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Summer English Reflection

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Wow, what a semester it has been. Even though it is only an eight-week class, those past weeks were tougher than I expected. I mean the class really worked me, there where several times when I just sat and starred at the assignment with an oh my god expression on my face. At first glance, I said to myself, how is this going to be possible!? Then I just backed up for a second and tried to go at it again, but with an open mind, as good reader should. On the positive side, this class taught me a lot of skills that I will be able to carry over into my other classes. For instance, to look past the general text and actually go into trying to figure out symbols and clues that can lead one to discover new meanings behind a story. I believe this will help me in my future classes because then I will be able to come up with different conclusions when I hit an obstacle. In addition, the readings in the class have also taught me more about history and the shocking events that some people have gone through. Another thing that amazed me was that one can learn a lot from reading poetry, which at first sounded kind of crazy, but in reality poetry can have a lot of meaning behind it and in consequence serve as a lesson. Then again, interpreting the poems can be a struggle. I am going to be honest; there were times when I had no idea what the poet was talking about. The text just did not click in my head, so I would sit, and repeatedly read the poem over and over again until something sparked in my head. It was only in that way that I could overcome that obstacle. Not to mention, the essays were probably the most challenging part of the class for their elusive context. In the end, this English class has taught me plenty of high-quality skills that I will be able to continue using in my future college classes. All I can say now is, Thank You.

Valuable Sources

1.

"Tim O’Brien (1946-)." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 211. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 182-241. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 11 July 2011 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ2683950004>

This source is one that includes plenty of important information that will allow me to make my paper stronger. The source includes major works by Tim O’Brien and literary criticisms. The criticisms provide me with views and ideas to broaden my thoughts. In addition, the critics take pieces from The Things They Carried and evaluate them to try and produce explanations about O’Brien’s writing. I would suggest this source to anyone who is looking into O’ Brien’s major literature pieces.

2.

"The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 74. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. 227-339. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 11 July 2011 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ3597250004>

This source can be found in the Yavapai College library catalog. The reason why I chose this source is because it also includes various works of Tim O’Brien. Not only does this source critic the authors work, but also gives examples of some themes and plots included throughout his books. One of the major things this website does is break up the stories from The Things They Carried and analyzes them piece-by-piece to try and interpret the authors writing. I would suggest this source to anyone who wants to get a closer look at a particular story from O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried.

3.

"Tim O’Brien (1946-)." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 103. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. 130-177. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Yavapai College. 11 July 2011 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.yc.edu/servlet/LitCrit/yava/FJ3527750005>

This particular source includes plenty of biographical information. It states many facts about his life and several accomplishments his achieved. It also mentions some of the book he wrote and some of the job titles he had before becoming a well-known writer. Another neat thing about the source is that it includes an interview, in where Tim O’Brien is answers questions about his work. I believe that this source will help me out pretty good because of all the biography information I dug up and for his responses to writing war stories. I highly suggest this website to anyone who is looking for any background information on Tim O’Brien’s life.

4.

Tian, Stan. "The Emotional Effects of War on Soldiers." Health Guidance, 2011. Web. 12 July 2011.

This source mentions a lot of material about soldiers who have suffered from post-war disorders. I found a lot of the material interesting and was just amazed at some of the crucial symptoms soldiers go through after they come back from war. The source helped me understand some of the mind-blowing realities that soldiers go through, and could not imagine what it would feel like to be one of those heroes. Anyhow, if you are interested in gaining knowledge about post-war disorders, I recommend you visit the source because it holds some astonishing information.

Close Reading

“The day was cloudy. I passed through towns with familiar names, through pine forest and down to the prairie, and then to Vietnam, where I was a soldier, and then home again. I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” (O’Brien pg. 58).

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I felt that this quote was one of the strongest piece/passages from all the stories in Tim O’Brien’s book The things They Carried. The reason being, is the manner in which the author describes the main character as being a coward for going to war, when in my personal opinion believe that it takes a lot of bravery to go to war as he did. Perhaps the author describes the main character as a coward because he was afraid of being himself and not sticking up for what he believed in. He was a coward because he did something he did not want to do; he did something that others told him to do so. Fell under the pressure of society. He also states that he survived the war, but it was not a happy ending. That part of the passage can cause a lot of controversy because one would assume that the character should have been thrilled to make it back home alive. But it was just the opposite. The experiences and incidents he lived through were perhaps ones with plenty of emotional effect behind them. In addition, the character most likely did not appreciate some of the tasks he was commanded to do, but completed them regardless of his coward-ness because that was what others expected of him. When it came to getting things done, he would tuck away his fears because he did not want to let anybody down, but when it came back to being himself, he was afraid to tell/show others his true emotions. It is for those reasons why I assume that he states it was not a happy ending. Also, the author tells plenty of stories that demonstrate the sadness of the main character and events that had him shocked. The young soldier was not mentally prepared for a gory experience, and his reactions told throughout the story are proof of it. Then again how can someone mentally prepare for something of that nature? 

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. First Mariner Books edition 2009. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1990. 58. Print.

Here is a link to some history about the Vietnam War.

#4

Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch both had interesting views on poetry of witness. They shared some similarities but they as well had their differences of viewing poetry. Perhaps the time period in which each of them wrote the text could have had all of affect on their thoughts. Nevertheless, they are great pieces of literature that mark a place in the history of poetry. If I had to choose one out of the two, I’d say I liked what Sam Hamill had to say about poetry and using it as a tool to speak the mind by expressing oneself through writing. Writing a poem can be a way for victims to teach others about life lessons. For example, the prisoners that Sam Hamill mentioned wrote about experiences they had. The text can help inform others that they too can stand up for themselves and to learn from one another’s mistakes and experiences, so that abuse be stopped, or at least brought down to a lower level. I also enjoyed the fact of how Sam turns his lifestyle around to help others in prison realize their wrong doings and also show them that they can stick up for themselves without being afraid. On the other hand, I interpreted Carolyn Forch as using poetry to talk about political problems and social classes. I too believe that it is important to mention politics in poetry because it can be used to show readers the type of things people debated about. At first glance, this did not interest me much because I am not all that into politics and such, but as soon as the author began brining in evidence of an event, it can be more joyful for one to read and discover data that can only be heard first hand from a witness. As I read continued viewing both of their views, I could not find something that I would really disagree with. I mean a lot of the stuff the authors mention is controversial, but I can come to understand as to why they feel the way that they do. In the end, everyone has their own style of writing. 

Image Link

Here is a link to some poetry of witness poems.

Poem Response

            I found the poems very interesting and somewhat of a struggle to comprehend what the purpose of the poems was. I attempted reading them with an open mind, so that way I could better understand what was occurring. I then established that most of the poems are similar to short stories that have a lot of meaning behind an incident(s) that occurred. Several of them where extremely graphic in their writing, while others used potent wording to give a better sense of the situation. Out of all the poems read, the two that grabbed my attention the most were Charlie Howard’s Descent by Mark Doty, and The Woman Hanging from The Thirteenth Floor Window by Joy Harjo. I chose these poems for several reasons, some of them being, the incredible word choices, the hidden meaning, and my curiosity of why the authors would go and write about such impacting stories.

            The poem Charlie Howard’s Descent is one with a lot of meaning behind it. At first I was confused on what the author was trying to portray with the child standing on top of a bridge. Then I continued reading and found that the child was committing suicide due to a harsh lifestyle of many insults and feeling of unwanted. The dead child could obviously not be the author, otherwise he would not have written the poem, but my guess is that the author is most likely writing about an experience he might have had in where a close friend of his committed suicide because of bullying. The reason he would write such an emotional poem could be to teach readers a lesson about life and respecting others because one does not know bad he/she can be hurting the other person, until something adverse actually happens.

            The other poem I chose was The Women Hanging from The Thirteenth Floor Window, this was a bit tricky, I could not figure out whether or not the lady was trying to kill herself or if she was already dead. From this poem, I enjoyed the ending better than the rest of the poem because I realized that she wasn’t trying to kill herself, but rather keep her beauty forever since she felt she was aging and her outer beauty was fading away as well. Joy Harjo states this in her last stanza, “The woman hangs from the 13th floor window crying for the lost beauty of her own life” (Harjo). The speaker of the poem can be a tough one to identify, but I would suggest that the speaker be a close relative or friend that has noticed all the changes and actions that have been taking place. The reason why I suggest that is because the author continues to repeat “The women of the thirteenth floor window,” so in consequence it led me to assume that it must have been somebody close enough to watch her every action. The purpose of writing such a poem could be for several reasons, but the reason that appealed to me the most was that it was written to inform people that when one ages, a lot of things become difficult, and therefor one should take it easy on older folks.

Works Cited

Harjo, Joy. “The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window.” She Had Some Horses (1951): n.p. Poetry Foundation. Web. 21 Jun 2011.

Link For Picture

Here is a link to a website of many famous poems.

Summary Vs Analysis

When it comes to describing summary and analysis, there are many reasons that make them very distinct from each other; for example, the format, the elements that make it up, and what it presents.

To start off, a summary is a shortened statement of a story, movie, or event that highlights the main points.  A summary can be very useful when trying to get a quick overview of what the entire event or anything to that extent might consist of. A summary can be found on the back of books, movies, and any thing else that can be shortened to illustrate the main goals. There are also several elements included in a summary, for instance the author, title, who, what, where, when, why, and the main idea of the text. The elements involved allow for a smooth and quick presentation of the entire project that is being summarized.

An analysis on the other hand is a detailed examination of the elements by which the movie, story, event or something is made of. To have an analysis one first must have summarized the thing which he or she is summarizing to figure out the main points, so there after the individual can go into detail on explaining the reasoning behind why it is the way that it is. An analysis goes into much more detail of explaining the elements to what is happening and why it is happening, the causes and effects of an event, the meaning behind an object and or the trends that followed throughout. An analysis brings out a better presentation because it is usually longer in length due to the depth in which one goes into to give a better understanding of the entire plot.

Here is an example summary of my favorite book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. 

Here is an example analysis of Green Eggs and Ham.