The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

I’m not into reading stories that involve war but when I read Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried I was in suspense and wanted more. I was attached to the main character Lieutenant Cross from the beginning of the first chapter. The chapter was the start of a Lieutenant’s strong love for someone. Cross was in love with a woman named Martha and he wasn’t sure she loved him. I took it as one of those sappy love stories of a friend being in love with their best friend. In just one chapter I learned so much about the main character and what was ahead which leaves me wanting more.
The chapter was an introduction to the men and Lieutenant Cross and what they carried through Vietnam. They had so many pounds of materials they needed to help them through the war like clothing, bandages, ammo, and helmets and they still found the strength to carry more. Cross carried the letters of his love Martha. It broke my heart because I thought of all the men who had memoirs of home like pictures and knick knacks they carried through war.
The letters that Martha wrote Cross were carried with him though the hell and chaos of war and a letter that Martha didn’t think was so symbolic was helping Cross bare with all the death and homesickness. When I think about war I don’t think about the soldiers who go to sleep crying at night or the ones who hold on to a picture of their families with their lives because it’s their only reminder of home, I’m not sure if anyone does. The first chapter of The Things They Carried really opened my eyes, there is a war going on now and there are possibilities that people I love could go to Iraq and be in Lieutenant Cross’ shoes. When I see all the American flags and people strongly supporting our soldiers I know why they do. Soldiers leave people they love to fight for people they don’t even know personally. There are so many soldiers fighting right now that have never seen my face but they are fighting to keep me and my country safe. I feel more impacted now than I ever have about war because I only saw the pictures. Now that I have went as far as reading personal stories I feel for our soldiers.

Sean Huze's "The Sandstorm"

Sean Huze the author of The Sandstorm, which entails stories from men in the Iraq war. These stories are deep and sad but true. I am on onlooker and when I think about the men serving my country I don’t think about the stories they tell. The men that are lost and the danger they face is forgotten. Men out there that have families just like me and futures ahead of them like me, are risking their lives for me.
These soldiers are in Iraq not only to protect the country but they protect the people in Iraq too. I enjoyed the story where the people of Iraq were grateful and cared for them by helping them out too. There are citizens here who think that the Iraqi people are vicious and don’t care about what the soldiers are doing to protect them but no ones knows until they experience it themselves.
I can’t ever say I’m brave because I’m not. There are soldiers in Iraq that are just as young as me and they left their families to help the country. Soldiers deserve the respect they are given because they go to dangerous countries like Iraq and knowingly risk their lives. They risk their psychological health knowing that they will see things only a soldier will. I have never put myself in that position and I know I couldn’t. Some soldiers go to war knowing they can’t either but they do because they protect America. I have a close friend who is engaged to a Navy soldier who is on a ship near Korea. They haven’t physical been near each other for over a year. He is a strong soldier because he is out there fighting for us and our freedom while we sit here living the lives they chose to abandon so we can live the lives they wanted. It’s a miracle every time he comes home from port. I believe all soldiers deserve the benefits they get because of what they leave behind and what they face. I sadly enough didn’t know about all the tragedy that was going on in our soldiers’ lives and what they faced. Sean Huze’s play opened my eyes and made me admire the soldiers in Iraq even more.

Poem Response

Times like Those Make Great Poems
I had a small majority of poems to choose from and I read them all and I found two that I understood and took to heart. They both were similar in the fact that they had something to do with war and they both didn’t flat out and explain their points. The first poem that caught my eye was Alicia Ostinker’s Daffodils because without me overanalyzing it I understood what the poet meant. I also liked Kevin Powers’ Letters composed during a lull in the fighting. His poem was short but it was just enough to make me agree and know what he was going through without him explaining.
Daffodils to me was a poem explaining how bad the war was and how precious the soldiers war. I thought that Ostinker was making a comparison between a flower and a human being. Not only soldiers I thought she was speaking of human kind too. To me it made me appreciate how beautiful people are no matter how different they are.
Powers’ poem seemed like it had nothing to say but it spoke a lot to me, for a moment I knew exactly what Powers was going through. To me, he seems like a man who is a relationship and he’s protecting it by telling nice lies. Those lies though are there to protect his lover from fear. He doesn’t want to tell his love how brutal the war really is because he knows it will only bring more heartache. I have caught myself several times in the same role as Powers and the lies aren’t there to hurt they are solely there to protect. I feel like the poet can relate to many people in a relationship because I feel like little white lies such as his are common. His poem was simple and petite but to me much more powerful than novel length poems.
I don’t have much in common with wars but like all people I do have an opinion and I do have remorse. These poets brought great inspiration to me and to seek out for the people who suffer from the war and their loved ones. I really enjoyed this assignment because it makes me think of what I normally avoid.

My Sam Hamill Response

I was caught off guard when I read about Sam Hamill. He has a very unique story about him, much different than what I was mentally preparing myself for. I was shocked to find out that a person like him would be a famous poet. The Necessity to Speak was enjoyable to read because the story was extreme and it really grasped my attention. It’s not often when I read stories about people like Sam Hamill. But I’m not hear to really talk about Sam himself, I’m here to discuss his point.
When Sam Hamill brought up stories about woman that have been abused and his jail experiences I was attached to his writing because he relates to his readers and their interests. In addition to saying that he made up a great point about writing poetry and I feel like it should apply to all writing. “The poet is grateful for the opportunity to serve”, (Hamill pg. 6). It made me stop and appreciate poets in general because I personally tend to feel used as a reader.
Hamill made points by adding experiences and heartfelt stories. He taught me that good poets don’t care and they step out of their shells and forget about reality to create their writings. I posted in a discussion how much I didn’t like poetry and after reading this I want to reread some old poems and learn with open arms because Sam Hamill makes a point I can’t compare to. He gets kudos for changing my mind on reading and writing because I was doubtful on my capabilities. Now I will take my emotions from past experiences which weren’t as brutal as Hamill’s but deep like his and contribute them in the way I write poems and literature.
I was so encouraged by Sam Hamill that I surfed the web to find out more and I came across a website that had minimal but useful information about him that I thought was interesting. http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733

Work Cited

Wilson, Robert."Simply Haiku" Sam Hamill picture. 2 September 2010.
http://www.simplyhaiku.com/SHv3n2/features/Sam_Hamill_intrvw.html