Fallen Angels

          In the book, Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Meyers, there are many uses of symbolism. I am not very far into the book but am starting to already realize these uses. The symbolism my group and I chose is about the setting. In this book, 17-year old Richie Perry, signs up for the army and gets shipped off to Vietnam. He faces many hardships and the setting tells you a lot.

          Vietnam is largely a humid, buggy, heat overloading jungle; full of mess and chaos.   In the book, on page 21, the author states, "That night the mosquitos ate us up.  I had bites all over my body.  Back home I thought mosquitos never bit black people.  Not as much as they bit white people, anyway.  Maybe Vietnamese mosquitos just bit blacks and whites and didn't bite Asians."  I believe this passage symbolizes how unpredictable Vietnam is as a nation/society.  There are also large uninhabited fields of grass in which lies nothingness.  To me this illustrates the blankness of the character's mind.  He doesn't feel anything or think anything.  He is just numb; after leaving his old life.

           Another aspect of the setting that I think tells you something about the character, is the fact that Perry calls his tent the "mess tent."  I think this is showing how messed up his time in Vietnam is so far.  It is an uncertain place were you don't know what will happen next.  It is showing the disorganization of the war and the Americans in Vietnam.  So much chaos.