In this semester of American Literature I read and analyzed various literary works. The recurring theme in all the works is violence. I have come to the conclusion that the meaning of violence in the various works is that the group or individual identified in all the works is the victim of the violence because the enemy has something to gain from the victim. The literary works Caged Bird, Giving Blood, Sand Creek, and An Episode of War demonstrate this. For example, Caged Bird by Maya Angelou demonstrates how a personal struggle can become a form of violence. Angelou, an African American, has a troubled childhood and following her parents' divorce she is sent to live with her grandmother at a young age. Angelou struggles with the reality that she was rejected by her parents at a young age and as a result believes she is ugly and will never have the same worth as a white person. Throughout her life Angelou has to deal with racism. In Caged Bird, the bird represents Angelou who is a victim of her own situation. “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but still longed for and its melody is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom” (124). This quote reflects Angelou's situation of being "caged" in her situation and demonstrates how the violence of racism and negative thinking about oneself results in self-destruction and how people who discriminate against Angelou have personal gain because they feed off the reactions negatives from Angelou. The free bird in the poem represents Angelou's potential as well as hopes and dreams for the future. Next, in Giving Blood, by Sherman Alexie, the protagonist needs money for the taxi fare to a blood donation bank. The...... middle of paper ...... ant goes to the hospital and comes across men who were lost in the war due to various situations such as injuries or separation from their units. Once the lieutenant arrives at the hospital the surgeon tells him that he will need surgery and assures him that he can keep his arm by saying: “come, now. I will not amputate it” (14). This quote is a lie told to gain the consent of the lieutenants. The story ends with the amputation of the lieutenant's right arm. The violence in the story consists of the ongoing war and the act of the surgeon lying to the surgeon and amputating the lieutenant's arm. The advantage was that, thanks to the lieutenant's consent, the doctor was able to amputate the lieutenant's arm. The works studied this semester all share the common theme of violence. The theme is that one side gains in terms of violence.