Stop the Sun by Trevor N (redo)

Response to Literature (Stop the Sun)

by Trevor Neuenswander

"Terry sat in a chair next to his father, looking at the floor, wanting only for the earth to open and let him drop in a deep hole. He wanted to disappear." (pg. Paulsen) In the story, Stop the Sun, by Gary Paulsen, a 13 year old boy named Terry, has a father that has Vietnam Syndrome. The father doesn't like to talk about it, even though he has random spasms, sometimes in public, too! This story has a great combination of imagery, plot, and characterization.

Paulsen uses imagery so that the reader can picture exactly what he is writing about. "We were crossing a rice paddy in the dark,’ he said, and suddenly his voice flowed like a river breaking loose. ‘We were crossing the paddy, and it was dark, still dark, you couldn’t see the end of your nose. There was a light rain, a mist, and I was thinking that during the next break I would whisper and tell Petey Kressler how nice the rain felt, but of course I didn’t know there wouldn’t be a Petey Kressler." (pg. Paulsen) He uses a simile to compare the flow of his voice to a river. He also uses onomatopoeia and vocabulary throughout the story to really connect with the reader and make it seem real, especially when he explains about the “wump” of the mortars and not knowing where they would hit. “They swept back and forth with the mortars, and the automatic weapons kept coming in, and there was no radio, no way to call for artillery.” (pg. Paulsen) Paulsen’s sense of imagery in this story helps the reader understand what it was like to be in war zone.

The plot in this extraordinary story really connects with the reader, especially if they have been to war before. "You cannot know the fear. It was dark, and I was the only one left out of fifty-four men." (pg. Paulsen) This is a great example of the darkness and loneliness that Terry’s dad was feeling at the time. Throughout the entire plot, Terry’s dad always has flashbacks of the war and how horrible it was. “That’s another part of my life. A bad part. A rotten part.” (pg. Paulsen) Terry tries to help his father by talking to him about the war but it doesn’t seem to help much. Anyone surviving a devastating event, such as the Vietnam War, would be traumatized. Paulson uses the plot of Stop the Sun to explain the effects of Vietnam syndrome to his readers.

Paulson can describe each character in his story so well that you would think that they were real people. Each person has their own personality and feelings. Terry has a strong desire to help his father even though at times he is embarrassed by his episodes. Terry’s father suffers from Vietnam syndrome which makes him feel as though he died even though he survived the war. "They didn't shoot me. They came, one of them poked Jackson's body and went on, and they left me. But I was dead. I'm still dead, don't you see? I died because I couldn't stop the sun. I died. Inside where I am - I died." (pg. Paulsen) The characterization of both Terry and his father leaves the reader feeling as if they could relate to them personally.

The combination of excellent imagery, a fantastic plot and amazing characterization makes one heck of a story. Gary Paulsen has accomplished just that, and in doing so, he created the story, Stop the Sun.