Long Essay #2

             I will be writing my essay on why the hand maids were so scared of stepping out of line. The rules that they had to follow and the consequences that could have come if they chose to break the rules.  I will be writing on brain washing and methods of torture and intimidation that they might have used to in force the rules and get everyone to follow them.  The most important job of a handmaid was to bear a child and if they were not able to do so they could be killed.  I will write about the pressures of their duties and also the consequences of not producing.  When in fact most of the tie it was the man’s fault, but that was not something that was ever talked about or pointed out.  I will talk about how the handmaids were brain washed into thinking that there was actually something wrong with them and their bodies, when that was not quite the case in probably most of the women.  I think this is a crazy story and I could not live that way to lose your whole family and never know what happened to them would be enough for me to turn in the towel.  My entire essay will be basically about the ways these handmaids were most likely abused and threatened into becoming something they were not and also how after time some of the women were completely brain washed into thinking that this was how things were supposed to be for them.  I will also be touching base on the consequences these women could have faced if not pretending to believe in their way of living during this time.  What could have happened if they even showed any sort of emotions for their past life and the people in it.  They were to just act like their past life and families did not exist.  I will also touch base a little on the other duties of the Martha’s and the soldiers back at that time and what could have possibly been their consequences if disobeying orders.  Also why none of them were able to conversant with each other and why they were so scared to.  Basically my whole essay will be written on how and why back at this time every one followed orders and would not step out of line and how they could have been brain washed.

Cover Letter

To whom this may concern,

            I Bobbisue Nadeau have been through so much in English 102.  I have learned how to make a video and put it on my blog, I learned how to make a blog, how to make a link and add visuals, how to analyze instead of summarize which was very difficult for me since the are two very closely knitted types of writing in my opinion, etc… I feel through all of this I have become a stronger and more knowledgeable writer. 

            My biggest challenge in English 102 has been writing a thought within a thought.  It was very hard for me to write on a subject then go deeper into the thoughts without over thinking it to death. This was by far my hardest and most time consuming paper to write yet.  It was also my most rewarding paper. To struggle with it so much and then get a great grade on it made me feel like I concurred it, which was rewarding because the whole time I was trying to write it I felt like the paper was concurring me.

            So far the Sand Storm by Sean Huze has affected me the most because of the power of the truth in it.  It’s gruesome and vulgar, but true. It made me really understand why so many men and women come home from war noticeably changed and affected by what they have done and seen. It was very sad but informative for me.

             Analyzing has been very challenging for me this class. I am so used to just summarizing and stating facts that it was very hard for me to transition into another way of writing.  Summarizing is like second nature to me because I have written that way for so long. Analyzing really makes me think.

            Last but not least my goals are to do my best on every assignment and pass with flying colors.  To do this I feel I need to improve on my length of papers and detail.  These are not easy things but with hard work and dedication anything is possible.

The Sand Storm

The Sandstorm written by Sean Huze was a very touching and emotional story for me.  At first I was very disturbed by the casual way the soldiers mentioned the brutal deaths of the civilians,  they talked about them like they were just ignorant trash that deserved to die; but as I read on I felt their guilt and shame to for what had happened to the innocent people.  They felt guilt but were too angry to feel it yet; it had to sink in first.  Reading this story also helped me understand the anger that fooled them in to thinking that they didn’t care about what they had done; the way they killed that innocent little boy.  I understand that a person can only take so much of being pushed around and their close buddies being tortured and killed before they just snap and don’t care anymore.  I feel this play was very effective at bringing the audience in and making them feel the hurt and pain that the soldiers had experienced.  This was very hard to read because of its truth.  It brought me to an understanding of what really goes on overseas, when fellow Americans are at war for our freedom.  I liked the way this was written in monologue; this helped me feel the emotions of the characters and the reality of it. I felt like I was right there in conversation with the soldiers.  I can’t even begin to imagine the guilt and shame that soldiers have to deal with for the rest of their lives after experiencing such things.  Like one of the soldiers said in the play, That people always tell him thank you for serving, but he doesn’t understand why.  He feels like he has done nothing to be thanked for and he thinks to himself if they only knew what I have done.  This shows the torment of what they have to live with. All of the things they had done right or wrong even if it was fallowing tricked orders they still cannot forgive themselves.   I feel that that is very tragic because they are heroes in my eyes. They go in to fight and protect the ones they love and have to face things that I never could.  They are human and make mistakes just like everyone else.  They blame themselves for doing things that were commanded of them and for fighting to stay alive.  All of these events take strong and determined people to pull off and stay alive.  I admire their courage and faithfulness to the American people, and I will always thank them for serving and standing up for the greater good. In my eyes they are all heroes.   

URL- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1011341/bio

URL- http://www.lacitycollege.edu/public/news/huze.htm

Respons on "How toTell a True War Story"

I have never thought too much about war stories and whether they are true or false.  Now that I have read “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien I believe that the truest war stories, are the ones with no moral value and no happy ending.  Now looking back, a lot of the war stories I have heard about are tragedies that happened for no good reason; mostly goofing off and accidents.  Any whenever I hear about a war tragedy on the news they usually don’t go into detail about how it happened and why.  Everything is candy coated or made to sound like it happened for a greater good, which is not always the case.  Tim O’Brien writes “If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie” (O’Brien: Pg. 65).  That pretty much believes that you should not believe the candy coated stories we hear on the news or read in the newspaper, because they are probably much worst or maybe even a complete different story altogether.  Tim O’Brien also writes “A true war story is never moral.  It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggests models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done” (Tim O’Brien: Pg. 65).  I feel that O’Brien is basically saying that the more rude and crude the story is, or the more morally unjust it may seem, probably, the truer it is.  Which for me, the more I read this story the harder it was for me to grasp.  It was kind of depressing for me because I began to feel like war is pointless and has no moral value what so ever, which goes against everything I believe and hope for.  This story really got me questioning myself; my beliefs and how I feel about war.  I always have so much to say about things, but when I read these stories they just left me speechless.  Kind of like Tim O’Brien writes “In a true war story, if there’s a moral at all, it’s like the thread that makes the cloth.  You can’t tease it out.  You can’t extract the meaning without unraveling the deeper meaning.  And in the end, really, there’s nothing much to say about a true war story, except maybe “oh” (O’Brien: Pg. 74).  That just about sums up the whole story.  If you are not left speechless, then it is probably not a true war story.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Works Cited

                                 O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carries. True. Oct. 1987.

                                       

                                                                          URL

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070314175239AArlAaa

http://www.illyria.com/tob/tobbio.html

Responding To Poems

            Although I was moved by more than just one of the poems, I have chosen to write about the two that touched me the most and brought the most emotion out of me.  I chose to write about “Song of Napalm” by Bruce Weigl, and “Compendium of Lost Objects” by Nicole Cooley. Both of these poems were very heartfelt and emotional.  They both gave me such vivid pictures of the events and made me feel the writers hurt and pain.

   The first poem called “Song of Napalm” was written about a deep and tragic lose.  I can’t even fathom this kind of lose.  A friend of my family lost her daughter about five years ago and I remember the horrid screams when she found out, like it was yesterday.  This is something that no one should ever have to go through, but unfortunately far too many people do.  In the poem Bruce Weigl writes “The lie works only as long as it takes to speak and the girl runs only as far as the napalm allows until her burning tendons and cracking muscles draw her up into that final position” (Weigl: Par. 5).  That brings so much truth and reality to such a tragic event by stating that no matter how you try to mask the pain and lie to yourself it is not going to last.  You will have to face the truth at one time or another.

    The second poem I chose called “Compendium of Lost Objects” was written about a hurricane.  That there is no safe place for your materialistic things, in an event like this.  This poem brought so many realities to me.  I made me realize how important it is to hold on to and cherish the important things in life like family and friends, because at any moment they could be gone.  I have never experienced a hurricane, but I feel this poem can apply to anyone because what’s dearest to you can be taken at any time.  In the poem Nicole Cooley writes “Because, look, none of this fits in a dark wood cabinet for safekeeping. This is an installation for dismantling –never seen again” (Cooley: Line 12).  She is saying no matter how hard you try or how tight you hold on to something or someone, there is not a safe place on this earth to put them that you can reassure their safekeeping, so cherish every God given moment.  

                                                    Works Cited
Weigl, Bruce. "Songs of Napalm".
http://www.thebeckoning.com/poetry/weigl/weigle.html

Cooley, Nicole. Poets.org. Compendium. 2010.
http://www.poets.org/veiwmedia.php/prmMID/21526

My response to Sam Hamill's "The Necessity to Speak"

    I agree with some of Sam Hamill’s views but not all of them.  I agree that it is very important to speak up in today’s society to make changes.  If we do not want our daughters getting pregnant at such young ages, then we need to inform them on the consequences of their actions and pray that they make good decisions.  Just because a child is educated doesn’t mean that they won’t make mistakes though.  I feel that the biggest problem with teen pregnancy is that parents don’t care. For instance I had tons of friends in high school that their parents let them have boyfriends stay the night with them and even some lived together under their parents’ roof.  I also agree that most abusers have been abused in the past and in order for the cycle to be broken they need to seek serious help.  Most women that have been walked on and beaten through out there lives I believe feel that its normal and tend to find those kind of relationships because that’s what is comfortable to them or maybe that’s what they think they deserve.  I agree that most men are afraid to show emotion like Sam Hamill stated.  In today’s society it is a sign of weakness for a man to cry.  That is very sad; if society wasn’t always pushing people to be what they are not then we probably wouldn’t have as many issues such as, eating disorders, depression, suicide, teen pregnancy, etc…   So yes, I feel that we as a country do need to speak up and stop all of this nonsense about what a person is supposed to look like and act like.  Unfortunately this is what are country has become and I feel that it’s only going to get worse.

            Now were Sam Hamill lost me and I completely disagree with him is his beliefs on disciplining your children.  Maybe it’s just me but I felt like he was saying that spanking your child is abusing your child.  If that’s what he was trying to say I feel like he is sadly mistaken.  

I feel the reason children are so disrespectful these days is because a lot of parents let their children walk all over them.  I’m sorry but that will not fly in my house. I will not allow my kids to think they are the boss.  I’m not saying that it’s ok to beat your kids but there is nothing wrong with a good smack on the butt. 

            About the Army and the government I really can’t say a whole lot because I don’t know much about it other than off course the government is a bunch of lies and scams always has been always will.     

URL- http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733

Good Readers Good Writers

                                                 

               In my opinion, Nabokov thinks a good reader needs to be open minded. Also A good imagination is also very important. One that can take what the writer is saying then adds their own thoughts to it.  The reader also needs to have some knowledge and understanding, if not use the dictionary to get it.  Good readers need passion and patients for what they are reading so it is read and not just skimmed over.  I agree with Nabokov on his views of a good reader, but I also feel that is a reader does not have all of these characteristics that does not mean they are a bad reader.

               I feel some good characteristics of a good reader are defiantly passion and patience.  Without passion a reader will probably never finish the book and without patience important details could be skimmed over and missed.  I feel that if a reader has those two important characteristics then they have a good foundation and with determination the rest will come.  I don’t think I’m a good reader because I have no time with three kids and a husband I’m always being interrupted which makes it hard to focus and let your imagination run wild. And to be honest I don’t enjoy reading, I’d rather get the movie.