Final Presentaion

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Blog#7

 

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This class for me was very interesting and challenging.  I feel that the instruction with regard to analysis vs summary were particularly informative.  I know that I will utilize these skills in future writings, and have found myself even exercising them on a daily basis when any text crosses my line of sight.  I was also very surprised and exhilarated by the selections you chose for our required reading.  O'Brien, and Huze's works are not for the faint of heart, and I really enjoyed reading assignments that had some "endowment" to them :) .  Everything from the poems of the falling people, to the rib-cracking kicks of the marine were not the status quo hum drum readings one would expect from a college course.  As to me meeting the conditions of the learning outcomes for the class mentioned in the syllabus,  I can only hope I did as well as I feel I did.  I felt that I did learn new tactics and avenues of thought and scrutiny.  This course has influenced my writing in the sense that it has become more organized and methodical.  I can stick to a thesis now, without spinning around mindlessly for paragraphs attempting to substantiate my claim, or at least feel like I've done my best at flogging the concept into the mind of the reader.  I feel that the largest challenge to me in this class was essay number three.  I found it difficult to muster up enough information that I could apply to my analysis of O'Brien's purpose.  The Vietnam war is one convoluted issue even to this day, and while trying to bolster up my paper when the cloud of witnesses regarding the topic was so huge, i had difficulty formulating a cohesive opinion in such muddy waters.

Overall I have really enjoyed this class and am grateful for the principles it has instilled in me to help me analyze and write better.  Thank you very much.

 Teresa Altamirano

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Blog#5

"On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of this foxhole and burned Martha's letters.  Then he burned the two photographs.  There was a steady rain falling, which made it difficult , but he used heat tabs  and Sterno  to build a small fire, screening it with his body holding the photographs over the tight blue flame with the tips of his fingers.

He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid.

Lavender was dead. You couldn't burn the blame." (O'Brien. THe Things They Carried. pg.22)

I found this passage to be particularly striking due to its "matter of fact" nature.  The Lieutenant  has awoken to several life issues.  Is he a fit leader?  Was it actually his fault for the demise of his comrade?  What in the heck is Martha up to?  Where did I put my safety blanket (the white stone she gave him.)  Is the enemy approaching?  These are the thoughts that race the the mind of Lieutenant Cross.  He is spiritually burdened with things far beyond his control, and has lost vigilance due to it.  He is in jeopardy and needs the deliverance that only those who would share these burdens can provide, be they emotional or physical in nature. whether it be danger of death, or wrong decision, a burden to get rid of this damned apparition. She I think is a metaphore for many things that glimmer and tantalize the soul, perhaps for temporary rapture from a hellish world but its there... and it eases the burden of being a living being, striving for survival.  The things he carries he realizes outweigh his own concerns with his own emotional burdens.  They must rally, they must "hump" their way together, and in the process try to keep as much of their souls intact as possible.

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Blog # 3

Can You Feel What I Felt?

Poetry is a fascinating and marvelous form of human expression.  Poets utilize distinctive styles, words, and verbal rhythms to convey to their audience a particular emotion or concept.  This affords the poet a never ending spring of subject matter, as anything can be described figuratively to give the audience a hand in actually experiencing the text.  I think poetry of witness is a form of poetry that chooses an experience, or feeling inflicted on the speaker while seeing a particular event as its subject matter.  Poetry of witness expresses the speakers emotional paradigm given a set of circumstances, and proceeds to describe them for the mind's eye with sensitivity.  

We see this proven in Carolyn Forche's "The Colonel."  We know that the reason this story is being relayed by the speaker is to satisfy the query of the audience.  "What you have heard is true.  I was in his house." (Carolyn Forche, The Colonel line 1.) indicates that the listener has already heard of the brutal Colonel and his bag of ears.  The relationship of the speaker and the audience in this poem was not intimate, purely platonic.  The language being used is not one of endearment. It is more or less concerned with the re-telling of facts to the asking party in a fairly straightforward manner.  Brief explanations of setting such as "His wife carried a tray of coffee and sugar" (Carolyn Forche, The Colonel line 2) and "we had dinner, rack of lamb, good wine, a gold bell was on the table for calling the maid" (Carolyn Forche, The Colonel lines 11-13) demonstrate that the speaker is not too interested in dressing up the story.  There are no powerful or vivid adjectives to add polish to the tone of this poem.  Figurative language is used sparingly such as "they were like dried peach halves" (Carolyn Forche, The Colonel line 23) as the writer admittedly has no other way to relate the event of having a cadavers' ear brandished in their faces except literally.   I also feel that the author has a semi-strong belief in the right to freedom from torment and the right to live.  Why else would the body language of the other dinner companion, stifle him?  My belief is the speaker was about to convey his dislike for the Colonel's policies on governing, and this is why her friend gestures to be quiet.  Carolyn Forche does an adequate job of keeping things concise and easy to follow.  Her short, understated descriptions create a sense of normalcy, which affords a bit of excitement at the poems climax when the Colonel manifests his bag o' ears.  I think "The Colonel" did an excellent job as a poem of witness.  It adequately guided us on a journey of the experience the two subjects experienced that one evening with the Colonel.

Bruce Weigl's "Song of Napalm" is a much different poem of witness than Carolyn Forche's.  Within the first stanza we already see a bit more description adding imagery to Bruce's poem.  "After the storm, after the rain stopped pounding" (Bruce Weigl, Song of Napalm, line 1.)  Its words like "pounding," that open our minds and invite us to imagine the sound of heavy rain.  It is specified in the title that this poem of witness was composed for Bruce's wife.  So it logically follows that Bruce is our speaker in "Song of Napalm."  The audience being his wife, I'd say this poem is a poem of lament and confession.  Bruce needs badly to describe his feelings with regard to what he has witnessed.  As he treks through this jungle, the nature of his actions, and those of his war associates weighs heavily on his conscience.  The event is over, and as the rain subsides Bruce recollects the travesty.  Feeling shackled to the event, as a responsible party he bears the guilt of this woman's death.  A prisoner of his deeds, Bruce tells his wife that the trees even feel oppressive.  Like barbed wire on a prison forever keeping him from escaping what he has done, and the emotional consequences attached.  Given the intimacy of the speaker and audience, I would venture that the tone of this poem is one of somberness.  Bruce seeks exaltation from his feelings of sorrow, but just as the woman met her inevitable fate, Bruce too must face his consequences.  Forever will he be plaqued with the image of her,  seared in his eyes.  I think what Bruce is saying is that death is painful.  Even when its not you dying, the human instinct compels us to wish for the impossible.  He longs for his actions to be reversed, but not even "your good love and not the rain-swept air and not the jungle green pasture unfolding before us can deny it" (Bruce Weigl, Song of Napalm. Line 43.)

To conclude.  These poems adequately fit the criteria for a poem of witness.  Both poems describe the feelings experienced by the speaker whilst undergoing their event.  Both poems have a tragic event, and examine the value of life, and the implications of the loss of it.  Both writers seemingly express a belief in life's significance.  Carolyn demonstrates this in her poem by wanting to say something to the Colonel that would have been unwise.  Bruce shows us his concern for life by his haunted expressions and the obvious impact watching that woman die all alone with nothing left had on him.  Analyzing poetry is an interesting procedure.  There is much more than meets the eye on the surface to a poem.

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Blog#2

Video Intro

Good Readers and Good Writers

People believe good readers are those who can read anything that comes their way, those who can read fast, read much and read well, or have a set of preferences developed over a period of time with reading experiences. Vladimir Nabokov describes a good reader as a passionate, artistic, and aloof individual. A good reader establishes an artistic harmonious balance between his mind and the authors mind. Someone who takes pleasure in the inner weave of a given masterpiece. I believe a good reader feels passionate about what books he/she will conquer next. It’s the artistic side and aloofness of the reader that captures the full mental grasp of what the author is implying. A creative reader is a good reader. Creative reading isn’t the flair to read between the lines and understand author’s inherent intentions, suggestions or embedded allusions. It is the quality to be able to discern the genre and reading strategy of the book, to know if and when the author’s intrusion is necessary to enjoy the book to its utmost, to be able to classify the books and authors according to varied parameters and know the time their reading will be best suited. My reading comprehension is very poor. I do not believe for one second that I fit in the category of a “Good Reader”.  I have improved and continue to acquire the necessary strategies to be considered an accomplished reader. My fiancé is a fantastic reader and a wonderful companion to read with. I feel my weakness is text structure. I have not read many books. I found it most difficult to grasp the meaning of what the atmosphere is like inside the authors mind. I could not get a picture; I lacked imagery in my reading. I never understood how people could imagine the scenery of where the characters are or what they’re wearing and run with it till the end, like a film. As I continue to expand my genre of reading, I’m beginning to understanding books more while I familiarize my self better with English grammar.