PROMPT 3 FIRST TIME I WAS ABLE TO POST IT...SORRY FOR THE TROUBLE

                        Hearing Wess Hamiliton speak about how he didn't know the people's names of who they served was a serious wake up call on how intense the war was. Troops didn't need to know their previous names because they weren't that same person once they entered Vietnam. I don't think anyone, including the men from the book, knew what they were about to get into once they entered the war. The war seemed to be less thought of in the states and people here didn't know what to think or even how to feel about the war. Going back to the men in our novel however, I don't think they did. For example, in the chapter The Rainy River, Tim O'Brien was so close to fleeing the country and crossing the Canadian border. He was scarred and he didn't want to risk his life. He didn't want to die is a better way to put that last statement.
                       I think Tim O'Brien added a strong, fearless female character into the book for many reasons. My thinking is both positive and negative. The positive side of my thinking is to show that women can be more than home-makers. We can fight a man's battle and succeed. Women can be fearless and can strong, just like the men in the novel. Now the negative side of my thinking. I think he also put a female character in the novel to show why women weren't wanted/permitted to serve in the war. Mary Anne is a prime example of a person becoming overpowered by the war. She began as such a sweet, kind lady who was so in love. Before she ran off she was killing men, as if she were enjoying it. She even had a necklace with human tongues attached to it. Maybe women of that time were so used to the sterotype of women being home-makers that the thought of them fighting a "man's battle" put them into survival mode and made them/her crazy with fear and rage.
                       I think Tim was not very honest throughout this novel. A main reason for my thinking behind this is because it would be a non-fiction piece if it were completely true. I think the section on Linda was also false/made up. I remember Wess saying how he would make up stories and tell people them, so they would grasp the severity of the war, even if the event in question didn't specifically happen to them. I think if it is false, it's a good way to help people grasp the idea of what the war really was and why it still effects people today. The war was something to never under estimate. I think Wess really proved that to our class anyway. Especially with Wess's "gunner"or the curl he had behind his left ear. His gunner was always there and never let him down, because if he had then Wess wouldn't be alive or he would be seriously injured.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqypo2STC0o

Things They Carried 2

                       The soliders carried things both emotionally and physically. They carried compasses, mapes, food in cans, water, knifes, guns, and backpacks full of supplies that they might need on their journey. The soliders also carried emotional baggage. They were scared and nervous. They didn't know if they were going to die that day or when their live would end, not saying other people do, but they were put at risk constantly, so they were constantly 'checking their backs'. They were also embrassed to show their fear. They could not fully express their emotions to fellow soliders, because they had to be tough and strong. Fear was not allowed to be shown, only strength and courage.       
                       The character I want to talk about is Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is an officer who was in charge of about five or six men. He was the man who was supposed to look out for them and make sure they were protected. He was the man in charge of their missions and how they went about their daily lives. Jimmy is also a senstive man who is in love with Martha. Martha is a woman that Jimmy has loved from afar for far to long. He keeps pictures of her playing volleyball in her white shorts and he carries a small good luck relic that was mailed to him from her. The relic is a small pebble. Now at this point in time Jimmy is head over heels for this woman, then all of a sudden Ted Lavender gets shot and he was so busy day-dreaming about his Martha that he wasn't fully able to pay attention and focus on his surroundings. After this occerence Jimmy not only blames himself, but begins to blame Martha. If he was thinking about her then maybe he could have saved Ted's life. After this thought process completes in his mind he begins to hate her. He burns her picture and throws away the pebble along a trail in Vietnam. He is now a more hardened soul who will always blame the death of his friend on himself and the woman he once loved. I think that Jimmy will have to make some very difficult descisions and he will eventually tell Martha his long awaited feelings for her.
                 In order to read something about a certain occerence in history you need to learn some background information on the subject at hand, otherwise you will constantly get lost and probably give up on the novel, because you don't know enough to process the plot of the book. We needed to know what really started this war and why these men were fighting for the United States across the seas. Going into a historic novel blindly is a bad idea in the first place. In order to read and fully understand a historic novel you need to be prepared with information on the subject instead of learning as you go.
                 
                                 

The United States and the War (responce #1)

                    I believe that the war was a very sketchy situation. The war was honestly a waste of time and money for the United States and a horrible situation from the start. I don't think that the United States should have ever gotten involved in the war. We went in on lies told to the public in order to gain support and then the entire time we were in Vietnam was a huge waste of time and money. I don't agree with the war, nor will I ever agreed with the United States position that was presented against that defenseless nation. I know that Pentagon papers were leaked causing the truth to come out by force, revealing to the public the real tactics behind the war. After these facts were presented the majority of the public defined support to continue the war in Vietnam.

Perfect School

In a perfect school many things would be different. For example, Mr. Maguire would no longer be working here, he is a very scary man. Another change would be for there to be less tests with classes you chose every aspect of. From the teacher to your fellow classmates, every aspect of the class would be devoted to you. Longer passing periods would also happen. Instead of 4 mins I would prefer 15 and then a 30 min break. School dances would also be unshaporoned and we would have the school to ourselves for a couple hours. A lot of my friends get caught leaving school to go have a cigarette, so the smoke shack would return with no age limit.  The dress code would change. Obviously if our parents bought the clothes for us then their acceptable for us to wear. Finally we would rule the school, make all the rules, and the staff would chill out overall....especially with P.D.A and the work load.

(((((((((((((((:The End of the Great Gatsby:)))))))))))))

                         The passage I thought was the most meaningful in The Great Gatsby was when Daisy told Tom that she was in fact leaving him when they were in the hotel room. The fact that she could stand up to him like that proves how far she has come. She has taken so much of his unfair treatment and now she is realizing that it is okay to walk away from Tome even though he is a controlling, money hungry man.
"Daisy's leaving you."
"Nonsense."
"I am though,"... (page 132)
                       These quotes show Daisy's growing courage. When everything was out in the open about her past/current love for Gatsby she finally was able to tell Tom how she has never loved him and how she was in fact leaving him. That took a lot of inner strength and self-assurement to say those words to Tom. Even though she wasn't strong enough to actually walk away from their relationship, she finally told him, to some degree, how she felt. I think Tom wasn't expecting this kind of behavior and honestly thought he could get away with his affair and his rudeness. I also think Gatsby gave Daisy her strength. Having a support system back you up when you need help in a relationship crisis. Granted Jordan Baker has been there for Daisy, but not enough to back her up when she needs support the most.
                 This passage relates to my life in many ways. For example, I had to stand up to someone I extremely care about. I had to say "no more" with them and it broke my heart, but I knew it had to be done. As a result I am much happier with that relationship now and everything is getting back on track. Sometimes a choice will make people choose the right path. On the other hand (for Daisy) sometimes people will choose the wrong path and find no errors in their ways, or how they are effecting other people around them.

Gatsby and Symbolism

                                     In my personal opinion Gatsby is the most important character so far. He is mysterious, eye-catching, and interesting. I believe he is the most important character because of his sense of life style. His life is believed so fantastic and excited that it becomes unrealistic at some point. For example,  in chapter four he tells the narrator, Nick, not to get the wrong idea based upon the rumors of his life. Yet on the same page in the book Gatsby lies to Nick about his education. This makes me wonder; why would he lie about something as simple as his schooling when people lie about these crazy adventures he has had in the past. Honestly I don't think that the people who speak of Gatsby's life mean to lie. It seems like a game of telephone. Someone probably started with the truth and told someone else. When that person told someone else what they heard the story becomes altered and continues on this cycle until the original story and the current "rumor" differ completely.

                                     Gatsby's character and life style is very symbolic at times. It is symbolic how he lies to Nick after his education when his life is already known as a crazy and unrealistic. Another symbolic element associated with Gatsby is money. His flaunts his money to create a fake prosona in order to keep up with "his" life style. His money is also a symbol of the power he has over many people. In this story money can control people as easy as oxygen. People will bend over backwards to become associated with someone of wealth and power. For example, Tom's affair with a underclass mechcanic's wife, Murtle Wilson. Gatsby's life is symbolic in itself. Be it between money and wealth or the fact of life to make your own personal ego grow.

The Great Gatsby Chapter One

                          My first impression of The Great Gatsby is that the novel is confusing. It seems to jump around from character to character. Not so much the narrator, but the description of the other following characters: Daisy, Tom, and Jordan. It is hard for me to follow the plot and to get in-touch with the characters. I wish that the plot was more "black and white", meaning easier to follow and not such a headache to read:/, so far I don't care for the book because of how complex it is in some parts. I hope it becomes easier to read and follow as we get further into the story. The colors and symbols that have shown up in the book quite frequently are the color white and the symbol of light.
                           Nick is the narrator of The Great Gatsby. Is a simple man who goes to visit his distant cousins in the first chapter. They all attended Yale University together many years ago. Differing from Tom and Daisy, Nick himself is not rich. His parents, however, are very rich and have financed his trip from the west side of the country to the east. "I'm a bond man" (page. 10) This meaning that he is involved greatly in the stock market and is attempting to become rich on his own. Daisy is Tom's wife who doesn't react in the way normal women would today to certain situations. For example, her husband is having an affair with a woman in upper New York. Even knowing the fact that her lawfully wedded husband is being unfaithful she refuses to confront him and lives as if nothing is out of the ordinary. "What do people plan?"(pg. 11) This meaning that she is also a woman who lets her intelligence go/be unfulfilled because money can apparently replace anything that matters. Tom is a business man who is having an affair with an upstate woman (New Yorker) she frequently calls Tom's house, looking for him, so she can talk with him.  " I hate the word hulking, even in kidding" this statement shows he is an angry man who is very unhappy and unfulfilled in life. He is unhappy, so he results in having an affair. He is angry, unhappy, and desperate to seek happiness somewhere. Jordan is Daisy's best friend. She is the one who tells Nick about the affair that Tom is having. She tried to tell Daisy, but being well aware she refuses the truth. Jordan is a very upfront woman who won't take anything from anyone if she doesn't want to. "Tom's got some woman in New York" (pg. 15) She is very aware of this as is the rest of the family/house hold. She doesn't hide the truth, but won't throw it in peoples faces, unless they ask.
                         

Do we have a blog for this week?

Hi Ms.Gilman I didn't see a blog for this week, so I'm assuming that we don't have one this week. Have a nice evening.

My Anticipations...I wasn't able to get on my blog this weekend...my sign in wouldn't work:/

                          I predict that the book will have a large amount of alcohol smuggling, because of the research we did on the prohibtion. Following the prediction of large alcohol quanties, I also predict that the book will have many drunken gangsters. The research showed that once alcohol was banned in our country many crime groups formed together to illegaly import the substance of  "insanity". Not only do I predict high uses of alcohol, I also predict that women will fight for more rights as human beings. Once World War I began women began to lose their husbands to injuries and death.
                          The fact that women could/did lose their husbands so suddenly they had to find work and along with work they wanted more rights. Women wanted people to give them the rights that working men had. They had to create and maintain a home for themselves and or their children. My research also showed me that women fought strongly for what they thought. I also learned about the Jazz Age. The economy was doing very well during this time period also (the 1920's). The citizens during the Jazz Age were living confortable and they were extremely into celebrating life, before the depression hit....not that they had a clue though.