Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Things They Carried
Barb Pohanish
Professor Cline
English 102
23 September 2010
Professor Cline
English 102
23 September 2010
My Response To: The Things They Carried
I was excited when I learned that, The Things They Carried was on our reading list for this English class. My teachers in High School didn’t teach us anything about Vietnam; they never mentioned it at all. I’ve always wandered why the Vietnam War was never taught to us. Most of the information on Vietnam has come from the movies, and from talking really briefly to a few guys that had served in Vietnam. I’ve always been hesitant to ask about the details of the war, because all I’ve ever heard is “soldiers can’t go there mentally, because of all the crazy and f***ed up things they have seen.”
This has led me to choose the chapter; “How to Tell a True War Story.” The paragraph that I’m about to quote is related to what I wrote above. “In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.” ( O’Brien. P.71).
Even though this book is a work of fiction, I can see the realism in these stories. I truly believe all of the craziness, like the story about the baby water buffalo (which is on page’s 78-80) which is really hard to quote word for word, because it’s so grotesque. The story is about a soldier finding a baby water buffalo which he brings back to camp, and persists to shoot the buffalo’s body in several different places. As a life long animal lover I’m repulsed by the story, but I also understand that war screws up people’s minds.
I have to ask, “Why have we heard over the years that the soldiers that made it back from Vietnam, are more psychologically messed up than the soldiers from WWI & WWII?” “In every war the soldiers kill and witness death, so what was the difference?” I hope to find the answers to these questions someday, and who knows, maybe I will find answers as I finish reading this thought provoking book.
Works Cited
O’Brien, Tim. (1990). How To Tell a True War Story. The Things They Carried. New York. Broadway Books.
This has led me to choose the chapter; “How to Tell a True War Story.” The paragraph that I’m about to quote is related to what I wrote above. “In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.” ( O’Brien. P.71).
Even though this book is a work of fiction, I can see the realism in these stories. I truly believe all of the craziness, like the story about the baby water buffalo (which is on page’s 78-80) which is really hard to quote word for word, because it’s so grotesque. The story is about a soldier finding a baby water buffalo which he brings back to camp, and persists to shoot the buffalo’s body in several different places. As a life long animal lover I’m repulsed by the story, but I also understand that war screws up people’s minds.
I have to ask, “Why have we heard over the years that the soldiers that made it back from Vietnam, are more psychologically messed up than the soldiers from WWI & WWII?” “In every war the soldiers kill and witness death, so what was the difference?” I hope to find the answers to these questions someday, and who knows, maybe I will find answers as I finish reading this thought provoking book.
Works Cited
O’Brien, Tim. (1990). How To Tell a True War Story. The Things They Carried. New York. Broadway Books.
Friday, September 17, 2010
My Thoughts on "The Sandstorm."
Barb Pohanish
Professor Cline
English 102
17 September 2010
My Toughts on "The Sandstorm."
I enjoyed reading this play overall. It’s definitely disturbing, but that’s what war is. I have never been in the military, so it’s hard for me to say if I would react the same way as this soldier did. I was a little shocked when I read the quote from LCPL DODD, “I took pictures of the dead hajjis. Hell if I could shoot’em with my M-16 I guess it’s no big deal to shoot’em with a camera too, you know.”(Huze.p.3). How many people do you have to kill or how many people do you have to see die, to reach the point where you think its ok to take pictures of the people you have killed? I can’t even grasp that mind set. I think the time DODD has spent in the war has made him numb or maybe it’s a coping mechanism, or a little bit of both.
I try to get inside the head of PFC WEEMS, after he finds a foot without a body and he is looking for the leg from which the foot came from, and I’m feeling extreme anxiety and panic. I can see how he lost touch with reality for a while, and actually tried to find the matching body part.
Another part of the play that affected me was from CPL WATERS. He is actually eating lunch while watching a man slowly die; a man who is begging to be put out of misery. WATERS said, “The more he wept and pleaded, the more I enjoyed my meal.” (Huze.p.9). My first reaction was, “wow is he cold, and how the hell could he eat let alone enjoy his meal? And why doesn’t he put the guy out of his misery?” Then I remind myself, how I have never seen death and dying like he has, I have never lived with the intense fear like he has, and I probably never will.
Works Cited
The Sandstorm. By Huze, Sean. Directed by David Fofi. The Elephant Asylum Theater, Los Angeles. 2005.
Professor Cline
English 102
17 September 2010
My Toughts on "The Sandstorm."
I enjoyed reading this play overall. It’s definitely disturbing, but that’s what war is. I have never been in the military, so it’s hard for me to say if I would react the same way as this soldier did. I was a little shocked when I read the quote from LCPL DODD, “I took pictures of the dead hajjis. Hell if I could shoot’em with my M-16 I guess it’s no big deal to shoot’em with a camera too, you know.”(Huze.p.3). How many people do you have to kill or how many people do you have to see die, to reach the point where you think its ok to take pictures of the people you have killed? I can’t even grasp that mind set. I think the time DODD has spent in the war has made him numb or maybe it’s a coping mechanism, or a little bit of both.
I try to get inside the head of PFC WEEMS, after he finds a foot without a body and he is looking for the leg from which the foot came from, and I’m feeling extreme anxiety and panic. I can see how he lost touch with reality for a while, and actually tried to find the matching body part.
Another part of the play that affected me was from CPL WATERS. He is actually eating lunch while watching a man slowly die; a man who is begging to be put out of misery. WATERS said, “The more he wept and pleaded, the more I enjoyed my meal.” (Huze.p.9). My first reaction was, “wow is he cold, and how the hell could he eat let alone enjoy his meal? And why doesn’t he put the guy out of his misery?” Then I remind myself, how I have never seen death and dying like he has, I have never lived with the intense fear like he has, and I probably never will.
Works Cited
The Sandstorm. By Huze, Sean. Directed by David Fofi. The Elephant Asylum Theater, Los Angeles. 2005.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
What do I know about poetry?
Professor Cline
English 102
9 September 2010
What Do I Know About Poems?
The first poem that I’m analyzing is the: “Song of Napalm” by Bruce Weigl.
Overall this poem didn’t make much sense to me. In the first paragraph, it seems to me that the writer of the poem may live on a ranch and he is looking out over his land after a storm. From the third paragraph on, it appears like the writer is having a flashback from a war that he was in. I think he was also remembering a little girl that he had watched die after a bomb had hit her village. When he writes about: “I try to imagine she runs down the road and wings beat inside her until she rises.” (Lines 37-38). My interpretation of these two lines is he is thinking that she became an angel and flew away.
This poem to me is very sad and depressing. I have to say that I also found it a little boring.
The second poem that I chose to analyze is the: “Rite of Passage” by Sharon Olds.
I thought that this poem was cute and a bit humorous. It’s obvious to me that these little men are boys at her son’s birthday party. I can actually picture these six and seven year olds standing around jockeying for place, small fights breaking out, eyeing each other, and telling each other “I could beat you up.” (Lines 6-13). That is so typical of little boys.
I enjoyed this poem more than the first one. This poem was uplifting and fun.
Works Cited
Olds, Sharon. “Rite of Passage.” Poetry Foundation. 2004. 9 September 2010. Web.
Weigl, Bruce. “Song of Napalm.” Poetry Foundation. 2004. 9 September 2010. Web.
https://3bb.yc.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fweb
Thursday, September 2, 2010
My Thoughts on “The Necessity to Speak.” by Sam Hamill
This essay was awesome; the first paragraph grabbed my attention with this sentence,“We don’t want to know what the world is like; we can’t bear very much reality.”(Hamill, p.546). Unfortunately, in our society this mind set is the norm, and I can’t stand this way of thinking. Most people choose to look away from reality, not me I want to know what the world is like. I’m not the norm, I’m the person who stops and buys a homeless man and his dog food, and takes five minutes to find out why he is homeless.
This essay has brought up a lot of different emotions for me, and not because I’ve been a battered wife or girlfriend. I have though, been a victim of mental and verbal abuse in previous relationships/marriages. Some say there isn’t much difference between physical and mental abuse. The abuser will go back to prison, where he may abuse other men in prison and go back to abusing when he gets out, caught up in this vicious cycle of violence. Unfortunately most women will return to abusive relationships where the same cycle of violence continues, not only are the women affected but also their children.“The battered child learns that there are two possibilities in human life: one can remain the victim, or one can seize power and become the executioner.” (Hamill, p.547). This is where the abusive cycle has to end, with the child.
As I was reading the sentence, “When James Cagney shoves half a grapefruit in a woman’s face, we all laugh and applaud.” (Hamill, p.548). I was reminded of an old show called The Honeymooner’s, for those of you who have never watched it, It’s star was Jackie Gleason who’s character always threatened his wife with the saying “ One of these days….Pow! Right in the kisser! One of these days Alice, straight to the moon!” He would tell her this while raising his fist to her. I remember watching re-runs of the show as a kid and I didn’t think that statement was funny then either.
If a child is suffering in their own private hell, poetry may serve as an outlet for his or her emotions that can get bottled up. I hope that teacher’s are encouraging all children to read and write poetry. I also hope, children are being taught to respect each other and to respect themselves. Children also need to hear that racism, sexism, and homophobia are not acceptable in our society.
As adults it is our responsibility to put an end to the cycle of violence. We need to pull our heads out of the sand and to make a promise to ourselves, that each and every one of us will not be silent anymore.
Works Cited
Hamill, Sam. The Necessity to Speak. Pages 546-553. From A Poet’s Work: The Other Side of Poetry (1990).
This essay was awesome; the first paragraph grabbed my attention with this sentence,“We don’t want to know what the world is like; we can’t bear very much reality.”(Hamill, p.546). Unfortunately, in our society this mind set is the norm, and I can’t stand this way of thinking. Most people choose to look away from reality, not me I want to know what the world is like. I’m not the norm, I’m the person who stops and buys a homeless man and his dog food, and takes five minutes to find out why he is homeless.
This essay has brought up a lot of different emotions for me, and not because I’ve been a battered wife or girlfriend. I have though, been a victim of mental and verbal abuse in previous relationships/marriages. Some say there isn’t much difference between physical and mental abuse. The abuser will go back to prison, where he may abuse other men in prison and go back to abusing when he gets out, caught up in this vicious cycle of violence. Unfortunately most women will return to abusive relationships where the same cycle of violence continues, not only are the women affected but also their children.“The battered child learns that there are two possibilities in human life: one can remain the victim, or one can seize power and become the executioner.” (Hamill, p.547). This is where the abusive cycle has to end, with the child.
As I was reading the sentence, “When James Cagney shoves half a grapefruit in a woman’s face, we all laugh and applaud.” (Hamill, p.548). I was reminded of an old show called The Honeymooner’s, for those of you who have never watched it, It’s star was Jackie Gleason who’s character always threatened his wife with the saying “ One of these days….Pow! Right in the kisser! One of these days Alice, straight to the moon!” He would tell her this while raising his fist to her. I remember watching re-runs of the show as a kid and I didn’t think that statement was funny then either.
If a child is suffering in their own private hell, poetry may serve as an outlet for his or her emotions that can get bottled up. I hope that teacher’s are encouraging all children to read and write poetry. I also hope, children are being taught to respect each other and to respect themselves. Children also need to hear that racism, sexism, and homophobia are not acceptable in our society.
As adults it is our responsibility to put an end to the cycle of violence. We need to pull our heads out of the sand and to make a promise to ourselves, that each and every one of us will not be silent anymore.
Works Cited
Hamill, Sam. The Necessity to Speak. Pages 546-553. From A Poet’s Work: The Other Side of Poetry (1990).
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