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.

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.

Talking to Strangers

             (Friday Night Lights, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
       
     Christopher stepped on to the train. It was a fancy train with deep blue and yellow checkered seats. The floor was a charcoal colored linoleum that was the same color as Mrs. Shears’s curtains. There were 11 people in the train carriage to London. The only empty seat was next to a big black guy with one leg bandaged up and a crutch by his side. On his other foot was a black Nike shoe with a white swoosh on both sides. Christopher didn't want to sit next to a stranger, but it was the only seat left. He hoped that the black guy wouldn’t touch him because he hated to be touched by strangers. If he touched him, Christopher would scream. Christopher had never seen a black guy before, so he checked him out, up and down, taking in his appearance as he sat down beside him.
     “Dude, you’re staring at the best running back in the history of Permian High School,” said Boobie. “ I’m Boobie Miles.”
     Christopher looked at Boobie and asked, “ Why do you run backwards? Is that for a special type of race?”
     “Don’t you watch football man?” asked Boobie shaking his head. “ Is it an English thing? Who the heck runs backwards?”
     Christopher looked at Boobie’s leg that was all bandaged up. “I can’t imagine anyone being the best at running with a bad leg What happened to you? He asked.
     “ I got tackled bad. They smashed my knee.”
     “I don’t like smashed up bananas. They’re yellow. I don't like yellow.” Christopher did a search through his memory and remembered seeing a smashed up car. It was red. “ I saw 4 yellow cars which made it a Black day, even though I saw a red car. But it was smashed,” he said
     Boobie looked at Christopher and shook his head. “You’re a strange kid,” he said. “How old are you ? Fifteen?” guessed Boobie. “My fans are about your age.”
     “My age is 15 years and 3 months and 5 days,” answered Christopher.
     “Whatever, “ replied Boobie.
     “What’s the number on your jersey?” Asked Christopher.
     “My jersey number is 35.”Said Boobie proudly.
      “I don’t like the number 35. It’s a cardinal number. I only like prime numbers. 35 is not a prime number.”
     “What are you taking about? 35 is the best number ever! 35 will go down in history as being the best number in history!”
      Christopher couldn't understand how a number could go down in history. He didn't understand what that meant. He didn’t say anything .“ I don’t like the number 35. 37 is better. Change it to 37.”
        “I don’t know if they’ll let me. I came to London to see this really good doctor famous for arthroscopic surgery because we don't have any good doctors in Odessa,“ sighed Boobie. “I’ve got to get my knee fixed up, so I can play again.”
      “ Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision. Arthroscopic procedures can be performed either to evaluate or treat many orthopedic conditions including torn floating cartilage, torn surface cartilage, ACL reconstruction and trimming damaged cartilage.” Added Christopher.
     “How do you know that man? Are you a walking encyclopedia or something?” asked Boobie.
     “ I read it on Wikipedia. I have a photographic memory,” said Christopher. “Good luck with your surgery.”
     “Thanks kid. Hey, this is my stop. Got to go,” said Boobie. “Take it easy man. Nice talking to you.” Boobie limped off the train.
      Christopher looked out the window and saw the sign for Kilburn Park. It was 5:00. He didn’t know what the black football player, Boobie Miles said he was supposed to take easy.