Band of Brothers

I found that this particular video correlated to what we talked about in class today.  This scene is from a show called Band of Brothers. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. One of my favorite scenes from the series. Hope you guys enjoy!

https://youtu.be/PKSYN-tbNRs (Link to the video)

Connections to TTTC posted by Mike Lohre

Link to the short film we will watch in class.  We know PTSD affects children and adults and makes life very difficult.  This film helps us understand it from one American perspective.

http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-marlboro-marine


All best,

Mike

James Blake Miller in Iraq, 2004.  This photo became one of the most iconic images of the Iraq War.

Exploration 6: Reading Response to The Things They Carried so far - Brian Klunder

1. One of the stories that meant the most to me so far had to have been one of the most recent ones we have read about in the chapter "Ghost Soldiers", in which Tim decides to have some revenge on his new medic Bobby Jorgenson for him incorrectly performing his duties in saving Tim's life on the active battlefield. I find this story to mean something to me because of how he acts at the beginning of the prank and at the end of the prank while being in the company of Azar, mainly because it's the same way I would have acted towards something vengeful like this ghost prank. Usually whenever I try to get back at anyone, I would always scheme to "even the odds", but every time I would come close to doing the act I just end up going back against my own words and back off completely. An example of this that can be found in this book of when Tim, in the midst of committing to the act at night, tries to back off after setting up the entire event and letting Azar finish up what he begun.

2. The character that I connect with the best so far has to be the author because I find him to be more relate-able than the other main characters in this novel, especially with his mentality. The recognizable qualities that Tim holds: knowledgeable, remorseful, thoughtful, honest, curious, quiet, and judgmental.

3. Something that is worth pointing out is the description that Tim gives to the jungles of Vietnam gives to the viewer when describing the night-time of the war, giving indirect metaphors of the movement and odd characters seen at night by soldiers and the dialogue speaking of the ghost "Charlie Cong" and what he could do to soldiers at any moment during the night. This passage provides a lot of information to give the reader a sense of what the land is to the U.S. soldiers that are stationed there and what challenges they potentially face on the battlefield related to their mental state.

4. One of the passages that really struck me as being something that I see to have relation to my current life is the passage at the bottom of page 188, in which he talks about how he felt betrayed by being excluded by his squad. "I felt something shift inside me. It was anger, partly, but it was also a sense of pure and total loss: I didn't fit anymore.  They were soldiers, I wasn't. In a few days they'd saddle up and head back into the bush, and Id stand up on the helipad to watch them march away, and then after they were gone I'd spend the day loading resupply choppers until it was time to catch a movie or play card or drink myself to sleep. A funny thing, but I felt betrayed." This impacted me since there have been multiple occasions where I have been excluded by my group of friends for not being up-to-date with them, or for doing different tasks that created a wall between me and them, resulting in me trying to get back into the clique that requires some deal of effort because of different stances that we take.

Exploration 6- My Connections to the The Things They Carried

1. The story which meant the most to me so far was  Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong. I am naturally a hopeless romantic, so any love story usually gets my emotions going, especially where someone gets their heart broken. This story is especially sad as it shows the transformation people can under-go and become someone else entirely. Mary Ane Belle goes from a sweet girl from Cleveland, straight out of high school, to a murdering, tongue necklace wearing green beret who disappears in the jungle never to be found again. It truly touched me and I felt the pain Mark Fossie went through as I read the story.


2.I connect the most with Rat Kiley as he is a very observant person, who understands people and is able to empathize with them especially well as evident by his story telling throughout the book.

3. One convention of narrative is the use of oxymoron, Tim O'brien says "I felt close to them, yes but I also felt a new sense of separation." He uses oxymorons all throughout his writing in this novel to portray the paradox war is and the fight it creates within people. Essentially an over arching idea for "The things they carried".

4. "I hated him for making me stop hating him." I've never seen this in writing before and it struck out to me deeply as I have felt this exact way with one of the people in my past who use to be my bestfriend. In nineteen years of my life, I felt like this for the first time and last time hopefully when i was sixteen. My bestfriend had betrayed me bigger than I could ever imagine and then he simply dissapeared. For years I hung onto the anger and wanted to just simply hurt him. And then randomly, two years later, I receive a barrage of text messages from him explaining how it has haunted him and he constantly feels the guilt and something in me changed. I didn't feel angry any more at him, i simply felt pity for him. But I was angry, a sort of raw pure hatred at myself for being able to forgive him and maybe a sense of embarrassment for feeling how i did in the beginning.

Reading Response: Amber McLaughlin

The Ghost Soliders has meant the most to me so far because I think it was a story that anyone could relate to. Jorgenson almost got Tim killed and he wanted to get revenge on him for that. That applies to a lot of things in our society today. If someone does you wrong, a person's first instinct is to get them back. I also find it cool how at the end of the story they work things out and can be civil. I find it sad that the other soldiers don't think that he is of one them since he no longer is on the field. It's sad that just because he got moved he could no longer be a part of the family he had spent most of the war with.  I think I connect with Tim the best because in the beginning of the book he was very scared and wanted to run away from the problem and that's where I find myself a lot of times. As a society we think that running away is the easiest solutions, and in our minds it is but after we sit down and really think about it we find out that there are better solutions. He over comes this fear and still goes to war and that shows how brave he is. He is also the writer of the book so you can really get a feel for how how he is feeling and how the war impacted him. Something I have taken from my active reading is all the sense details. One passage that hit me really hard was "I remember the rage in my stomach. Later it burned down to a smoldering self - pity, then to numbness. At dinner that night my father asked what my plans are were. "Nothing," I said. "Wait". You could really tell how scared he was to go to war and you could tell in his writing that he was terrified what was going to happen to him. He was scared of what his family would think of him, and everyone else in the town. He didn't want people to think badly of him but he was also too scared to go to war. He had a college degree and had his life set for him and that letter ruined his life. You can really feel his worry and how upset he was about that letter. It really impacted me because I love how I can read and just relate to how he is feeling and really feel him putting his all in his writing.

Exploration 6 - Bianca Lawson

The story that meant has meant the most to me so far would be "On the Rainy River".  This story has meant the most to me so far because I can relate to it. In the story, O'Brien struggles with whether or not to go to war after he had been drafted. After a summer of thinking he finally decides to flee to Canada, and once he's at the boarder, he decided to go back to American and fight in the war.  While I've never struggled with a decision as difficult as whether or not to flee from war, I have had to make difficult decisions that would and have  come to affect me later in my life.

The character I connect best with so far would be Tim O'Brien. I relate to him because the is the narrator throughout the book and because of this, I know him the best out of any of the characters. Throughout the book, he tells stories about his life before, during, and after the war, and through this he creates a very well-rounded image of himself.

A passage that really sticks out to me would be in the story Field Trip, in the last paragraph on page 178, "The sun made me squint. Twenty years. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. In a way, maybe, I'd gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I'd finally worked my way out. A hot afternoon, a bright August sun, and the war was over. For a few moments I could not bring myself to move. Like waking from a summer nap, feeling lazy and sluggish, the world collecting itself around me." This passage impacted me because O'Brien does a very good job of giving the reader an idea of how Kiowa's death affected him. 

Exploration 6: Jared Wolfe

     The story in The Things They Carried that has meant the most to me so far is "The Man I Killed". In this particular story, Tim O'Brien describes the physical attributes and possible characteristics of a man he killed with a grenade. He cannot take his eyes of the man's corpse, as he imagines how the boy might have lived his life and how his life was now cut short because of him. I enjoyed this chapter because it did a great job describing how different people deal with killing enemy soldiers in war in different ways. O'Brien was basically in shock that he had just killed a man, obsessing over what he had just done, while Azar was making fun of the dead soldier. It really makes me wonder how I would handle a similar situation if I were to go to war. I know several people who think killing in war would be easy, but I don't think that's the case. A lot of people don't realize the effect it can have on you, and O'Brien did a great job putting it into perspective in "The Man I Killed".

     I feel that I can relate most to the author, Tim O'Brien. Throughout reading most of the book, I have connected with him the most. He has his own inner struggles and I feel mine would be very similar if I were in his situation. Being drafted during the Vietnam War would be a scary thing, and his thoughts about dodging is something I probably would have considered doing myself.
   
     Something that stood out to me while reading is Tim O'Brien's use of sense detail. In "The Man I Killed", O'Brien describes the man he killed with a grenade in vulgar detail. He described his wounds and how bad the man looked. He also went on to describe the life the man might have lived, and while reading I was easily able to imagine what O'Brien had been describing. O'Brien's use of sense detail in this novel is some of the best I've read.

     "They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture" (77). This quote struck me because it described how each of the soldiers have their own weaknesses, but they don't talk about it. They all have fears and at times they can be cowardice, yet they still refuse to talk about their weaknesses, it's a fear they all share.

Exploration 6 - Emily Shearer

1) The story that meant the most to me so far is "The Dentist" because I can relate to Curt Lemon's hatred of going to the dentist. Ironically, I am a dental hygiene major. I am not easily grossed out, but when I have to go through the process of being the patient, I do not like it. To this day, I still dread making the appointments and going to them because I don't like getting my teeth worked on or getting lectured about flossing. In the story, the dentist went on for half an hour lecturing the soldiers on oral hygiene, demonstrating the proper flossing and brushing techniques.

2) The character that I find I connect with the most is Mary Anne. Not in the way that she started wearing a necklace of tongues, but the fact that she went through something so drastic that she changed the way she is. I think that everyone goes through drastic events in their lifetime, and those events really shape the way a person can be, and they can be one person before the event and then almost an entirely different person after the event.

3) A specific narrative that stood out to me was the entire chapter of "The Man I Killed". Personally, I think that the story was a genius touch for the book. I liked how descriptive he was and how he thought about the life that the man once lived and was about to live but couldn't anymore because he was killed. It made me think about how everyone has their own stories, and this one spoke to me because the man didn't get to finish out his.

4) "And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you an't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story." I really liked the way he worded this part of the passage.

Exploration 6: Joe Weingates

"Speaking of Courage" Meant the most to me for the fact that it shows how there is nothing glorious about the war. Specifically the story in this chapter when Kiowa died by sinking and then drowning in sewage. That shows how filthy and messed up the war was and that there is no glory in drowning in sewage. (I'm using a PDF online so I don't have the actual page number) "But the worst part," he would've said quietly, "was the smell. Partly it was the river—a dead-fish smell—but it was something else, too. Finally somebody figured it out. What this was, it was a shit field. The village toilet. No indoor plumbing, right? So they used the field. I mean, we were camped in a goddamn shit field.” The air smelled the ground smelled, they were camped in a sewage field, this war was dirty and disgusting, and inglorious for anyone who would die under these circumstances.

I Connect with Kiowa the most so far in this book. His rationality, quietness and devotion to his faith reminds me of myself. I feel if i was in war i'd be the same way as him, quiet and always trying to rationalize everything and have a bible on me because all you can do is read scripture and pray you don't die every day. He is quiet, Compassionate and practical in my opinion.

Tim O'Brien does a great job in the first couple pages of Speaking of courage with interior monologue to show how Norman Bowker is feeling towards his dad and the medals he achieved and almost achieved. You see now that Norman doesn't care about the medals as much as his father does. He more so wishes that he could have saved Kiowa, and get the silver star to make his father even more proud. 

"He would've explained how during the dry season it was exactly like any other river, nothing special, but how in October the monsoons began and the whole situation changed. For a solid week the rains never stopped, not once, and so after a few days the Song Tra Bong overflowed its banks and the land turned into a deep, thick muck for a half mile on either side. Just muck—no other word for it. Like quicksand, almost, except the stink was incredible. "You couldn't even sleep," he'd tell his father. "At night you'd find a high spot, and you'd doze off, but then later you'd wake up because you'd be buried in all that slime. You'd just sink in. You'd feel it ooze up over your body and sort of suck you down. And the whole time there was that constant rain. I mean, it never stopped, not ever."". This is a great example of scene and even sense. It was crazy how this paragraph made me visualize this field and how it would feel to be stuck there so vividly. It makes me realize just the kind crazy things that went on in Vietnam but are not always talked about.

Exploration 6: Reading Response - Chris Phillips

     The story that I found meant the most was "The Man I Killed." This story gives insight into the most horrible part about being in the war; killing others. No one except for veterans know what it's like to be in a situation where you have to kill others to survive. As a student, it's hard for me to grasp just what something like that would feel like, but O'Brien describes his emotions and thoughts in a raw and "real" way. He forces you to share in his thoughts, regrets and guilt over the situation. O'Brien describes the man in great detail, so as to show that this memory in particular is sort of burned in to his mind. He also indulges into a fantasy about what kind of life this man may have lead, and how it could've been eerily similar to his own, showing how much of a tragedy this might have been to his family back home. O'Brien puts the reader in his own shoes by sharing his thoughts, and then puts himself in the shoes of the man he killed, suggesting to the reader to puts themselves in the shoes of the Vietnamese man who is now dead.
     I feel like the character which I can connect with the most is O'Brien. His reaction to being drafted is the same as I feel mine would be; a great internal battle riddled with indecision. I wouldn't want to feel like a coward, either, but realistically I would think about what I could do to avoid going to war. He is realistic, and I think that his reactions to his surroundings in Vietnam are naturally how I would react as well.
     The convention of narrative that stands out to me the most is O'Brien's use of figurative language. He uses figurative language to describe situations in a way that effectively deepens the reader's understanding by comparing them to other things that might be easier to feel or more easily related to. I found a good example of this on page 41, where he describes the way he felt when deciding what action to take after being drafted. He says that it was as it he "[was] hurtling down a huge black funnel, the world squeezing in tight."
     A good passage I found from "The Man I Killed" was on page 119. O'Brien describes how he imaged the man's life before it was ended, saying "he would have been taught that to defend the land was a man's highest duty and highest privilege. He had accepted this [...] secretly, though, it frightened him. He was not a fighter." This passage struck me as interesting, because it showed how much O'Brien was dwelling on what he had just done. By describing the man in this way, he is sort of relating his own life to what this man's life could've been like. This passage shows how O'Brien felt about killing, which makes it all seem more real.

Exploration Six: Lillie Weber

After reading 180 pages of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, I believe it is one of the best novels I have ever read. With having family who fought in the Vietnam war, this topic hits close to home. I have seen what my family members have had to carry, and it was interesting seeing what other soldiers had to carry emotionally and physically as well.

My favorite chapter in the book is "Speaking of Courage". This chapter meant the most to me because it embodies the feelings of most soldiers within the war. Norman Bowker is having serious psychological issues. He is reliving Kiowa death and how he believes he could've prevented it. 

Within this chapter, Norman has an inner dialogue pretending that he is talking to his father when really he is talking to himself. He says, "And his father would've nodded, knowing full well that many brave men do not win medals for their bravery, and that others win medals for doing nothing"(135). This means so much to me because this is truly why Norman is upset and how many other soldiers in the war probably felt. Those who are truly brave are the ones who were not recognized. 

I believe that I relate to Norman in some ways. He is unable to admit that he wasn't brave when Kiowa died until he was alone and driving around the lake. He is afraid to admit his mistakes and that is how I am. I cannot admit that I made a mistake because I am stubborn. Not to mention, I do things to please my parents like he went to war to please his dad by winning medals. 

In the chapter "On the Rainy River", the author says, " Now, perhaps, you can understand why I never told this story before. It's not just the embarrassment of tears. That's part of it, no doubt, but what embarrasses me much more, and always will, is the paralysis that took my heart. A moral freeze: I couldn't decide, I couldn't act, I couldn't comport myself with even a pretense of modest human dignity" (54). This made me connect to the author emotionally. The fact he has never told anyone before this book makes me truly feel for him. Not only that but he throws aside masculinity and professes exactly what he was feeling in full detail. He admits that he was a coward and that is something a man usually doesn't do. 

Reading reponse to The Things They Carried so far- Nicole Miller

1) So far, the story that has meant the most to me so far would have to be the story when Mark Fossie's girlfriend came over to Vietnam. When Mary Ann Bell came over from Cleveland, she was very girly and sweet, but was intrigued by the war. A couple weeks of staying there and everything changed. She began working with the boys, learning how to shoot guns, clean them, and she would help when wounded soldiers came in to be fixed up. She became more and more involved in everything, and when Mark suggested she go home because he was starting to get worried about her, she left. I like this passage a lot because it shows you just how easily the war can change you . Mary Ann went from a girly girl, to a girl who went off by herself killing anything she could, and wearing a necklace of tongues. It also changed the couples relationship. The war can do some crazy things to people, and this was just one example.

2) A character I connect with would have to be Henry Dobbins. He seems to be very straight forward. When Azar was making fun of the girl that was dancing while her family was burning in the village they sat on fire, Dobbins picked him up and asked if he wanted to be dumped in a well. I like to let people know when I don't like what they're doing, or when they upset me. Something I admire about Dobbins is that he wears his girlfriends stockings around his never everyday and sleeps with them every night. On page 112 Tim talks about how Dobbins isn't ashamed of it at all, and the stockings seem to give him some protective power. I think that the stockings give him motivation and hope to get out of the war alive.

3) "Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't. In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then, when I'm reading a newspaper or just sitting alone in a room, I'll look up and see the young man step out of the morning fog. I'll watch him walk toward me, his shoulders slightly stooped, his head coked to the side, and they'll pass within a few yards of me and suddenly smile at some secret thought and then continue the trail to where it bends back into the fog. (128) I like this passage because while other people celebrate killing other people, Tim is upset by it. He remembers everything that happens, and he's torn about how to feel. Tim was still bale to feel, he didn't go numb or try to ignore the pain.Tim didn't let the war change him, and I think that is what is most important.

Connecting with the Characters; Rachel Nicodemus

The story that has meant the most to me so far is " Speaking of Courage." It meant a lot to me because it really puts you into a soldiers place, and the stuff they carry around after the war. It makes you sad and makes the reader feel for him, and people like him going through the same issues. In the story Norman drives around the 7 mile road around the lake many times just thinking over and over again how he would tell his story to people like his dad, or a girl he liked in high school, Sally Kramer. Tim O'Brien uses inner monologue in Normans story a lot to show the reader the constant battle he went through everyday about if he should feel like a hero or if he is just simply a coward because he let Kiowa die.

A character that I connect with so far is the author, Tim O'Brien. I really got a taste of who he is as a person and his own personal struggles in the story "On the Rainy River." It showed how he had morals and strong beliefs and did not want to be forced into something. He had to run away, to escape  everything in order to come to his final decision, mostly by himself. When faced with he hard decision to run from the war and the draft or to toughen up and go he was so torn because he really did not want to go either way. He did not handle the change very well (the war) it messed up his life and what he looked forward to and wanted to accomplish. If I was in his position I believe I would have done something very similar to what he did, sometimes you just have to get away from your everyday life, your family/friends, and your problems to realize some things, and think through things on your own.

Again, the story "Speaking of Courage" really spoke to me. I believe that it was so touching and made me feel so many emotions because of the great use of inner dialogue in the story. It allowed me to enter Normans mind, and he thoughts and somewhat feel pain for him and what he was going through. Inner Dialogue is a very powerful tool to use in writing, it would not have been perfect in every story but it fit Norman's story very well.

 In the story "The Man I Killed" O'Brien repeats over and over what the body of the man he killed looked like. He also goes on and makes up what the kid might have been like which seems to be an almost exact comparison to himself. " The young man would not have wanted to be a solider and in his heart would have feared performing badly in battle." (p.121) It seems like in this description Tim is talking about himself which is a very moving way to read his thoughts, in complete metaphor.

Exploration 6: Reading Response to TTTC so far - Allison Clark

These Things They Carried Reading Response

1. The story that has meant the most to me so far has been "On the Rainy River". This one really captivated me as a reader because O'Brien's emotion is so raw and he really makes himself vulnerable, which is instantly connectable in a piece of writing. In this story, it also was interesting how O'Brien used his descriptiveness to capture how he was feeling at the time, when he was battling between what he thought was what he had to do but didn't morally believe in it. The fear of decision overcomes him to the point where he has a personal meltdown. What I really admired was his ability to overcome this fear and make the decision, whether it was a good one or not, he conquered something many cannot.

2.The character that I'd say that I connected to the most was actually Tim O'Brien. I've connected with him through his stream of consciousness throughout the book, I feel like we have shared a lot of ideologies and similarities in thought process and writing. I also connected with him in a more obvious way, because if I was faced with the draft at the time, my reaction would most definitely be the same. I would be very much in fear of what going against my peaceful mindset in such a harsh way would do to myself. This would have been a hard thing to just set aside and willingly go to war like O'Brien did, in a less impactual way, I connect this to my life and the hardships that I find everyday with my beliefs and morals as a person.

3. A specific convention of narrative that I find most obvious and influential in O'Brien's writing is characterization and how he uses it to his advantage. O'Brien focuses mainly on detail, and uses to it to create a persona for a character. Human from a biological standpoint are generally similar but O'Brien uses the small quirks and differences that set us all aside from one another. This also goes on to create a lot of figurative language in his writing. An example of this would be "I loved baseball and hamburgers and Cherry Cokes" (Page 48), these details are insignificant to the story but make a clear and specific picture of who O'Brien is before the war, so the reader can assume what the war did the innocent look he had on life, he was living care free. This is all information from one small characterization that he made about himself.

4. "It struck me then that he must've planned it. I'll never be certain, of course, but I think he meant to bring me up against the realities, to guide me across the river and to take me to the edge and to stand a kind of vigil as I chose a life for myself." (Page 53) This quote resonated with me because it's something that in a lesser value I'm going through at this point in my life with all the important decisions that I'm making that will impact my future forever, and I feel like in a way there has been a number of people in my life that has guided me here, whether they still be here or not, they have affected me in this way and I feel as O'Brien felt for Elroy towards them, I feel extreme gratitude.

Exploration 6-The Things They Carried-Abigail Fortner

The story that has meant the most to me so far is The Dentist. I can relate to Curt Lemons being afraid of the dentist. I hated going as a little kid and still don't care for it now. . .Which is why I'm going to become one. Haha! In some way, they scared me. Just the image of a big guy standing over me with gloves, a mask on, and tools that are sharp in his hand working on my teeth, just didn't seem not scary to me. Not to mention you are laying down and completely helpless. Curt complained of a toothache later that night, so he went to the dentist and had him pull it. It said the next morning he was all smiles. . .Going to the dentist is scary sometimes, but if you have a toothache or something wrong, the dentist can fix it and make you feel better.

I connect with Jimmy best so far because of his love for Martha and how much hope he has even though she doesn't love him. I've been in that situation before. . . I loved a guy and he didn't love me back, and its terrible but you never give up faith that one day he will come back to you.

On page 42 it says, "I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile. I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole history, everything that mattered to me." I believe this has a double meaning at least to me. There have been wars that I have battled and that I couldn't tell anyone about, and I had to make hard decisions. I feared my wars but also feared what would happen to the people I love.

Exploration 6: Miguel Radilla

            The story that meant the most to me would definitely be “On the Rainy River” Reason being is that in this story Tim O’ Brien fully describes an insurmountable crossroads that lies in front of him of whether to run away from a war and face being ostracized by his community or go fight knowing there’s a chance that he won’t survive.  “In the evenings I’d sometimes borrow my father’s car and drive aimlessly around town, feeling sorry for myself, thinking about the war and the pig factory and how my life seemed to be collapsing towards slaughter.” (2^nd Paragraph on pg. 41)  I feel that this chapter is the most relatable in my opinion because I would definitely share those same feelings if I were in that situation.

            I relate to Tim O’ Brien the most because I think it’s really hard not to. All in all, I feel a sense of just knowing him a lot more than the rest of the characters in the platoon. He does a phenomenal job in describing other characters, but qualities and things that stick out is his metamorphosis from a young kid through an adult in his forties. He describes his naiveté from pure sense of trepidation to how he had become indifferent where he couldn’t feel sadness, pity, and passion. “There were times in my life when I couldn’t feel, not sadness or pity or passion, and somehow I blamed this place for what I had become, and I blamed it for taking away the person I had once been.” (pg. 176)

            I definitely thought  the part where somebody had the realization where they ended up discovering that they were “camped in a goddamn shit field” was humorous. (pg. 139) Scene= Conventions of Narrative. On Pg 139 it gives a good description of the “shit field”

            “He could not talk about it and never would. The evening was smooth and warm. If it had been possible, which it wasn’t, he would have explained how his friend Kiowa slipped away that night beneath the dark swampy field. He was folded in with the war; he was part of the waste.”  (pg. 147) This resonated with me the most because this particular passage makes me feel for Norman Bowker. How he couldn’t talk about anything because he did not have anyone to talk to. I feel that all this bottled up emotion contributed to his suicide, which is unfortunate. A good interpretive question is, had he someone to talk to, would he had committed suicide?

The Story That Meant the Most - Devon Beck

" On the Rainy River" was the story that I felt like meant the most to me. I felt as though I could relate to him. I may not be going to war like he was but I've had decisions that I needed to make that I that I wanted to run away from. I've had decisions that I made only to impress the people around me not because I wanted to make them on my own.   Tim O' Brien was planning on leaving the country so he didn't have to go to war but he eventually would go to war. I also like this chapter because it shows how much of an impact people can have on your life. Elroy knew exactly what Tim was planning on doing but he didn't pressure him or make him feel bad about what he was doing. When they were on the boat he kept fishing as Tim was crying. He was a silent friend. He didn't say much but that is not what Tim needed. Tim just needed someone to be there for him.

As I just said Tim' O Brien is a character that  I relate a lot too. As you read the story you see how much he's been through. He is strong even when he could just give up. He could of went to Canada just like the other soldiers were doing but he went to war. He's so selfless. He was willing to put his family and his country before himself. He's brave if when he feels like giving up, I've had to be brave when all I wanted to do was give up.

I love the way that Tim' O Brien uses interior monologue in his book. When he is describing how he is feeling about the idea of leaving the United States in " On The Rainy River' his thoughts make you almost think that you are with him. He makes you really understand the struggles that he is going through.

My favorite part of the book is on page 18. " Now and then , however ,there were times of panic , when they squealed or wanted to squeal but couldn't when they twitched and made moaning sounds and cowered their heads and said Dear Jesus , and flopped around on the earth and fired their weapons blindly and cringed and sobbed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and to God, and to their mothers and fathers, hoping not to die. " was a passage that struck me. This line gave me a huge glimpse into the mind of a soldier. The reader gets to see how much these men are scared even when they try to put on the bravest faces. This passage helps the reader understand the mental horror that these men went through during battle.

Exploration 6 - Brayden Eastman

Exploration 6

     So far my favorite story from The Things They Carried is "Enemies". I like this chapter a lot because I feel like it gives the readers a good feel for how easy your sanity could be lost in Vietnam. With guns and weapons surrounding you, keeping your sanity in tack is a very important. Evidence from the book this is when Strunk couldn't stop laughing and said "The man's crazy," "I stole his f*cking  jackknife". This is important to me because you could literally end up going insane over nothing. Getting into arguments and fights within your team and allies can jeopardize your chances of safely coming home to an extent. Strunk wasn't even really worried about the situation meanwhile Jensen was about to go insane.

     My favorite character is Strunk, I like him because he will mess with you and fight with you over something he is fully aware is his fault. Even losing a fight with a fellow solider he can become friends with the guy shortly after.

     In the story Speaking of Courage, Norman Bowker returns to Iowa after the war. On a 4th of July night, he drives around a lake and notices he has no where else to go, he has nowhere else to even be. He reminisces on old memories and drives around the lake again and again. He reminisces old memories, things that happened in high school, and older girlfriends. He remembers things from the war, and just wants someone who can relate to him, and talk to him. He wonders how his father would feel about him not acting on the courage he though he'd have.

     The writing that stuck out most to me as most meaningful would be the line, “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.” I like this quote a lot because I believe it is a very short brief quote that can summarize the whole story. With just that line you get a connection and it can really place o image in your head about what these men went through and what it was like. Another thing that brings bigger meaning to the quote is that the things the men "carried" cannot actually be carried. I feel like this makes the men look more epic and shows that Veitnam was not easy. 

Exploration 6 from Andrea

     "On the Rainy River" definitely has been the chapter that has mean the most to me. The entire chapter explains a situation that is basically O'Brien running from the fear he felt due to the war and the fact that people may not think highly of him if he goes to war. I find that I often times relate to him. I have become great at running from the things I don't want to face. My first instinct when conflict introduces itself is to run, avoid the situation. I think that I found myself relating to O'Brien during that chapter and that's the reason it has stuck with me. On page 42 O'Brien states "Beyond all this, or at the very center, was the raw fact of terror." He was terrified to die. I may not necessarily have a fear in my life that I run from that is to that extent, but I understand what he is saying.
     I think that after evaluating the question from the last paragraph, I figured out that I relate best to the young Tim O'Brien partially because he ran from his fear, but also because he cared so much what people thought about him. I explained in the previous paragraph that like O'Brien, I too, have found myself  running from fear. What I haven't already explained though is that I care so much what others think about me. O'Brien found himself in war because he didn't want to disappoint. He didn't want to be the talk of his town. I think that I naturally care what people think about me as a high school girl. I may find myself doing things here and there that I might not otherwise just to avoid disappoint. I want everyone to think highly of me, much like O'Brien did.
     O'Brien does a great job offering descriptions about certain places/situations he finds himself in. He mastered the ability to provide scene for the reader. A great example of that would be found near the end of "On the Rainy River." He describes the sight he sees sitting on the boat with Elroy. He does a great job explain what he sees from the boat. Even the little details are explained. On pages 53 and 54 He says that "[he] could see the delicate latticework of the leaves, the texture of the soil, the browned needles beneath the pines..." The elements offer a great description of the area which allows the reader to "see" exactly what he is seeing.
      One passage that truly struck me was "War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead." (76). It is so powerful. Often times we as humans go along the day thinking that we have war figured out. It's just a fight with guns and bombs some would say. But O'Brien argues that it's not. It's not actual aspect of war that matters, it's the emotions attached to it. People who fight are the only ones that really get to see that though. It's so meaningful to hear those words come out of a veteran's mouth because they are speaking what they truly feel about the war and they are the only ones who really know.

Exploration 6: Jenny Kitzler

The story that has meant the most to me so far would have to be the chapter Love. Okay so I love all of that cheesy romance, unreal relationships you read about and see in movies. All of that junk makes me smile and feel as though there is hope that we could all find love like that. In this chapter we learn that Jimmy Cross is still in love with Martha after all of this time. Even after how guilty he felt for Lavender's death. Even though Martha had made said she didn't want to marry and made it seem as though she really did not want  a relationship with Jimmy he still was in love with her. Her mere image and thought of her made him smile and joyful.

I don't feel as though I connect with any of these characters at all. I don't think that I could ever image myself in the lives that they are living and I would never have the ability to do what they have done. I don't find myself being as courageous as they are.

A specific convention of narrative that I would like to point out is on page 55 in our book. Tim is in the boat with Elroy and Tim is imaging what it would be like to jump off and swim to the border and just be gone. In his hallucination he is seeing all of these people judging him and calling him names and scrutinizing him for fleeing the country. This is when he decides that he must stay and go to the war.

On page 57 in our book a passage that stood out to me is "I would kill and maybe die because I was too embarrassed not to." This made me realize how many things do we do because we feel like it's what we need to do to "fit in". Everything from our clothes, cars, friends, music, and lifestyle. The world around has a big influence on what we choose in life and it's not necessarily what we want but what others want for us or think that we should do. We are suppose to be individuals but if we have an open mind or speak our opinion some people don't respect it and want to shut us down as a person. I try to respect that everyone is there own person and has to do what they need to do to make themselves feel accomplished. But doing something because you think you need to or are too embarrassed to do otherwise is not being honest with yourself and letting yourself be happy.

Brian Hageman: Exploration 6.

The story that means the most to me is "Speaking Of Courage" because it highlights how lost soldiers are when they return home from the war. It was the Fourth of July, which is a holiday celebrated because of independence and freedom, and Norman Bowker, someone who just fought for the United States, had no where to go or nothing to do. It is truly sad that he drove around the lake 11 times before finally taking action and going into the water to watch the fireworks by himself. He drove around the lake because he had nothing else to do but to think to himself. He thought about the ways he could talk to his old love Sally, or how he would explain about the 7 medals that he earned in Vietnam, and why he could have won the silver star but didn't.

Tim O'Brien. If I am completely honest with myself, I would have probably contemplated dodging the draft, Just like Tim did. I have absolutely no interest in joining the war and I too would have been pretty conflicted. I would also be afraid of letting my country down and feeling guilty about it. Also when Tim killed the Vietnamese soldier, he felt very guilty and it never left his head. I would probably feel the same why. I would think about what would happen if the man just walked by without taking any action, just like Tim did. Tim reminisces on the war constantly and thinks about it all time. Like Tim, I would have a very hard time getting over what happened in Vietnam.

In "The Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong" O'Brien intricately describes the Greenies area. "The place seemed to echo with a deep-wilderness sound- tribal music- bamboo flutes and drums and chimes. But what hit you first, Rat said, was the smell…'impossible to describe, Rat Said. It paralyzed your lungs. Thick and numbing, like an animal's den, a mix of blood and scorched hair and excrement and the sweet-sour odor of moldering flesh- the stink of the kill." (O'Brien 104-105). The description of the Greenies room is very detailed and I felt like I was actually in the room when I was reading it. O'Brien did a fantastic job in this piece of writing.

The entire chapter of "The Man I killed" stood out to me for multiple reasons. Tim O'Brien had no intentions to kill when he resentfully joined the army, which is why, in my opinion, he was so moved when he killed the Vietnamese soldier. He repeated the sight of the dead man over and over again throughout the chapter. "He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole." (O'Brien 124). O'Brien described him like this multiple times to really express what he was feeling at the time. The other reason this passage struck me is because I feel as if I would be the same way Tim was. I would think about what would happen if I let the man walk by instead of killing him. I would think about his family and his future as a peaceful citizen of his country. I would always think about all the what-if's, just like Tim.

Weight Extracted from TTTC for Carrying From Charlie (Exploration 6)

     I've enjoyed most of the book, with a few scenes excluded, so it's hard for me to pick just one chapter with meaning. One that stands out is the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story."  My reason for this is that the story lists the classic "workers" conundrum. The fine dance of telling management (the officers) only what they want to hear. Paying all respect even though you know they only have their agenda in mind. To be not understood when being listened to; to want to be heard between the lines, Inter Linea, to tell the true story unedited. My example is the quote from page 73 paragraph 2: "The moral, I mean. Nobody listens. Nobody hears nothin'. like that [ ] colonel"
    I connect with Rat the most. I didn't like what he did to the baby buffalo, but I understand why he did it. If pain was a person, wouldn't you want to try to extract vengeance on it? I can connect with his desire to do something about a situation instead of just being consumed by it. Rat's qualities, to me, is having a strong personality, being a broken up story teller, a courageous go-getter. Some one you want on your team, and hope to God the other team doesn't have a similar operator.
   I wanted to point out the passage on page 77 for discussion, it lays about half way down the first paragraph : "...the purply orange glow of napalm, the rockets red glare. It's not pretty exactly. It's astonishing. It fills the eye. It commands you. You hate it, but your eyes do not." I find this to be very vivid, effective imagery. I get the feeling the author used the exact phrase "rocket's red glare" on purpose to tie this image to the Star Spangled Banner while staying tied to his present description of how war, in general, has the elements of a train wreck from which you can not look away from. How it's horrifically beautiful, simulating and deadening all at the same.
   I've chosen two phrases I'd like to tie together for my passage of personal imapct. First "They carried all they could bear and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." (end of first paragraph on page 7) and "They all carried Ghosts" (second line toward the end of the second paragraph on page 9) All I could think was how true is this for all people in general. The only thing is most civilians are not introduced to their ghosts or acknowledge them. It's amazing to me how a three pound organ, the brain, can weight more than the body it controls. These two lines state that indirect, at least to me.

Dixon Shapiro: exploration 6-Reading response to The Things They Carried

Exploration 6

Dixon Shapiro

The story that meant the most to me in The Things They Carried so far was "Friends," because it really focused on the promises that we keep, and the moral dilemma of it. For example, this story talks about how Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk made a promise that if one person became crippled, the other would find a way to give him a quick death. However, when Lee Strunk lost his leg, he begged Jensen to not kill him, and Jensen said okay. After that, Strunk died on the way to the hospital, and Jensen looked like he was relieved of a great burden. This story went directly to heart of how promises can be the greatest burden one could have.

The character I connect with best in the book so far is Tim O'Brien, for a couple of reasons. One reason is that he was really sensitive to how the people around him look at him. He can't stand being embarrassed at all, and this is just like me; I am very conscientious of how people see me, and I can't stand it if people take notice of me in a negative way.

In my active reading, I have noticed that the book contained a lot of sensory details, and all of them were extremely well written. In the book, Tim O'Brien does a really good job of captivating the reader and making them believe that they are a part of the story, that the sensory details O'Brien is describing is our own.

The passage where the writing struck me, and where it really meant something to me, was on page 20-21: "They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die... Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards." This whole paragraph made a great impact on me, because this is where I first learned that some soldiers were more afraid of being embarrassed, more afraid of looking like a coward and a weakling, than dying a bloody death in a war. These soldiers weren't looking for glory or valor. they just wanted to "avoid the blush of dishonor."

Exploration 6: Reading response to the The Things They Carried - Zeb

     One story that stood out to me so far would be On the Rainy River because I feel that it is so easy to relate to. The entire chapter is centered around Tim O'Brien's inner struggle over deciding whether to answer his draft notice, or flee to Canada. He struggles with what other people would think of him if he were to run away. He feared being called a coward, or judged for not fighting in a war that he did not believe in. The entire chapter encapsulates his emotions, and inner struggle as he attempts to make a decision, and really gives the reader a look into what it might be like if they had been drafted themselves. When he had finally made his decision: "It had nothing to do with morality. Embarrassment, that's all it was. And right then I submitted. I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to."(57) That sums up the entire chapter, he feared being judged by his community, he feared being called a traitor, or a pussy, and because of that fear, he decided to go against his own beliefs and fought in a war that he was against.

     

     Now this may sound repetitive, but the person that I can relate to the most would be Tim O'Brien. He just seems so real, he shows a side of himself that everyone has, although you might not want to admit it. We all have insecurities, we all care about what others will think of us. Tim showed that he is no different. I'm sure many of the people that were drafted were scared to go to Vietnam, but went anyways because they didn't want the shame that would come with running away. 

      One specific convention of narrative that Tim O'Brien used very well would be inner monologue. Almost the entire chapter Speaking of Courage was inner monologue of Norman Bowker as he drove around a pond in his hometown. Tim did a great job showing what Norman was going through. How he wanted to tell someone his story, but couldn't. He shows how Norman struggles with the fact that he could have saved his friend, and how he would have had the won the silver star if he had, and he wants to tell someone, but he knows that nobody wants to hear. Tim does this all through inner monologue which is incredibly impressive.

     A passage that stood out to me would be "War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead." (76) This specific passage stood out to me because in our modernized culture, war has been glorified. Especially with the more recent coverage of the Seal teams. People see that and think that about the glory, about how impressive it would be to be a part of the elite. But this passage shows that it isn't only glory. "War is hell" it isn't a video game, or a movie, it's real life.

     

Exploration 6: The Things They Carried Reading Response-Amanda Chirico

The stories throughout the book have been very interesting. The story I would say has meant the most to me so far would have to be Ambush. I know how most people don't like to admit or discuss the time they killed someone in war so I'm sure this story was tough and took a lot for O'Brian to write about it. That’s what I like the most about this story, Tim O'Brian's strength to write about the time he killed someone, his feelings, how he felt at the time and how he was scared. In the beginning of the story it starts out with his nine-year-old daughter asking him that question "Did you ever kill anyone while at war" and his response was "It was a difficult moment but I did what seemed right, which was to say, "of course not"(O'Brian 125). Then going on he writes, "He was a short slender young man of about 20. I was afraid of him-afraid of something-and as he passed me on the trail I threw a generated that exploded at his feet and killed him"(PG.125). I’m sure most families who have had a love one fight in any war are faced with situations like O'Brian was.  

I feel like the character I connect best with would be Tim O’Brian. Tim being the narrator and involved in almost every story, he uses his past experiences to tell stories as a way to cope with his guilt and confusion of the atrocities he witnessed during war. He puts you in the shoes of a soldier, like in the beginning when he listed every thing a soldier carried and how much it weighed. He wanted to let the reader feel like he or she was a soldier carrying all that stuff.  O’Brian is faced with many difficult situations with that he overcomes his fears showing his strength as a person.

Something I've noticed throughout the book has been O'Brian's great use of the convention of narrative scene. When he tells all the different stories he does a great job going in detail and giving you a good sense of what’s going on around them and making you feel like you are there in the scene like you are a part of the story. 

“Inside me my chest, I felt a terrible squeezing pressure. Even now, as I write this, I can still feel that tightness. And I want you to feel it-the wind coming off the river, the waves, the silence, the wooden frontier, you’re at the bow of the boat on the Rainy River, you’re Twenty-one years old, you’re scared and there’s a hard squeezing pressure on your chest. What would you do? Would you jump? Would you feel pity for yourself? Would you think about your family and you childhood and your dreams and all you’re leaving behind? Would it hurt? Would it feel like dying? Would you cry, as I did" (O’Brian 54)? This passage really impacted me because it shows the feelings he was having and he asks the reader what they would do if they were faced with the same situation he was face with.

Exploration 6: Cole Haferman, reading response to TTTC so far.

   The story which has stood out to me most is not actually a single story but a collection of story's titled; How to Tell a True War Story. In this part of the novel Tim shares a number of his own stories from Vietnam as well as a few of the ones he heard from other guys over there. From these stories you can really learn something about the Vietnam war. Part of it is not the actual story itself but how the guy tells it which makes it true, what words he uses and even what he ads in which makes it true. That story is true because you can tell without a doubt that the guy telling it was actually there in the thick of things and that what he experienced was real. You can see it in the way Rat Kelly tells the story of the letter he wrote home to Curt Lemon's sister about her brother who had just been killed. The language he uses does not fit the stereotype soldier Hollywood so often portrays but in fact is something more real than me or you could ever imagine never having been there.
     The character in the book with whom I best connect personally thus far is either Rat Kelly or his best friend Curt Lemon, who are both extremely young during the war and around the same age as me. They are both good soldiers in the platoon but are not like the others who are older and most likely wiser than they are to be playing little games out on a hike. What they both do understand however is how to have fun, they both have a great sense of humor and never take anything too seriously to let it get to them. I think this is how I would have dealt with the war if I were there, to have the same youthfulness as them and have the same lively spirit in all that I did.
     The story of Norman Bowker titled Speaking of Courage really struck me as an expert use of interior monologue in how it impacted the story and spoke volumes to the way Norman felt in the story. In Speaking of Courage Norman is pictured driving in circles around a lake alone for most of the chapter, during this he plays out numerous scenes in his head about how he would talk to different people and what he would say. This is his way of coping with the war and it really shows his loneliness as it is written all through the use of interior monologue. His wanting for someone to talk to is obvious during the whole story but he wants it to be someone he knows and not just anyone when he decides against telling the man on the intercom at the burger joint.
     In the short story titled Style the platoon walks through a hamlet which had recently been burned and observes a young girl dancing outside her burned home with her dead family inside. One of the men mocks the little girl and makes a joke about it while another man defends the little girl and tells him to dance right. "Probably some weird ritual," Azar said, but Henry Dobbins looked back and said no, the girl just liked to dance. The man who defends the girl is Henry Dobbins who we had previously learned in Church that he was never church going but was always interested by the people part and just being nice to everyone. This is a great example of his inner moral character and we see how he defends himself and stands by his morals even when confronted by another man in the platoon.