The Things They Carried

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Tim O'Brien's short story "The Things They Carried," was very strange and unique.  I did not think that the whole story was actually going to be about the things they carried.  Each person that O'Brien spoke about in the story carried something unique, and I found that very intriguing.  I guess that is one thing you don't think about when you picture a soldier; the things that they carried.  It never occured to me that all of those little things they carry add up in weight and can get much heavier depending on the weather.

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It was clear that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was madly in love with Martha and I really did not want the story to end the way that it did.  The whole story is basically about Cross expressing his love for Martha and I wanted him to run away with her at the end, but I guess that's just the girl in me.  I think that in order for Lieutenant Jimmy Cross to do his job correctly, he had to stop loving Martha.  She took over all of his thoughts and controlled his emotions.  Cross felt that it was his fault that Lavender died because he could not stop thinking of Martha.  O'Brien's story really gave me a new outlook on soldiers in the war and the things that they carried.

Here is a website with some info on O'Brien.

Responding to Poetry

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One of the poems that really caught my attention was "Song of Napalm," by Bruce Weigl.  It was very unique and I really liked how the poem seemed so peaceful in the beginning and it made me paint this beautiful image in my mind.  Then there is a twist and the poem really takes an ugly turn when you realize what is going on and that it isn't so peaceful after all.  The poem made me sad for the characters and it made me cringe when he said, "And the girl runs only as far As the napalm allows Until her her burning tendons and crackling muscles draw her up into that final position," (Weigl, lines 36-40). 

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The other poem that really pulled me in was Jimmy Santiago Baca's, "Immigrants in Our Own Land."  My father spent three years in prison when I was in elementary school and it was really hard on me.  For some reason when I read this poem it gave me a better understanding of what he went through in there.  Even though you see stuff bout prisons on television all the time, it made me think differently because it is not very often that you read poetry coming from a convict's point of view.  I actually felt sympathy for the prisoner and I cannot imagine what it must have been like for my father.  The author really gets your attention by making it seem as if they are entering a new world and that is what kept me reading.  The most emotional part for me was when it said, "But it's no different here.  It's all concentrated.  The doctors don't care, our bodies decay, our minds deteriorate, we learn nothing of value.  Our lives don't get better, we go down quick," (Baca, lines 36-39).  It made me sad to think that so many young lives are wasted away because othey make stupid decisions and they have to spend their lives in jail cells.

                                                           Works Cited
Baca, Jimmy Santiago.  "Immigrants in Our Own Land." New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1990.  
Weigl, Bruce.  "Song of Napalm."  Poetry Foundation. 1999.  7 February, 2011.  Web. 

This a cool website on tips for poetry.
Here is a link to the poem by Baca.
Here is a link to the poem by Weigl.

Sam Hamill

 

I found Sam Hamill's essay very strong and very opinionated. I had a difficult time relating it to the poetry that I read under the poetry and witness tab but I was able to relate a lot of his beliefs with my personal life. I watched my mother be abused for seven years when I was a young girl and it was one of the most difficult things I have had to deal with. I never understood why she wouldn't leave him and get us somewhere safe, I'm sure that is what a lot of people don't understand but it is like an addiction. My mother would call my grandmother sometimes after he would hit her and tell her the situation and my grandmother would say "No he didn't, you're lying." Like Sam Hamill said about not believing what the real world is really like and that we create a different reality for ourselves, my grandmother did not want to believe that her daughter was being abused.

This essay really brought back a lot of powerful memories for me and it is so sad to think that so many people have to go through this everyday. Hamill is right about us not stopping to think about all of the battered women and children that need our help, yet a lot of us would not stop to give them the time of day. I just hope and pray that our generation can have the courage to change the way our society blocks out the reality of what is going on in our world.

Here is a link for online support for abused victims.
This is the website for the Sam Hamill image.
This is the website for the abuse image.