I have had to live my childhood as one that has been characterized by my having migraines. I can honestly say that I can’t remember a single school week going by in which I did not have to go visit the school nurse. Yet, I can now say that having migraines has been a blessing in my life because they were an obstacle I had to overcome which helped shaped who I am today.
Because migraines were a factor in my life that I could not control, I had to seek power by strengthening my inner recourses, so that I could find something that I could depend upon. For me that inner strength came from taking care of other people around me. By taking care of them, I felt as if I could take care of myself. I was reaching out to fix things and helping others with their problems.
Doing so helped me to change my perception of feeling frustrated and weak because I had no alternative but to give into the excruciating pain of migraines. I could now perceive of myself as strong as I could handle the responsibility of caring for others. This has given me a strong sense of importance. It has helped me to develop people skills as I play a role that focuses on the needs of other people. I like being of service, and it is why I now have 346 hours of community service. Being helpful makes me feel good about myself. A major factor that defines me is that I have a strong sense of community service and believe that we must give back to the world. I have been involved in a connections program at my school and find it very easy to gain the respect of adults around me. I have also volunteered at a hospital.
One of my all time good moments is when I here someone say, “Ziyad, that’s a great idea. I never would have thought of that.” This has the pleasant effect of making me feel that I can always come up with a better idea, the better plan in getting things done. I take pride in being a quick thinker. I like to get things done. I also feel a keen responsibility for taking charge of things to ensure that everyone does his/her assigned share, and on time.
I believe that I overcame the obstacle of having migraines when I decided I would change my focus. Instead of looking inward at my pain, I looked outward at making other people happier. Having migraines has taught me to have empathy for other people suffering. It has taught me to be humble and to think about the needs of others. It has made me consider management as a major to pursue in college in which I would be working around other people making sure that things get done right. I feel this responsibility is so engrained in me that it has now become my second nature.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Obstacles That Have Shaped Me.
1.) This essay rose to the top to me because of it resembles me the best. Shows the reader what kind of person I am and the obstacles that i have encountered and how I have overcome them.
2.) I think of the strong points in my essay is showing what defines me as a human being.
3.)Probably I need to work on organization and sentence structure.
4.) Is my conclusion powerful enough?
One of my all time good moments is when I here someone say, “Ziyad, that’s a great idea. I never would have thought of that.” this has the pleasant effect of making me feel that I can come up with a better idea, the better plan in getting things done. So I take pride in being a quick thinker. I like to get things done. I also feel a keen responsibility for taking charge of things to ensure that everyone does his/her assigned share, and on time.
A major factor that defines me is that I have a strong sense of community service and believe that we must give back to the world. I have been involved in a connections program at my school and find it very easy to gain the respect of adults around me. This has fed into my feelings of acting responsible for the needs and desires of my entire family. This is not to say that I allow them to take advantage of me being that I am very reliable and have a penchant for getting things done which of course they never fail to try to do. I know when to say no, when I feel that I’m being taken advantage of. Nevertheless, I’m not insensitive to the needs of others.
Part of this sense of responsibility stems from being the older twin and spending my life looking out for my younger brother by 16 minutes. Knowing that I was dependable. I always took responsibility for our welfare at school, outings, school trips, sports, activities or basically anytime we were away from our parents. I feel this responsibility is so engrained in me that it has become a second nature.
I have also had to live my childhood as one that has been characterized by me having had migraines. I can’t remember a school week going by in which I did not go to see the school nurse. Because of this I try to avoid pain or feed with eating food that makes me feel better. I am now working with a fitness trainer to work out and get rid of this bad habit, I’m glad to say that it has been my good fortune, to outgrow these childhood migraines.
2.) I think of the strong points in my essay is showing what defines me as a human being.
3.)Probably I need to work on organization and sentence structure.
4.) Is my conclusion powerful enough?
One of my all time good moments is when I here someone say, “Ziyad, that’s a great idea. I never would have thought of that.” this has the pleasant effect of making me feel that I can come up with a better idea, the better plan in getting things done. So I take pride in being a quick thinker. I like to get things done. I also feel a keen responsibility for taking charge of things to ensure that everyone does his/her assigned share, and on time.
A major factor that defines me is that I have a strong sense of community service and believe that we must give back to the world. I have been involved in a connections program at my school and find it very easy to gain the respect of adults around me. This has fed into my feelings of acting responsible for the needs and desires of my entire family. This is not to say that I allow them to take advantage of me being that I am very reliable and have a penchant for getting things done which of course they never fail to try to do. I know when to say no, when I feel that I’m being taken advantage of. Nevertheless, I’m not insensitive to the needs of others.
Part of this sense of responsibility stems from being the older twin and spending my life looking out for my younger brother by 16 minutes. Knowing that I was dependable. I always took responsibility for our welfare at school, outings, school trips, sports, activities or basically anytime we were away from our parents. I feel this responsibility is so engrained in me that it has become a second nature.
I have also had to live my childhood as one that has been characterized by me having had migraines. I can’t remember a school week going by in which I did not go to see the school nurse. Because of this I try to avoid pain or feed with eating food that makes me feel better. I am now working with a fitness trainer to work out and get rid of this bad habit, I’m glad to say that it has been my good fortune, to outgrow these childhood migraines.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Job 3
“ It was not a matter of live o die… And it will always be that way.” (O’Brian 133)
This passage stands out as an insightful identifier because it explains what happens at war and what was Tim O’Brian’s experience of killing a man. The realization is he didn’t really need to kill the man as his life did not depend on it. Tim has pulled the cap of the grenade and by then had no option but to throw it. He did and a man died.
Tim says, “and it will always be that way.”(O’Brian 133) He says that because there is nothing that can change what happened. He doesn’t express regret or guilt. He is just resigned to the idea that this is what happens in war.
“There was no music…’why’s she dancing?” (O’Brian 134)
Again this passage supports the theme that what happens in a war just doesn’t make sense. A girl is dancing even though we find out that her house burned down and her family is dead. There was no music is an insightful identifier that there was nothing to dance to, just as there is no reason for the girl to dance. It makes no sense. This supports the theme that you cant explain the strange things that happens at war.
That isn’t to say that if there was music and the girl was dancing it would make sense. It means there was no reason to dance and the music is a metaphor for the reason.
“I did not look on my work as therapy. But that nonetheless help to clarify and explain.” (O’Brian 158)
I chose this passage because I thought it was an insightful identifier to how the author was able to write the book. By writing about what happened to all of them. O’Brian was able to document what needed to be known and understood and once they were on paper. He could start letting go of these stories. It was therapy for him to write them down.
O’Brian says, “ By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself.” (O’Brian) This shows how he could deal with his memories so that he could go on with his life. Norman Bowker wasn’t able to let go of his memories as Tim was. I think that writing the stories was very significant to understanding the book was written.
“Briefly he stopped and watches the clouds… The rain was the war and you had to fight it.”(O’Brian)
O’Brian writes another insightful identifier that is a metaphor for the war. In this text the war is compared to the rain. The rain wouldn’t let you up just like you cant take a break from the war. You just have to deal with it as you would the rain with all its inconveniences.
Another realization could be that there is something positive with lots of rain like plants growing, so maybe something positive also came out of the war.
“Azar kept shaking his head… You’ve got to admit, its pure world class irony”
An insightful identifier is that O’Brian is always writing about the irony of their situation. In this passage he refers to them, “ Wasted in the waste.” (O’Brian 165) By this he keeps repeating this idea that not only was the war like being in shit, but they actually were in real shit in that the field where they were camping in was used as toilet.
Being in the war stunk, and the place they were in the war’s stunk. This is the irony that O’Brian was referring to. The deep meaning is that this was a shifty war to have to be in.
This passage stands out as an insightful identifier because it explains what happens at war and what was Tim O’Brian’s experience of killing a man. The realization is he didn’t really need to kill the man as his life did not depend on it. Tim has pulled the cap of the grenade and by then had no option but to throw it. He did and a man died.
Tim says, “and it will always be that way.”(O’Brian 133) He says that because there is nothing that can change what happened. He doesn’t express regret or guilt. He is just resigned to the idea that this is what happens in war.
“There was no music…’why’s she dancing?” (O’Brian 134)
Again this passage supports the theme that what happens in a war just doesn’t make sense. A girl is dancing even though we find out that her house burned down and her family is dead. There was no music is an insightful identifier that there was nothing to dance to, just as there is no reason for the girl to dance. It makes no sense. This supports the theme that you cant explain the strange things that happens at war.
That isn’t to say that if there was music and the girl was dancing it would make sense. It means there was no reason to dance and the music is a metaphor for the reason.
“I did not look on my work as therapy. But that nonetheless help to clarify and explain.” (O’Brian 158)
I chose this passage because I thought it was an insightful identifier to how the author was able to write the book. By writing about what happened to all of them. O’Brian was able to document what needed to be known and understood and once they were on paper. He could start letting go of these stories. It was therapy for him to write them down.
O’Brian says, “ By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself.” (O’Brian) This shows how he could deal with his memories so that he could go on with his life. Norman Bowker wasn’t able to let go of his memories as Tim was. I think that writing the stories was very significant to understanding the book was written.
“Briefly he stopped and watches the clouds… The rain was the war and you had to fight it.”(O’Brian)
O’Brian writes another insightful identifier that is a metaphor for the war. In this text the war is compared to the rain. The rain wouldn’t let you up just like you cant take a break from the war. You just have to deal with it as you would the rain with all its inconveniences.
Another realization could be that there is something positive with lots of rain like plants growing, so maybe something positive also came out of the war.
“Azar kept shaking his head… You’ve got to admit, its pure world class irony”
An insightful identifier is that O’Brian is always writing about the irony of their situation. In this passage he refers to them, “ Wasted in the waste.” (O’Brian 165) By this he keeps repeating this idea that not only was the war like being in shit, but they actually were in real shit in that the field where they were camping in was used as toilet.
Being in the war stunk, and the place they were in the war’s stunk. This is the irony that O’Brian was referring to. The deep meaning is that this was a shifty war to have to be in.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Job 2.
1. “It wasn’t a question of deceit. Just the opposite: he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt. For Rat Kiley, I think, facts were formed by sensation… multiplying by maybe.” (O’Brian 89-90)
This text creates a mood for understanding Rat Kiley’s version of the truth through the sense of humor of Tim O’Brian. Tim makes Rat’s stories sound like exaggeration but not the lying type but the type that is blown our of proportion because that is how he experiences it.
O’Brian uses words like heat up the truth and make it burn so hot. I noticed these words because you never associate heat with the truth, but the author wants you to feel that truth is full of hot air and is unbelievable. I also thought it was very funny that he comes up with a math formula subtracting superlatives, finding a square root of an absolute and multiplying by maybe. O’Brian creates a mood of amusement at Rat Kiley’s stories.
2. “Near the end of the third week… but then weren’t they all?” (O’Brian 104-105)
The author’s choice of phrases like: seemed to accept, restless gloom, at the edge of, shoulders hunched, blue eyes opaques, and seemed to disappear, create the mood that someone is present physically, but emotionally they’re somewhere else. You feel that something is wrong. He also says a haunted look, partly terror, partly rapture, caught in that no man’s land- these words all create a mood that there is something trouble Mary-
Anne.
By using these words and expressions, O’Brian paints a sad picture of Mary Anne’s mood. The reader can understand how Mary-Anne is feeling and that helps the reader to have pathos for her sadness. He says, “ Just a child, blond and innocent,”(O’Brian 105) This sentence sounds like a description of a sweet little girl so the reader feels that she has been hurt by someone stronger than her.
3. “Across the room a dozen candles… but the high voice was Mary Anne’s.” (O’Brian 109-110)
With this text the author creates a mysterious, spooky mood. He has candles burning, echo sounds, and music that is described as tribal. He describes a smell from some exotic smokehouse to make it smell foreign and not belonging there. He also says a powerful stench to make it sound like it stinks. The smell is described as paralyzing your lungs- strong words to indicate a shocking smell. It is thick and numbing. The stink of the kill. He uses words like decayed, skin dangled, stacks of bones -all description that give you the creeps.
The author goes on to use capital letters, “ ASSEMBLE YOUR OWN GOOK!! FREE SALMPLE KIT!!.”(O’Brian 110) He uses capital letters and exclamation marks in twos and threes to grab the readers attention. He also says, “ The images came in a swirl Rat said, and there was no way you could process it all.” (O’Brian 110) This lets the reader feel that the situation was overwhelming.
4.“ It was his one eccentricity, The panty hose,… and let the magic do its work.” (O’Brian 117-118)
This text creates a mood of disbelief that the pantyhose of Henry Dobbins’s girlfriend was considered by him to have powers to protect him from danger. The author describes this as properties of a good luck charm, and the way an infant sleeps with a flannel blanket which creates a mood that the pantyhose makes Henry feel safe. He uses words like secure and peaceful. It is a talisman. It is like body armor.
This description of a soldier creating a ritual of wrapping a girl’s pantyhose which is a feminine object is unexpected but the truth of what happens makes the reader question this doubt. Maybe it was able to keep him from being hurt. “Dobbins was invulnerable. Never wounded, never a scratch.” (O’Brian 118) The author creates a mood of believing in the power of the pantyhose.
5.“ Oh man, you fuckin’ trashed that fucker… this particular individual gets A-plus.” (O’Brian 125-126)
This text creates a mood of having to describe something in which you cant even find the right words to describe them. Azar is trying to describe the man that Kiowa had killed. The body is so badly destroyed, but the author describes it in words that just don’t belong with describing a person who has been killed.
The author uses words liked Shredded fucking Wheat, oatmeal, and Rice Krispies. These are names of breakfast cereals that have no similarities at all with a person that has been destroyed. Breakfast cereals are words of a fresh start at the beginning of the day and not the end of a life. The author also says, “ On the dead test, this particular individual gets A- plus.” (O’Brian 126)The reader is left wondering who says something like that to describe a man who is killed. The mood is that the death of this man doesn’t even matter.
This text creates a mood for understanding Rat Kiley’s version of the truth through the sense of humor of Tim O’Brian. Tim makes Rat’s stories sound like exaggeration but not the lying type but the type that is blown our of proportion because that is how he experiences it.
O’Brian uses words like heat up the truth and make it burn so hot. I noticed these words because you never associate heat with the truth, but the author wants you to feel that truth is full of hot air and is unbelievable. I also thought it was very funny that he comes up with a math formula subtracting superlatives, finding a square root of an absolute and multiplying by maybe. O’Brian creates a mood of amusement at Rat Kiley’s stories.
2. “Near the end of the third week… but then weren’t they all?” (O’Brian 104-105)
The author’s choice of phrases like: seemed to accept, restless gloom, at the edge of, shoulders hunched, blue eyes opaques, and seemed to disappear, create the mood that someone is present physically, but emotionally they’re somewhere else. You feel that something is wrong. He also says a haunted look, partly terror, partly rapture, caught in that no man’s land- these words all create a mood that there is something trouble Mary-
Anne.
By using these words and expressions, O’Brian paints a sad picture of Mary Anne’s mood. The reader can understand how Mary-Anne is feeling and that helps the reader to have pathos for her sadness. He says, “ Just a child, blond and innocent,”(O’Brian 105) This sentence sounds like a description of a sweet little girl so the reader feels that she has been hurt by someone stronger than her.
3. “Across the room a dozen candles… but the high voice was Mary Anne’s.” (O’Brian 109-110)
With this text the author creates a mysterious, spooky mood. He has candles burning, echo sounds, and music that is described as tribal. He describes a smell from some exotic smokehouse to make it smell foreign and not belonging there. He also says a powerful stench to make it sound like it stinks. The smell is described as paralyzing your lungs- strong words to indicate a shocking smell. It is thick and numbing. The stink of the kill. He uses words like decayed, skin dangled, stacks of bones -all description that give you the creeps.
The author goes on to use capital letters, “ ASSEMBLE YOUR OWN GOOK!! FREE SALMPLE KIT!!.”(O’Brian 110) He uses capital letters and exclamation marks in twos and threes to grab the readers attention. He also says, “ The images came in a swirl Rat said, and there was no way you could process it all.” (O’Brian 110) This lets the reader feel that the situation was overwhelming.
4.“ It was his one eccentricity, The panty hose,… and let the magic do its work.” (O’Brian 117-118)
This text creates a mood of disbelief that the pantyhose of Henry Dobbins’s girlfriend was considered by him to have powers to protect him from danger. The author describes this as properties of a good luck charm, and the way an infant sleeps with a flannel blanket which creates a mood that the pantyhose makes Henry feel safe. He uses words like secure and peaceful. It is a talisman. It is like body armor.
This description of a soldier creating a ritual of wrapping a girl’s pantyhose which is a feminine object is unexpected but the truth of what happens makes the reader question this doubt. Maybe it was able to keep him from being hurt. “Dobbins was invulnerable. Never wounded, never a scratch.” (O’Brian 118) The author creates a mood of believing in the power of the pantyhose.
5.“ Oh man, you fuckin’ trashed that fucker… this particular individual gets A-plus.” (O’Brian 125-126)
This text creates a mood of having to describe something in which you cant even find the right words to describe them. Azar is trying to describe the man that Kiowa had killed. The body is so badly destroyed, but the author describes it in words that just don’t belong with describing a person who has been killed.
The author uses words liked Shredded fucking Wheat, oatmeal, and Rice Krispies. These are names of breakfast cereals that have no similarities at all with a person that has been destroyed. Breakfast cereals are words of a fresh start at the beginning of the day and not the end of a life. The author also says, “ On the dead test, this particular individual gets A- plus.” (O’Brian 126)The reader is left wondering who says something like that to describe a man who is killed. The mood is that the death of this man doesn’t even matter.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Thing They Carried.
1.“The draft notice arrived on June 17, 1968.…. to a smoldering self-pity, then to numbness. “ ( O’Brian 41-42)
This reading shows a point in which time stood still for Tim O’Brian. He had just received his draft notice, and it felt as if his life was ending. His first reaction was denial. There must have been a mistake. “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen.”(O’Brian 41) I believe Tim O’Brian felt an inner rage so great that he felt blood flood into his eyes and a howl that was dying to come out. A million reasons for why he shouldn’t be drafted were bouncing around in his head as he faces this enormous problem that he has no power to avoid.
O’Brian can remember time and setting clearly. It was June 17th 1968, afternoon and humid. He had just come back from playing golf only to find disaster waiting for him. The author reveals the thought process and his feelings of rage, self-pity and numbness.
2. Beyond all this, or at the very center… taking aim at another human being.(O’Brian 44)
In this text, O’Brian is thinking about dying. He shows his fear of dying. He describes it using the word “raw” which shows how painful thinking about death is to him. He is aware of driving up Main Street, passing the courthouse and the Ben Franklin store and feeling very afraid of going to a war in which he could die.
O’Brian tries to imagine what it would be like to be in Vietnam and how he thinks he may react to being there and being forced to kill an enemy. He says, “taking aim at another human being,”(O’Brian 44) This reveals his feelings about taking another life, the life of a person. His epiphany is the realization that he cannot do this.
3. “At one point, I remember Elroy put down his maul…..the problem had gone beyond discussion.“ (O’Brian 51)
This text reveals the character of Elroy Berdahl, an eighty-one year old man that O’Brian met at Tip Top Lodge. Elroy says a lot more with his expressions than the words he says. He appears to be a wise man considering Tim’s situation and understanding that it was better to listen than to speak. Elroy seems to understand Tim’s problem without having to ask any questions.
I think that Elroy was giving serious thought to Tim’s problem, and the reason that he was at the lodge. Elroy realizes that you cannot force decisions but that you have to wait for the person to sort things out until he comes to his own conclusion. Elroy reacts to his setting by acting patient and natural like the nature around him.
4. “In any circumstance…. for two pr three hours he simply sat there.” (O’Brian 62-63)
In this text, Dave Jensen seems to be encountering a problem in which he couldn’t trust anyone. “His realization is that he didn’t feel safe. “No safe ground: enemies everywhere.” ( O’Brian 63) Dave seems to feel threatened by Strunk coming after him seeking revenge. Dave acts paranoid and interacts with his setting by staying on the perimeter, away from everyone.
The author reveals that Dave felt tense, skittish and under strain. He showed avoidance and strange behavior of hearing noises or threats that were not there. This reveals his disturbed and paranoid behavior Dave eventually goes nuts and fires at them with live ammunition which shows that he has lost control.
5. “He stepped back and shot it….. Pupils shiny black and dumb.”( O’Brian 78-79)
This text best shows how Rat expressed his grief over the death of his best friend Curt Lemon who died when he stepped on a booby-trap. Rat is carefully and calmly killing an innocent water buffalo one shot at a time. One shot wasn’t enough. He didn’t feel like killing. He needed to destroy something.
Rat showed how he dealt with this huge conflict of death. His realization was that he needed to hurt as much as he felt hurt. He wanted to cause as much pain as he felt. The way he would whisper to the animal and then shoot him showed how cold and cruel he could be.
This reading shows a point in which time stood still for Tim O’Brian. He had just received his draft notice, and it felt as if his life was ending. His first reaction was denial. There must have been a mistake. “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen.”(O’Brian 41) I believe Tim O’Brian felt an inner rage so great that he felt blood flood into his eyes and a howl that was dying to come out. A million reasons for why he shouldn’t be drafted were bouncing around in his head as he faces this enormous problem that he has no power to avoid.
O’Brian can remember time and setting clearly. It was June 17th 1968, afternoon and humid. He had just come back from playing golf only to find disaster waiting for him. The author reveals the thought process and his feelings of rage, self-pity and numbness.
2. Beyond all this, or at the very center… taking aim at another human being.(O’Brian 44)
In this text, O’Brian is thinking about dying. He shows his fear of dying. He describes it using the word “raw” which shows how painful thinking about death is to him. He is aware of driving up Main Street, passing the courthouse and the Ben Franklin store and feeling very afraid of going to a war in which he could die.
O’Brian tries to imagine what it would be like to be in Vietnam and how he thinks he may react to being there and being forced to kill an enemy. He says, “taking aim at another human being,”(O’Brian 44) This reveals his feelings about taking another life, the life of a person. His epiphany is the realization that he cannot do this.
3. “At one point, I remember Elroy put down his maul…..the problem had gone beyond discussion.“ (O’Brian 51)
This text reveals the character of Elroy Berdahl, an eighty-one year old man that O’Brian met at Tip Top Lodge. Elroy says a lot more with his expressions than the words he says. He appears to be a wise man considering Tim’s situation and understanding that it was better to listen than to speak. Elroy seems to understand Tim’s problem without having to ask any questions.
I think that Elroy was giving serious thought to Tim’s problem, and the reason that he was at the lodge. Elroy realizes that you cannot force decisions but that you have to wait for the person to sort things out until he comes to his own conclusion. Elroy reacts to his setting by acting patient and natural like the nature around him.
4. “In any circumstance…. for two pr three hours he simply sat there.” (O’Brian 62-63)
In this text, Dave Jensen seems to be encountering a problem in which he couldn’t trust anyone. “His realization is that he didn’t feel safe. “No safe ground: enemies everywhere.” ( O’Brian 63) Dave seems to feel threatened by Strunk coming after him seeking revenge. Dave acts paranoid and interacts with his setting by staying on the perimeter, away from everyone.
The author reveals that Dave felt tense, skittish and under strain. He showed avoidance and strange behavior of hearing noises or threats that were not there. This reveals his disturbed and paranoid behavior Dave eventually goes nuts and fires at them with live ammunition which shows that he has lost control.
5. “He stepped back and shot it….. Pupils shiny black and dumb.”( O’Brian 78-79)
This text best shows how Rat expressed his grief over the death of his best friend Curt Lemon who died when he stepped on a booby-trap. Rat is carefully and calmly killing an innocent water buffalo one shot at a time. One shot wasn’t enough. He didn’t feel like killing. He needed to destroy something.
Rat showed how he dealt with this huge conflict of death. His realization was that he needed to hurt as much as he felt hurt. He wanted to cause as much pain as he felt. The way he would whisper to the animal and then shoot him showed how cold and cruel he could be.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Assignment #2, Love(27-30); Spin(31-38)
I learned that being in love isn’t easy and that you could love someone who wouldn’t love you back. I felt sorry when Jimmy Cross confessed his feelings to Martha. Her reaction was that she was rather cold and didn’t seem to care about him at all. I’m sure that was very hurtful.
I pictured in my head Martha at that college reunion in 1979. She trained as a nurse but didn’t care too much about it. She hadn’t gotten married, so I pictured her as kind of lost and detached from people. When Jimmy told her he loved her, she didn’t seem to care. I picture Martha as a person who has deadened her emotions.
I couldn’t believe that Azar could be so indifferent in his attitude about seeing a kid with only one leg to the point that he could make a cruel joke about it. He cracked a joke that the reason the boy had lost his leg was because the person who shot him had run out of the ammo otherwise they would have blown both legs off a little kid. I couldn’t believe that Azar could think like that. It made me realize that the war had stripped him of his humanity.
I like the way the writer is honest about his feelings and doesn’t try to make everyone look like war heroes. I think the way the writer describes instances of memory as he remembers them, and not as long stories. The way he writes makes the reader aware of the pain of his memories and how much he needs to hold on to these memories to make it all feel real.
Assignment #1, The Things They Carried (1-26).
1.)
The tangible item that I would bring would be a large, plastic tarp. I would prefer that it be of camouflage colors and not be the typical bright neon blue color which would be sure to attract attention. An olive green color would be most ideal.
The reason for this would be that having a tarp would be a very effective way of protecting myself and others from the elements. It would provide safe shelter from the weather, rain and heat. It would also protect us from evil blood- sucking mosquitoes. The tarp would be useful in allowing us to sleep in a dry spot. The tarp could also be useful in carrying or dragging along other items.
Bringing a tarp would be important to me because I would be prepared and protected from mother nature that could demoralize and defeat me if I had to sleep in a cold or soaking wet environment . Vietnam is known for its tropical weather, which means there would be a lot of rainfall to deal with. Having this tarp would make me feel warm and safe which would be vital for my well being in such a hostile environment.
2.)
The intangible item that I would bring would be the slogan Carpe diem, which translated from Latin means seize the day. I consider it to be a slogan because I would use the force of its meaning to make the most out of every day. I am there for a mission and I better do my job to the best of my ability.
This slogan of seizing the day would energize me to do my absolute best. By thinking this way, I wouldn’t be thinking. oh god how many days am I going to be stuck here. Instead I would be thinking, I’ve got to kill or capture as many enemies as possible. Thinking positively makes all the difference. It would force me to act instead of reacting to the war situation. This should ensure the best results.
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