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
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
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 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.
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