Fallen+Angels

=Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers=

Richie Perry joins the army out of high school and is soon shipped to Vietnam. As he is immersed in the jungle war, with alternating stretches of boredom and terror, he is forced to face his fears, test his courage, and question his role in the difficult situations he must face along with his squad. Told from Richie's perspective, as a teenager forced to grow up too fast, Fallen Angels is a fast-paced war story that challenges the reader to ponder the toll that war takes on the human spirit.
 * __Fallen Angels__**
 * About the Book**

1. What do you think Richie Perry was like in high school? Why doesn't he try to go to college? How does he feel about his family? How does this affect his friendships in the army? 2. Discuss the differences between Peewee and Jenkins when Richie first meets them. How did each get in the army? Why do they react so differently to being ‘in country'? 3. Discuss the character of Johnson. What is his importance to the squad? What makes him different from the others? 4. Which of the squad members would you want for your friend? How does the experience of being in Vietnam affect the way the different squad members react to each other? 5. Describe the effect of Jenkins's death on Richie and the other squad members. Describe their reaction to Lt. Carroll's death. How were these experiences different for each of them? 6. Why does Richie find it so hard to write to his mother and Kenny? Why does his mother write to Peewee? Why does Peewee want Richie to write the letter to his girlfriend? 1. Were Richie and the others prepared for the experience of being in Vietnam? Describe the climate and terrain of the country and how it affects them. 2. What is their life like in the camp? How is it like home and how is it different? 3. Describe the villages that the squad visits. What plans do they have to make friends with the Vietnamese? How does this work? How does it fail? 1. It has been said that war is "long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." How does this phrase capture the experience of the soldiers in Vietnam? 2. Discuss the theme of "family" in this novel. What does Richie's family mean to him - before he leaves and after he has spent time in Vietnam? How does the squad function as a ‘family'? 3. Discuss the theme of friendship in this book. Describe how friendships develop and enmities arise within the squad members. Would Richie and Peewee have been close friends if they had met back home? Why does Peewee pick fights with guys bigger than he is? 4. How does rank affect the way the men interact in the war? Are Captain Stewart's decisions based on him wanting to become a major, as some soldiers suggest? 5. Discuss the concept of "heroism." Richie's English teacher had told him that what separated heroes from humans was the act of "not giving in," an idea he did not understand at the time. Does he understand at the end of the book? Who were the true "heroes" in this story? What acts or words separate them from the others? 6. Discuss the title of the book and Lt. Carroll's prayer for "all the angel warriors who fall." Why did he use that term, and why did the author choose it as the title for this story?
 * Discussion Questions**
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