PhyreBards

Fallen Angels was published in 1988 by Walter Dean Myers. It is a sort of coming of age story that follows the protagonist Perry on his journey to and from Vietnam and his combat action in the war. Perry leaves behind his brother and mother in New York City to go in fight for the United States in Vietnam. Perry quickly befriends other members of his platoon and these men soon become his hope in returning home alive. Perry and his comrades are fighting daily against the Vietcong and quickly this war of attrition becomes a battle of survival. Throughout the war each man questions his intentions and reasons for joining the army and the reason for fighting. Perry and his best friend Pewee are forced to grow up and mature while watching others die around them. They are frequently trapped out in a battlefield starring into the face of the enemy and wondering how much longer they have to live. Many close encounters with the Vietnamese soldiers force Perry to consider what he is made of and what he stands for in this war. He is a dynamic character experiences a shift in beliefs by the end of the novel. The comradeship between Pewee and Perry and the rest of the men in their platoon proves to be stronger than the evils of war.

Major themes of loss and the futility of war are repeated throughout the text. This may be a good work to pair with a joint assignment in a history class. It would be easy to team teach a unit on the Vietnam War with this book and the history teacher. Fallen Angels could also be used to discuss the power of first person point of view. The way that Myers sets up Perry as the narrator makes the book’s message and story even more powerful and captivating. Students could explore other texts in first person point of view and how the Vietnam War hits closer to home through this narrating technique.

This book would be a good choice for my classroom in the future because of the scope of material that it covers. The novel displays and demonstrates many literary techniques including a unique style and point of view along with various literary terms such as syntax and metaphor. I also think that this text is able to easily capture and engage the attention of high schoolers because of the diversity of the characters and story and the engrossing plot lines. The main characters are all African American and are fighting in Vietnam. This spectrum of diversity can reflect the personalities and histories of most students. With that being said, Fallen Angels does contain some mature words and issues. The characters frequently use cuss words including “nigger” and “faggot”. There are also some delicate topics discussed. I would suggest sending home a permission slip with to the parents or having a talk with the students before beginning the book that they need to remain mature while reading it and understand how and why the author uses the strong language and themes.

I am required in another class to monitor a target student throughout the semester and track his progress and setbacks within the classroom. 'T' is my student and he has severe ADHD. He is a classic case that can be easily recognized by someone who may not even know the symptoms. He is very immature (even talks in a baby voice a lot of the time), is distracted very easily, and cannot sit in the same position for longer than three minutes. He is notices everything that is going on in the classroom and will often chime into conversations that are going on in a completely different section of the classroom. Every day he comes in and asks to go and get a drink of water because he cannot contain his energy after lunch. The other students recognize that he has some type of disability and do pick on him a lot, especially the other males in the class. T is also the most generous and motivated student in the class. The guys that call him gay are the same students that he lends his index cards to for vocabulary exercises. He easily forgives, is constantly asking questions, and providing input.

I really believe that his comfort in the classroom is heavily dependent on Ms. Rogers. When T is beginning to distract other students, she says his name a lot rather than reprimanding him. She allows him to get water, go to the bathroom, and even walk around the classroom if she sees that he needs to release energy. He also sits in the very front of the room, facing her and the board. She is great at accommodating him and making him feel like a crucial part of the class (which he is!), despite his differences.