Literary Devices in Fallen Angels
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
(Wartime) VietnamThis is no cultural exploration story. You could say the setting is more the War itself, rather than Vietnam as a country. Because a soldier is the narrator, we don't get a window...
Narrator Point of View
First Person (Central Narrator) Richard Perry is a First Person Central Narrator, but with a side helping of First Person Peripheral. As in, the guy's definitely at the center of the story—his fe...
Genre
Young Adult Literature; War Drama; Historical FictionHistorical fiction might not come to mind much while reading Fallen Angels, because, for the most part, the characters talk and act like modern...
Tone
Gritty and AfraidThis is no Disney movie, and there's no guarantee that everything is going to turn out okay. Myers drives this point home by killing off a man readers have gotten to know on Perry'...
Writing Style
Straightforward and ImmediateThis book won't give you long, flowery theories or metaphors. It sticks to short sentences that make it clear what's going on. And cursing. Lots and lots of [bleep]ing...
What's Up With the Title?
If you heard the title Fallen Angels and knew nothing about this book, soldiers in the Vietnam War just might not be your first thought. A religious book, maybe, or a paranormal story about sexy de...
What's Up With the Ending?
It feels fitting that a book that starts with an airplane ride to Vietnam ends with the airplane ride home. That's why parallelism's great. Perry and Peewee flew to Vietnam together, and now, due t...
Tough-o-Meter
(3) Sea LevelThe soldier characters in this book are everyday eighteen-year-olds who lived just forty years ago. They use plain…let's call it "colorful" language. Essentially, they swear a lot. I...
Plot Analysis
Can't Hardly WaitExcept, war is scary. Waiting is better than fearing for your life in battle after battle. That said, Perry does have to wait a whole lot on his journey to Vietnam. He, his new fri...
Trivia
In 2008, author Walter Dean Myers published another war book, Sunrise Over Fallujah, about Robin Perry, Richard's nephew, serving in the Iraq War. Robin even has a funny war buddy, like Peewee. We...
Steaminess Rating
GThere's not much action happening in this book beyond, you know, the war action. Perry doesn't have a girlfriend back home, and sometimes feels a little shy about being a virgin. He has a brief fl...
Allusions
Literary and Philosophical ReferencesJuan Ramon Jimenez, Platero and I (16.82, 16.91)Historical ReferencesVietnam War Pop Culture ReferencesThe Temptations (4.29)Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (4...