Analytical Component
And Reader Response
Summary
Morris is an average kid living a average life. Morris has these terrible nightmares. These nightmares are of his friends dying before his eyes in Vietnam. Morris makes a pledge which they had been making for a while since they made a pledge not to fight over a girl in middle school.They had been making pledges since then.The pledge said they would not go to Vietnam no matter what and if one of them got drafted all of them were going. One of Morris’s best friends Rudi was drafted into the military so Morris enlists into the U.S Navy and his other two best friends enlist also. Morris finds his courage tested like never before and pledged to never let his friends die.
Theme
The Theme of this book is in my opinion trust.I think the Theme is trust because the whole book is about trusting the man beside you.I say this because they are in the military and in the military the whole operation relies on everybody trusting the man beside them.If they don't trust what someone says it could lead them to death.I believe the central idea of this story is
friends are one of the most important things in your life and don't waste them.I say this because they always make pledges so they will still be friends like the one they made in middle school so they didn't destroy their friends ship over some girl and the Vietnam Pledge.
How setting and plot interact
Setting and plot interact with the characters in many interesting ways. One way Setting interacts is when they are in Vietnam and a fight brakes out and Morris gets emotional not knowing if his friends were alive or dead.One way plot interacts is if they didn't all like the same girl in middle school they probably wouldn't have started making pledges and they would not have all gone to the war maybe only some of them did.
Reader response
This book made me feel sad. I say this because four life long friends have to split apart and go to war.The friends did not know if the others were still alive or dead.They had to suffer being apart from each other for a very long time. with the main character so far away on a battleship.This story made me feel sad but at the same time it made me feel hopeful. I feel hopeful that all the friends will come home safe and sound.I hope that the main characters nightmares do not come true at all.