bodies snapping together like puzzle pieces,still fitting, new and familiar at once.”- Simile, Imagery

This quote helped me understand how he feels when he comes home to his wife after being apart from her for so long. Feeling her skin and the warmness that he missed while he was not home. How he perfectly fits back into her form of her body. The author's perspective on war is being married to someone who is deployed and then comes back. It can be difficult and you need patience with your significant other, as well as being gone for so long can get lonely back home and can lead to infidelity of the other at home. The message I took away from this is how much war can change a person and for the significant other it can be difficult when they come home to adjust to the change in their partner.  

The short work “The Wave that Takes Them Under” is a story about a man on a mission in the desert as they were going through the desert a sandstorm broke out making it hard to see. They soon find out they are in gunfire; he loses contact with everyone and gets stuck in the sandstorm where he eventually is buried alive and all he is thinking about is his wife as he dies. Literary terms in this story help me become closer to the character and understand better. The author's message was that war causes a death that affects everyone, not just people in the war. “ ‘Do what I can?’ Reyes tilts his head and tries to shake the sand grains out of his earlobe. ‘Right. Do what I can. Sure’ ” (Turner 55) This shows understatement really well because he is getting buried alive and doesn’t care to try; he gave up and he thinks it's okay to go like this. This shows how much mentally he has dealt with to the point where he completely gave up. “The old had turned away… as deep into that blue and the unlivable world as his body could go.”(Turner 58) This quote shows imagery really well. The description in the text brings more meaning and understanding of the situation. It brings emotion to what's happening in the story.

“...She knows she ought to put as much distance as possible between herself and her husband. But Evie gets back into bed.” (Fallon, 58) Character.
Evie shows character development from the first time Colin had a nightmare in which she turned all the lights on, ran away, and yelled at him. The second time she better understands that she needs to trust herself to comfort Colin. Throughout the entire short story, Evie and Colin have struggled to find a middle ground again in their relationship. Colin wants to do crazy things and Evie just wants to enjoy their vacation. After Colin’s second nightmare Evie finally trusts herself and comforts him in the way that feels right, perhaps foreshadowing how their relationship will start to heal.

“The old man turned away… as deep into that blue and unlivable world as his body could go.” (Turner, 58) Juxtaposition.
As the guy is drowning in the sand he thinks of the time he almost drowns in a pool. He compares that to what's happening to him in the sandstorm. It deepens the emotional attachment the reader has with the character by showing that he's already had a negative experience with suffocation which makes his predicament that much more emotional. It also highlights how the character feels disconnected from his current situation by talking about experiences from his childhood which emphasizes the author's opinion about war causing a disconnect in people's emotions.

“If you blow it away, you run the risk of swiss-cheesing a family.”(Kovite, 167) Perspective.
The story thrives off of perspective. The reader has to make decisions where it's important to weigh the consequences and decide which choice would be the best option. Decisions have to be made without outside context or opinions; it's solely driven by the information the reader alone has. The 2nd person style of writing shows that the author wants the reader to understand the difficulty of deciding if the moral or military obligation is more important. The choose-your-own-adventure approach makes the reader consider all the information and determine the best course of action, which makes the story feel less like a story and more like an experience. All the war stories thus far have been about people's experiences with war but the 2nd person choose-your-own-adventure style makes it less about a peek into other people's thoughts and feelings and more about developing a deeper understanding of war within the reader.

Two quotes I took out of “Tips for a Smooth Transition” were…  “take a picture? I thought you were going to die” and in that quote I saw hyperbole  because of how overdid it is being said and very over dramatic. The situation that they were in, at the moment, wasn't really the worst of the worst and then she said that and overreacted.

My second quote is “... she knows she ought to put as much distance as possible between herself and her husband. But Evie gets back into bed” in this quote it screams understatement. It's basically summing up their relationship and how it probably wouldn't have worked out, then Evie decided she does love him and she's going to stay and love him. I see understatement also only because of the way it's worded. It sounds and is worded so smoothly and calmly and I feel like that would be more of an emotional scene.

After reading this story I found 3 things I found were the author's opinion on war. 

1 : war changes you and your life .

2: you need to find ways to communicate when in a relationship

3: war marriages take time, effort , trust , patience, loyalty.

“To five great years,” Colin toasts. “May we have at least fifty more.” she hesitates with her wine glass midair; the tiny light inside extinguished. Five years ought to be a time of sweatpants, leaving the bathroom door open, no more breakfast in bed. A time to be comfortable. But Colin was deployed for 3 of those five years, and when Evie looks back she sees all the white squares on her calender, squares she crossed out each as she waited for Colin to come home. This time halfway through the tour she gave up crossing out those squares. She cannot imagine fifty more calenders, all those blank days, a long future ahead with a husband home one year, gone the next, more a perverse punishment devised by king kameha then any kind of triumph.(Fallon 27/28) imagery 

We are shown how evie is affected by her husband going to war and how she feels all alone, while also thinking it is kind of like punishment some crazed king would give to a person to make them suffer and the scratching out of the calendar does shows where this person is coming from not many people like to be alone all the time especially at home where they have no one to interact with nor talk to.

“Dammnit, Colin.” She rubs her towel across the mess of her face, not caring if anyone on the boat can hear her. “I was scared enough when you were deployed. I shouldn't have to to be scared when I’m right next to you, watching you do something reckless and stupid.”(Fallon 34)perspective

We see how Evie is terrified about Colin going to war and the possibility of him getting hurt or dying and how she wants Colin to stop doing reckless things do to this fear, she wants to protect him while she can showing the magnitude of her fear Evie has but she also knows that she can not protect Colin due to the fact that he is in charge of his own life.

This short stories message is that loved ones of the soldiers that fight in a war also suffer though not physically but mentally with the fear and loneliness  that families with a soldier in their family more so if their a parental figure,wife/husband, brother or sister, or one of their kids all of these family members might feel fear and loneliness with them probably being close to the soldier. 

In the short story The Wave That Takes Them Under in the novel Fire and Forget by Brian Turner a literary term I found was simile. “The fire teams move like the silent wings of birds in slow motion, one “V” following another…” ( Pg.53). This is a good example of simile because it compares the way the troops are moving to a flock of birds. They are moving synchronized and fast. This helps me understand the author's point of view because he knows that you have to move swiftly and synchronized to not get shot. The second literary term I found was metaphor. “I think our Lord Farquad’s gonna keep pushing forward” (Pg.55).  I think what the author is trying to say is they are going to keep moving forward the way that Lord Farrquad kept pursuing Princess Fiona. In this short story I think that the message from these quotes is that you need to keep moving forward and not stop for anything in the time of war. Or else you could die. 

In “The Train”, By Mariette Kalinowski lit terms help flow the story a lot. The lit terms that I found to be the most important were Imagery and Metaphor “A smudge of a blue flannel caught her eye. She saw her mother standing in the old cornfield” (Kalinowski 60+61). This use of Imagery shows more emotion in it. When she sees her mom in the corn field it gives an eerie sense like she doesn’t want to see her. “On those days she felt like a figure skater: extending her arms apart would slow the spin and manage the dizziness, while pulling her arms close would spin her fasterm faster until her body pulls apart” (Kalinowski 62). This use of metaphor helps the reader understand what she is going through when she is deployed. She explains how she feels dizzy and uses a figure skater as an example. The author’s perspective on war gives a message that tells you love won’t be the same after war. In the story the character couldn’t see her mother after these changes and the author is giving that message with the perspective. 

In “When Engaging Targets, Remember”, By Gavin Ford Kovite lit terms will help sharpen your understanding as you read. The prominent lit terms I found that helped me understand the most were imagery and metaphor “You grab the water bottle in one of your green, fuzzy gloves and chuck it. Your aim is true. The bottle caroms off the windshield right in front of the driver” (Ford Kovite 166). This quote uses imagery to help move the plot and build an understanding of what happened. He uses the water bottle to try to distract the car and the author shows that it was ineffective through this use of imagery. “The sky is egg shell white with brown and black highlights. You’re about to see some action, although you don’t know it yet” (Ford Kovite 158). This metaphor adds a setting and helps the reader understand what the time of day would be like. This also foreshadows the conflict that is gonna occur. The author’s perspective is that he is giving an inside look on what war is. The overall message of war is that in war, you have to make difficult decisions with little time to think. This message is exemplified through the difficulty of knowing what he has to do with the bmw. The impact that the choose-your-own adventure has is that it gives you an inside look at war. It emphasizes the decision making and the consuquences of your decisions regardless of what you do.

The message I took away from this story is that war also affects others around the soldier.

“... she knows she ought to put as much distance as possible between herself and her husband. But Evie gets back into bed.” (Fallon 38)

Juxtaposition 

The reason I used juxtaposition as a literary term is that it demonstrates how Evie is reluctant to approach him while he is having a nightmare because she fears it might be harmful to both of them, but she eventually climbs back into bed because she needs to have faith in him and know he won't do anything bad. This makes the story clear to me since it demonstrates the difficulties Evie has after her husband returns from the war and the measures she takes to ensure their safety. The literary term made it easier for me to comprehend the author's viewpoint on war since she begins by explaining how to handle a partner who has just returned from combat and is having nightmares. Eventually, she goes against all she stated and returns to their bed together.

“... he climbs up on the boat railing and, before anyone can even think to stop him, he steps off, right into open water, sinking into the center of the feeding animals.” (Fallon 34)

Perspective 

I choose perspective as a literary phrase because it demonstrates how Evie feels and responds to Colin diving into the open ocean surrounded by sharks. This makes the plot clear because, while Colin is swimming with sharks, Evie is on the boat freaking out and terrified beyond belief. When he comes up, she yells at him and freaks out because she was already terrified for his life while he was at war and she doesn't want to be worried for his life again now that he's back. This literary device helps me comprehend the author's viewpoint because it allows me to see the wife's perspective on the conflict and how it affects the soldier's spouse both while they are at war and after they return from it.

Fire and forget literary terms

In fire and forget P.O.V and imagery stand out to me the most. “Her husband groans and Evie wonders what images wrack him.” (fallon 30) Evie has not heard much about what overseas was like from Colin; he is rather quiet about it, when Colin has episodes she does not fully know what to do or how to help, but it's partly due to the fact that she doesn't know what is going through his head. Colin has seen a lot and has ptsd from said things, but Evie doesn't know how bad or how severe it is that he has seen. This helps show how hard it is for both of them and how different Colin is now, and how challenging it is going to be for the both of them. 

“She did all the things a good wife should. Of course she did. And yet, for a fluttering split second, with that strange mouth on hers, she had closed her eyes. Closed them and considered leaning into whatever she was offering. she tasted adultery, a smudge of Florence's signature peach and pepper barbeque sauce on his lips.” (fallon 30) Evie was unfaithful whilst Colin was deployed overseas and this gives you an image of how it happened. It helps show that no matter how hard she tried to do everything she could to be a good wife while Colin was gone, there was a fraction of time unfaithful compared to the time she wasn't. That small moment compared to all the time she wasn't, was all it took to hurt her perception of the marriage. When Colin comes back she thinks about it endlessly and doesn't want to tell him because it was only once and she did everything else to be the best wife she could, as well as she is scared how Colin would react. It encompasses that not just Colin is having trouble mentally but Evie is too. 

“Evie rubs her sanded eyes. ‘You ironed?’ 

‘Went to the gym, made dinner reservations, showered, ironed, and hung up all of our clothes. Chop-Chop, lady friend”’(Fallon 27). This quote showcases Character. I like it because it's too good to be true to the story. Collin seems like he's recovered too quickly to be doing this for Evie. It’s almost like the war never happened.

“...she knows she ought to put as much distance as possible between herself and her husband. But Evie gets back into bed”(Fallon 38). This quote is a great example of plot. After all of the struggle to love each other the same way they did before the war, Evie finally built that relationship back up where she felt comforted by Collin and Collin was comforted by her.

This story has a negative look on war. The PTS that Collin was trying to push away was  evident in how he treated Evie. Also with other Short stories in Fire and Forget there are people with horrible deaths and terrible living conditions.

This is a quote  from Goodreads.com that relates to the overall message of the book. “These stories aren’t pretty and they aren’t for the faint of heart. They are realistic, haunting and shocking. And they are all unforgettable. Television reports, movies, newspapers and blogs about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have offered images of the fighting there”. There are many authors and editors of this book, but the main message from all of them is anti-war.

“He keeps his eyes on his wife as he reaches out to pet a shark, his palm running easily along its shiny back” (Fallon 34) I use this one as plot because this is the part that leads up to a huge part in the story “She thinks about the things she kept from him while he was away… a worried soldier is a danger to himself and his fellow soldiers” (Fallon 29) i was scared enough when you were deployed. I shouldnt have to be scared when Im right next to you, watching you do something reckless and stupid” (fallon 35) This quote is perspective because she is worried about him, he went to war and now he's back but doing reckless things and the girlfriend was scared enough while he was deployed. Every person acts differently when they get home after deployment. Colin is acting reckless and I think it's because he was trapped, had no fun, and saw near death many times so it may not scare him anymore. The message I took away would be take it easy, slow and understand that your soldier  just went through the hardest time of their life.

While Colin was gone to war Evie has done some things that she should tell him about, “She thinks about the things she kept from him while she was away… a worried soldier is a danger to himself and his fellow soldiers”(Fallon 38). The literacy term Perspective explains that Evie is concerned about what to tell her husband because he just came back from war and he can be very sensitive to what he gets told. 

Colin is just back from war and is not scared of anything, “He steps off, right into open water…Evie screams, rushes to the edge, feels Ishmel wrench her arm as if he thinks she will follow her husband”(Fallon 34). Colin jumps off the boat into possible dangerous waters with sharks. Imagery is a great way to explain this quote because it explains the whole line of events up to and after Colin jumping in the water. It also explains how Evie reacts throughout the whole time Colin jumps in with the sharks. 

The author's message on war is Soldiers who are married take time and work and communication to fix after they come back from deployment. Also in this story the wife of the soldier should try to stay out of trouble and not go past the boundaries that may hurt their relationship when their loved one comes back from war.

In the short story “Tips for a Smooth Transition” the most significant literary terms I found were Understatement and POV.

“how she [Evie] pulled her hand out of his [Colin], how she left him alone and surrounded” this understates the space between the couple and the unsaid feelings. The way war impacts people that aren’t even directly involved (Fallon 38). 

“stopping with confusion at her face as if she is the one who might be crazy, as if she might be a danger to herself” While most of this story is shown from Evie’s point of view this gives a little insight to Collin and his POV (Fallon 31).

The author clearly portrays the tension after long times spent apart. Showing Evie’s POV helps give the reader an insider view of what's happening while showing the understatement of not being able to truly understand Collins side by not showing his POV.