The Things They Carried

The section I chose to respond to from Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is the chapter titled “On the Rainy River”. In this section, O’Brien confesses that he made a run to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. As he neared the border of Canada he stopped to rest at a lodge, where he met a man named Elroy Berdahl, whom O’Brien claims saved his life. The most memorable part of this chapter is when Elroy takes him boating out on the Rainy River and stops right along the border as a way to bring Tim face to face with his decision, or perhaps to give him a chance to jump. It’s here at this crossroad between giving up his life and escaping, or returning home only to become a killer or die in the war, that O’Brien asks the reader “what would you do” (56)? After considering this, I came to the conclusion that I probably would have responded the same way by becoming paralyzed or crying, but ultimately I don’t believe I would have made the same choice as him.
O’Brien also mentions that he made the cowardly choice by going to war because it was made out out of embarrassment not to go. I find this interesting because normally you would consider going to war to be a brave and noble service, while escaping to be cowardice. Reading these stories brought back feelings of anger for the soldiers that were drafted into a battle that most of them didn’t even believe in. Especially in such a time of great dispute and protest over a war, it was an admirable thing to fight for your country, whether you believed in it or not. So, let me ask you; what would you do?

Vietnam War timeline:
http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index.html

-Image sources-

Protestors: https://iams.pbworks.com/w/page/26411485/A2-1960s-De-Zwaan
Tim O'Brien: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2007/12/11/hrc_obrien/

Poetry of Witness

Out of the selection of poems we read, I responded the greatest to “Charlie Howard’s Descent” by Mark Doty. The poem tells a tragic story of a young man who is ridiculed and murdered, simply for being gay. The poem becomes even more grim with the knowledge that it is derived from true events. It’s hard for me to accept that someone could carry out this kind of violence because of their own ignorance and discrimination. To recall Sam Hamill, if we as a society were more educated about such issues as homosexuality, there wouldn’t be such a problem with this behavior. My favorite quote from the poem is from the last two lines of the piece, “In the way that only the dead/can afford to forgive” (Doty lines 53-54). Is Doty suggesting the only way you can truly forgive is through death? Or is he suggesting that it’s not worth while to forgive? From what I’ve tasted of wrong doing, I’d have to agree with the first part.
The second poem I reacted to was “Photograph from September 11” by Wislawa Szymborska. The biggest reason I responded to this poem was because I, like so many others, have a clear memory of that day in history. What Szymborska does is describe the terror that was captured in photographs in a respectful and commemorative way. “I can do only two things for them-/describe this flight/and not add a last line”
(Szymborska lines 17-19). She is showing the victims of the attack respect by not stating the inevitability of their death. Reading this poem brought back to attention the memory and emotions of that moment. We all remember what we were doing when we learned of the attack, but what we might not remember is the fear and panic the victims felt, which is something Szymborska accomplishes well in her poem.


The man behind the poem:
http://gaylife.about.com/od/hatecrimes/a/charleshoward.htm

Image source: http://www.triple-tri.com/ttblog/index.php?m=200909

The Necessity to Speak Response

Many of the topics that Sam Hamill discusses in his essay The Necessity to Speak are considered by most to be controversial, such as murder, rape and domestic violence. The main point Hamill tries to get across in his writing is, that by being silent and not discussing these issues properly, we are continuing to allow them to happen.
He believes, and I completely agree, that if we could simply confront these taboo subjects rather than ignore them, the world would be a better place. If men learned how to be “real men” through positive figures and not what the media presents to them, domestic violence and rape wouldn’t be such a common affair. Much the same for women, that if they were appropriately presented with such issues, teen pregnancy rates would be lower and they wouldn’t as easily fall into abuse.
This piece is similar to poetry of witness because it is from a stand point of personal experience or of an observer. One personal experience Hamill mentions is serving as a Marine in the Vietnam War, during which time he became a “conscientious objector.” During Vietnam, soldiers would refer to the Vietnamese as “gooks” as a way to de-humanize them and justify killing them. He also notes that when military recruiters visit schools there is no opposition or voice to support non-violence, which leads to more young people enlisting to become trained executioners.
Another concept Hamill addresses that can lead to violence if misunderstood is homosexuality. Many innocent people become victimized due to homophobia, much like in Mark Doty’s poem “Charlie Howard’s Descent,” in which a young man is killed simply due to his orientation. One of my favorite quotes from Hamill is “knowledge is the loss of innocence,” however, I would like to add that it is also the gain of understanding.


Tips for ending violence:
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-stop-domestic-violence-a76868

Image source: http://aromitorevista.blogspot.com/2010/02/sam-hamill-cinco-poemas.html