Summary vs. Analysis, "The Ghost Soilders" by Tim O'Brien
Summary
The chapter entitled “The Ghost Soldiers” from the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is about revenge. This is clearly the motive behind the entire chapter. First the author tells us what caused him to want revenge. He talks about the incident of being shot and not being tended to until he was almost dead. The new medic messed up and that is who he wanted to gain revenge against. The setting of this story takes place in Vietnam at a resupply post for the US Army. The character, Tim, was sent there after being shot twice and pulled by the army from the war front. Throughout the chapters the characters are pretty much all the same, with the exception of one new face. He is the medic responsible for the near death of Tim and his name is Bobby Jorgenson.
The chapter plays out with telling the reader how everything unfolded. We read the story from Tim’s point of view and he talks about how he was shot, the first time and the second time. He talks about how the new medic almost didn’t save his life. Tim also tells us, how he doesn’t really like being on the safe base and how he has been called names because of his wound to his buttocks. The chapter tells about his plans to strike back and gain his revenge and he does so very tactfully one night while the medic is on night guard duty. He plays tricks on him in the night, feeling sad that he is doing it but satisfied and after the night is all over with, Bobby and Tim make a truce; the score is finally settled.
Analysis
A certain chapter inside the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien opens up a discussion about human morals and ethics; the author is conveying how hard it is to forgive and forget. When the main character in the book, Tim, is shot in the line of duty, he expects his medic to be there to help him. He cries out for a medic yet almost dies because of the medic’s inability to conquer his fears. We can see that clearly human morals are the topic of this chapter because the author conveys it to us through his language and word choice. Tim wants to forgive the medic, but he can’t because he hates him and that is where the exploring of the human heart begins. We see from these passages the battle that is fought inside the character’s head. First we see the hate forming with this passage, “But it made me hate Bobby Jorgenson the way some guys hated the VC, gut hate, the kind of hate that stays with you even in your dreams” (O’Brien, 182) Obviously, going against human moral to hate so much, but it was only present for a while because over time O’Brien started to struggle over these feelings as we can see here, “Granted, I didn’t hate him anymore, and I’d lost some of the outrage and passion, but the need for revenge kept eating at me” (O’Brien, 192) The hate is gone, but the revenge is still there or the need for it. You can see just from these two passages how emotions switch and how this story is really about morals.
Explanation:
The reason I loved this post was because it really let me dive into what is summary and what is analysis. I got to really take one piece of work and divide it into those two parts. It helped me expand my knowledge on the two different types of writing. I was really pleased with myself when this blog post was done.
My Response to two “Poetry of Witness,” poems
This blog post was supposed to reflect our feelings about two poems from the poetry of witness section on the blackboard site. It was hard to pick two, because they were all so emotionally charged and engaging. The first poem that really struck me from this list was "Charlie Howard's Decent" by Mark Doty. It brought out a lot of emotions for me, and made me upset at the fact that people have to go so far as to kill someone before something is done to protect people who are different. Upon my first reading of this poem, I got the feeling that it was about a disfigured man, who might have been mentally slow. It was not until I did a bit of research on this poem that I found out it was a poem based off true events. It happened in Bangor, Maine. The man, Charlie Howard, was actually a homosexual who was very open and flamboyant. He was made fun of every day. After realizing what this poem was really about, it took on new life for me. I don't support homosexually, but I don't support people who make fun of others that live that lifestyle and I definitely don't support people who murder others because they are different (whether they meant to or not). That being said, this poem has a lot of emotion tied into it. One strong example that brings out an emotion reaction from me was when Doty used this line, "Over and over he slipped into the gulf/between what he knew and how he was known/What others wanted opened like an abyss: the laughing stock-clerks at the grocery/Women at the luncheonette amused by his gestures," (lines 4-7). I got the sense that he was made fun of pretty much everywhere he went, no matter where it was. Sad to think that someone would be tortured that bad.
In one of the other, "Poetry of Witness," poems, the poet Nicole Cooley talks about New Orleans. The emotion that is emitted from this piece of work actually comes from the images painted in our heads after we read the poem. It paints a vivid image of what New Orleans looked like both while the water was high and after the water receded. There are quotes like, "and lace valances from a Lakeview kitchen, where water rose six feet high inside," (Cooley line 8) and, "and a refrigerator wrapped in duct tape lying in the dirt of a once-yard" (Cooley line 9). This is where I get the picture painted. I can see every house underwater, and after the water goes away, I can just see piles of junk lying around, the whole town destroyed. It's from these vivid images that the emotion of grief is provoked from me. This definitely was a sad day for a lot of people.
Explaination:
I choose this as my second blog post because I loved reading and learning about poetry. This was one of the most challenging portions of this class but also the most rewarding. I felt like I advanced as a critical thinker in this part of the class being able to take apart such delicate pieces of work! I was proud of myself for this!
Response to “The Necessity to Speak” by Sam Hamill
The essay by Sam Hamill entitled "The Necessity to Speak", is completely full of emotion and hard hitting facts. I never knew some of these facts until I read this essay. I agree with him on many points that he makes in his essay. I also disagree with some of his points. What I really agree with is the fact that women are disrespected and battered in this country, that equality is still not on the level it should be. Women can be just as valuable as men, and it sickens me when they are treated as inferior. I love that he just comes right out and speaks about it openly, where many can't speak about it. Even after he experienced being raped and battered, and being the batterer, the way he can speak up about such issues with conviction and control is commendable.
I love his stance on abortion and the killing of unborn babies. I agree whole-heartedly with the fact that he refers to them as unborn children, as living creatures not just a fetus. I also agree with the fact that parents need to be more active in the parenting of their children, talking to and educating them about sex. If parents sat down and talked to their kids about this, it would reduce the amount of teenage pregnancies, which would reduce the amount of abortions in this country. Mr. Hamill hit it right on the head when he talked about how a girl who hasn't been properly educated in sex and love can easily fall in love with a batterer. Mr. Hamill goes on and talks about what the kids learn in the home they will carry on with them through life. If they see battering in the house, they will grow up to be battered (because that is the life they know and are drawn to) or they will grow up to be a batterer (because that is all they know how to do).
The facts that I don't agree with Mr. Hamill on is spanking of children. I was spanked growing up, and there is a fine line between spanking and abuse. If you are leaving marks on your child, if you are making them bleed, and leaving them to cry, you are abusing them. If you are spanking them, leaving no physical damage on their body, and you explain in full why they are experiencing that pain, they can learn and grow from it as I did. I turned out very well, and I know the difference. The reason some people are against spanking is because they have only experienced or they only know about abuse. It saddens me to see anyone go through abuse, and reading this essay really makes me remember the stories my mom told me about her childhood and the sexual and emotional abuse she suffered.
Relating this essay to the poems we were required to read this week can be easily done. In some of those poems, namely "Charlie Howard's Descent", you can feel the pain in that poem and relate it to physical and emotional abuse and torture suffered at the hands of others. Charlie Howard had been abused and mocked. He was made fun of and eventually killed. The violence that we see imaged in this poem is some of the same violence Mr. Hamill is speaking about in his essay. I can see the correlations, and I can see what both men felt like as they were being tortured. This essay was definitely eye opening and heart touching. I probably will never forget it for the rest of my life.
Explanation:
So this was also another great post from the time we did poetry of witness. I was proud of myself for this one too because I conquered another challenge. Mr Hamill wrote a great piece of work and I was happy that I got to read it and analyze it for what I thought it was saying!
