Stop the Sun

     Vietnam Syndrome is what most soldiers after war. Their body is present but their minds is still at war time. Terry's father has Vietnam Syndrome and sometimes when sitting at the dinner table his eyes wonders off more and more. In Stop the Sun by Gary Paulsen, Terry faces a problem were the only solution is for his for his father to talk about the war. Which is a pretty huge risk. As the reader, Terry to do that may bring a lot of change to the relationship he has with his father.
        The Problem or conflict in the story is that Terry wants his father to open up about Vietnam so he can "understand" it better. Which is true but he wants to know because his father did something that really embarrassed him. " His father was squirming along the floor on his stomach. He was crying, looking terrified, his breath coming in short, hot pants like some kind of hurt animal." This was the main reason why Terry was so interested. He became so embarrassed that he crossed the street when his father was walking toward him. But I don't understand why not ask him instead of doing all that research. The rising action in the story was when Terry went in to the Kitchen and asked his father about Vietnam. Which in the end made Terry feel so horrible about it. " No. Not that. It was a standing joke between them. When his father got around to explaining it to him they had already covered it in school. " It's something else,' 'Something pretty heavy judging by your face.' 'Yes' 'Well?' I still can't do it, Terry thought. Things are bad, but maybe not as bad as it could get. I still can't drop this thing. 'Vietnam' Terry blurted out. ,'No! his father said sharply . 'No that's another part of my life. A bad part. A rotten part. It  has nothing to do with this family. No'
      The turning point was when Terry realized that his father was about to break his silence about Vietnam. An how making him talk was all for the wrong reasons. "We were crossing a rice paddy in the dark.' he said, and suddenly his voice flowed like a river breaking loose.'