Topic Proposal
For my topic proposal which is related to Atwood’s “The Handmaids Tale” would be how this is or is this in some way a piece of literature which could be looked at as being a feminist view or maybe a piece of feminist work. This was written in 1985 and is ahead of the equal female movement, but in some ways this book is about sex, drug, politics, government control, and female imprisonment. The literature in this book to me, seems in some ways as a feminist view and maybe in some way the Author’ history may and what time era the author may have lived in will show why she has written the way she has. I would like to learn more about the author and come to a conclusion on why she may have written this fictional book.
I would like to research the author’s other fictional books and maybe even non-fictional books to see a better perspective of the way the author thinks. The Handmaid’s tale was written 16 years after Atwood’s first fictional book “The Edible Woman” and 13 years after Atwood’s nonfictional book “Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature”. After researching these two books and Atwood’s background (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/margaret-atwood/) I believe I will have a better understanding of Atwood’s text and the choice of words she uses in her books. A person’s history will tell you a great deal about them in present time and will help you understand them better than trying to research in their current time.

Mid-Session Check

English 101 PRE 134
Fall 2010
Darrow
13 October 2010
Dear Professor Darrow,
My biggest challenge so far in this class has been the reading assignment of the two books “The Sandstorm” and “The Things They Carried”. Although these are two great books written by two great authors, reading these books and having to write about them has been hard for me due to my experiences in the military and these books have brought back not only good memories but also bad ones. The biggest success I have found for me in this class is the success of overcoming my fears of remembering the negative experiences I had in the military and to be able to not only read other veteran’s stories, but to be about write about what I have read and compare it to my own experiences. I think writing about one’s negative experiences which has had a huge impact on their daily lives and then being able to share them with others take a great deal of courage and it was nice to see there are people out there who can do just that.
The readings in class have had an effect on me unlike any other reading I’ve had to do in any other class thus far in college. I can personally make a connection with both authors in many ways, veterans will always have some sort of connection with each other and for many, no one but a veteran can relate to what the other is trying to express. I feel these two authors did a great job in trying to express their own past experiences and their stories; they express these feelings so that people with no military experience can try to understand the effects of war. They want people to understand what soldiers go through in a time of war and just how it affects a soldier’s life for years to come as long as they’re alive.
For the second half of the session I would like to improve on my writing so I can use this to better my extension of listening and speaking skills. Thus, I must focus on developing more fully the skills I have learned in the first half of this course.

Sincerely,
Mark Garcia

Summary v. Literary Analysis

I chose the “The Ghost Soldiers” by Tim O’Brien, this story is told in the first person through the memories of Tim O’Brien and his twelve months as a soldier fighting in a jungle and an American firebase in the Vietnam War in the late 1960's. The Principal Characters are Herb, Lemon, Azar, Teddy Thatcher, and Jorgenson. The story occurs at two distinct moments in time when Herb is shot for the second time, and then when he later tries to get revenge on the brand new medic Jorgenson, who froze instead of immediately treating him and blamed him for the infection because of Jorgenson’s dely. Jorgenson sought O’Brien’s forgiveness for freezing up the time O’Brien got shot. But O’Brien who was set on revenge, enlisted Azar to help him get it. “Ghost Soldiers” shows the dark side of camaraderie, it shows just what happens when someone fails in his duty and how the relationship among soldiers is a social contract, which can be broken and unforgivable.

Tim O’Brien Response

(One Last Picture Together)
(My Good Friend Declouette)

I don’t know anymore what it’s like to read, hear, or see a military movie without making some type of connection to it. I remember when I was little, watching old war movies with my great grandpa who was a WWII veteran and just thinking to myself how “cool” it would be to be that hero and do the things they did in the movie. I would play soldiers with my friends pretending to shoot each other and blow things up. Another great book to read if you liked Tim O’Brien’s book is “Generation Kill”; this is a true story about a Rolling Stones reporter who spent time embedded with the 1st Recon Marines in Iraq. This book has also been made into a TV series, which you can watch the episodes here at (http://tv.blinkx.com/show/generation-kill/twvGGjYbrdaAE0rD#s1e6)

But the first time I was away from home was when I realized the truth about war. An unfamiliar place, away from my family and my friends I grew up with, away from the security of home, listening to blasts in the background, watching new friends die, whom would never see their loved ones again. This is when reality hits you like a freight train, and an eighteen year old turns in to a mature adult in a matter of minutes. The first story told in “The Things They Carried” written by Tim O’Brien brought back these memories as if these moments were happening just as I read them and the feelings I felt during those times. When 1st Lt. Jimmy Cross is being described, carrying letters from a girl, I could remember carrying letters from my girlfriend back home and how no matter how many times you’ve read that letter you read it over and over again.

Daydreaming about fun times and making up new ones, trying to forget where you are. As I read the description of the equipment it brought back memories of what I had to carry and what was issued to me, I can remember what the weapons weighed and even how much my equipment weighed. Every war is different in its own way just as every book is written differently, but even though every war is different there are many similarities. Every soldier no matter when they have served will always treat another as a friend, as a brother or sister, and will always be there for each other. As I read this story I felt the soldier’s pain, his sorrow, his fight to remember the good times over the bad. But because you’re a soldier you will never forget your duties and what you must do not only for your survival, but for your fellow soldier’s as well.

The first paragraph of “Love” on page 26 he is talking about all the things they still carried through their lives like old photos. Photos are the one thing everyone wants to have when trying to remember their past, but for a soldier these things can bring happiness just as quickly as they can bring back the horrors of the past. I have photos which I will never part with, but will hardly bring them out to look at, they are things in which are better left untouched until the right moments in which they are needed. Soldiers confide in each other and this is why not too many will speak about what they have gone through to anyone but a soldier. It takes a great deal for a soldier to open up to others and tell their story, this is something my wife has had to deal with throughout the years.

The next chapter, “Spin” talks about remembering the good times and states “The war wasn’t all terror and violence.” This is a very true statement because a strong soldier will remember the good times, the times in which your friends made you laugh so hard you cried and this is what makes you feel human. My good friend SSgt Travis Griffin was great at making you laugh when you were down and was always there when you needed someone to talk to. Travis was killed in Iraq by an I.E.D. two weeks before returning back home, not a day goes by I don’t think about him and what could I have done, how could this have changed. But, then I think about how much of a positive impact he made on so many soldiers’ and how his teaching and his spirit will always go on, a lot longer than he could have ever imagined.

“The Sandstorm” Reaction

Wow, Sean Huze’s book the “The Sandstorm” really took me back in times. This book at times, I had to set aside and “take a moment” for myself before continuing with my reading. I can remember just as if it was yesterday the times when I had to dawn my MOPP gear, sweating as if I was in a sauna, sipping on water through a small tube through the gas mask for hours on end until we got the “all clear” order from our “higher ups”. Only when this order was given we were finally able to take the gear off and left with a layer of black charcoal they used to line the inside of the suits.

So many memories came back to me, too many to list, too many for someone to understand, who hasn’t experienced the things soldiers have to endure. Even though some negative memories were brought back when reading “The Sandstorm” there were many great memories that came to mind. The times when people are thanking you for saving them, children laughing, smiling, and waving at you, friends you made, moments when you laughed. This might sound strange, but no matter how corny the situation was which made you laugh you will always remember the people around, what their laughter sounded like, their face, and the joy you felt no matter how small, overcomes the bad.

I believe every soldier who reads this book or even watches the play which is a brilliant play, can and will relate to all the characters in this story in some way or another. Every soldier has endured in some way the feelings and situations these characters express. Hatred, sorrow, revenge, remorse, is all things a soldier has to deal with at some point, but must just try to bury the memories away. Trying one day to forget what they have done and what they have seen, but for some strange reason you never really want to forget it and in the end never will. These feelings make you feel human and not so much as a monster, if you’re able to bury them away forever and not remember, this is when you lose your mind.

The Sandstorm just proves how soldiers are a special breed of people and how strong of a bond is built within the military personal and how that bond will always be there, even if you have never met the soldier you are family and will die for each other. Most people like hearing about war stories, but most just want to hear about the glory of war, not necessarily hear about the “truths” of war. This is why these stories are great, they don’t “sugar coat” true events, they are told by real soldiers with real experiences, who want the truth to be out, so people can truly understand how soldiers feel and how it affect their lives forever.

I’ve had the great opportunity to see this play a couple of years ago and would recommend this for anyone who has enjoyed reading this book. Also, if you liked this book you should also see the movie “Home of the Brave”, it shows how strong a soldier will has to be in order to cope with the civilian world once serving oversees’. One great site I like to go to thank fallen soldiers and their families for the ultimate sacrifice is http://www.legacy.com/Soldier/Home.aspx and this web site is great source to leave a fallen soldier’s family a thank you message. It’s not just the soldier who appreciates a “thank you” every once in a while, it means a lot to the families who have lost a special loved one.

Appealing Poetry

Once I clicked on the “Poetry of Witness” tab and the next page popped up, right away the first poem to jump out at me was the poem titled “Photograph from September 11” written by Wisława Szymborska. After reading this poem and some others from Szymborska, I would say I have to agree with other readers when they say, “Readers of Szymborska’s poetry have often noted its wit, irony, and deceptive simplicity. She has an eye for domestic details and occasions, playing these against the backdrop of history.”(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=6744) In 1996 Szymborska won the Nobel Prize at the age of 83, Szymborska is also known to be a “Polish poet who explored philosophical, moral, and ethical issues with intelligence and empathy.”(http://www.arlindo-correia.com/100901.html)

I will always remember this day and those images the author describes, the way my feelings were when I woke up to my dad telling me to hurry and see what was on the television. As I strained to focus my eyes to the scene on the television, I thought the image which was unfolding before my eyes were images from another country not ours. Then I heard the news-casters saying the world trade center had been attacked, realizing this was not happening in another country it was happening to ours. I could not help but feel hatred towards the individuals responsible for the attacks and sorrow for the people who were the victims of this savage attacks. A couple of months later as soon as I could I enlisted into the military at the age of seventeen, this day I can say changed my life in more ways than one.

Ok, well the first poem is done, so what would be the second one? Well, the second poem was the poem “Song of Napalm” written by Bruce Weigl. “Soon after turning 18, Bruce Weigl enlisted in the Army and served in Vietnam for one year, beginning in December 1967. He was awarded the Bronze Star and returned to his hometown of Lorain, Ohio”(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81173) The title of this poem is obviously a military poem, but when reading the first couple of lines you would think this didn’t have to do with military at all, in fact you would think this was about a cowboy or someone living on a ranch. After the soldier describes his past memories of back home, he quickly realizes he’s back in the combat zone far from home, far from loving memories he once had. He only sees the horrific tragedies’ of war and the innocent lives whom it impact. He tries to picture happiness but the true images brings him back to reality, nothing can cover up what impact being part of a war endures on a soldier and the images that haunt them.

I can obviously relate to this poem being young and thrown into a place where you learn to grow up very quickly and deal with matters in which most people should never endure. Being in situations and seeing images in which you could only wish would be wiped from your memory. Day dreaming only to wake up and realize you not home, you’re not anywhere close to being home and only hoping to see your loved ones again, but yet this is all you know and for some reason, maybe it’s the friends you made, maybe the friends you’ve lost, but you still wouldn’t take any of it back and you find yourself asking for more.

Sam Hammil Response

Sam Hammil Response

Hammil had several ideas he presented in which I found to be interesting. But the most interesting idea I found of Hammil’s was how accurate he was on describing how people want to live a sheltered life and they really don’t want to see or know the truths and hardships of the world. Hammil presents this idea by stating “We go on living our sheltered lives among the potted plants and automobiles and advertising slogans. We don’t want to know what the world is like, we can’t hear very much reality”. People are blind and want to stay blind from the hardships of the world, everyone wants the perfect life and never stops to think about what’s really going on.

Hammil did a good job on presenting the fact that the only people who truly appreciate life and what they have are the ones who have seen and experienced the negative side of life, those are the ones who will remember. Hammil did this by stating “The convict, the ex-con, the rape victim, the battered child—each, reading these words, will remember”. As you read Hammil’s words you can feel the emotion he puts into his writing and how his personal life experiences make this capable. Hammil tries to make us understand why we express our emotion in certain environments by stating, “We can’t bear very much reality. When a rape victim cries out for help, we are frozen. Our emotions are mute. We are seized as though we cannot catatonic. We have not been taught how to properly express our feelings. We find poetry embarrassing.”

I agree with Hammil and his ideas about how and why people respond to negative situations in certain ways. People from a young age are not taught to deal with stress or even how to deal with their emotions if something should happen to them which had a negative impact on them. When I was a kid playing sports was fun for me, but if someone was better than you at a certain position they played over you and you sat the bench until you proved to the coach your skills were better. This made kids learn how to appreciate what they had, it did this because you had to work for something you really wanted and it wasn’t just given to you.

Kids today get equal playing time no matter how hard they work. To me this makes them not only as kids but as they become adults more un-appreciative of what they have, people expect to be taken care of with working hard for what they have. “Dealing with our feelings is facing, accepting and working through them. We will always have emotions, so we have to learn to deal with them.” (http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/emotionsdeal.htm). I was taught that everyone’s talent levels differ from one person to the next, but everyone is capable of working hard just as hard as the next. If people are taught from a young age how to deal with their emotions no matter if they are impacted in a positive way or negative, we as humans could make a better world and not be so shy or blind about reality.