Exploration Four

My favorite chapter in the book had to be Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong. It was my favorite because to me it was the most unusual out of all the other stories. Mark Fossie somehow managed to get his girl to Nam and when she arrived she was immediately taken back by everything. She was in awe because of the new sights she saw, the new scents she smelled and simply how different it was from what she was use to. This book doesnt really change my opinion on the impact of tragic loss. War or no war its still a tragedy and in most cases its still going to effect the people close to whoever lost their lives in the tragedy. Seeing that its war the post effects might be a little different. But war or no war they mostly are gonna feel the pain, deep inside to. Struggling to get over the person is going to be hard. One of the hardest things to do in my opinion. But thats ok its natural. Its not suppose to be easy. This person was close to you one of the closest. They have been there with you through the good and the bad. You hold a bond together that you hold with no one else. You can talk about or share anything with this person, they understand you and arent going to pass judgments. All of those things are reasons why it is so hard to get over the tragic loss of someone close. You are so use to them being active in your life, your use to them being there and then all of a sudden they are gone. Not gone and coming back later but gone for good. You try to play it over in your head and you just cant believe it. You start thinking if there was anything you could of done to prevent it. Your mind starts racing and playing different scenarios over and over and then you just fall into a hole and crumble because through all of your thinking the cold hard fact will hit you. They are gone for good. They are never coming back and all you have left is memories. You dont know what your going to do without the person. You start to freak out and it all starts over again. Playing the scenarios over and over in your head. Wondering if you could of done anything to prevent it. Its going to be hard, its suppose to be hard to get over it. The only way to get past it in my experience is to simply give it time. Dont rush it. Mourn for as long as you need to. Mourn until you have made peace with what has happened and yourself. It is then you will be able to start moving ahead and getting on with your life.

The Things They Carried

Its hard to pick one single chapter that has been my favortie in the book because ive really enjoyed reading this. Chapter one would have to be one of my favorite chapers though. Its the chapter that really got me interested and made me not want to put the book down. Its hard to grasp what they really had to go through, at times i felt right their along with them going through the everyday struggles they did. Some parts of this chapter caught me off guard in some parts i felt very irritated that they couldnt quit deal with the death of the soldiers among them. Then at other times i felt sad, some of those people carried things for comfort of having something to need to go back to. Jimmy cross though he knew he didnt have Martha the thought of her in a sense is what kept him going and kept him from thinking about the reality that he was in.
The part in the chapter that really grabbed my attention was when Cross sat and burned the memories he hd of martha and tried to make himself realize that he couldnt hlod onto these things as he did. Then he realized it was all in his head and he couldnt stop thinking about her even by burning the stuff and trying to forget. To me this was so sad to just feel like you have nothing and that its a fight for your life everyday. I have great respect for the people who fight for our country.

Exploration Four

The chapter in this book that I found the most engaging was “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”. This chapter gave me a good idea of how lonely the guys fighting in the war could get. Even though they had each other they still missed their loved ones back home. Mark Fossie showed his love for Marry Anne as well as Marry Anne did for Mark Fossie. Mark had to have went through troubles getting her all the way to Vietnam, and Marry Anne knew she was going into a warzone but ignored the dangers to see Mark. I also thought the chapter gave a good example of how much people changed from being in Vietnam. When Mary Anne first got there it was to see her boyfriend, she was eager to get married and have children with him. After being in Vietnam for a while Mary Anne was in no hurry to get married, and I think towards the end she was somewhat losing her mind. This book makes me feel like there are many different ways people can deal with the loss of a loved one. Some people show their emotions and deal with the loss as best as they can and others may handle it just by not trying to handle it at all and become numb to the situation. I think that people struggle so much over losing friends or family because they have built special bonds with these people throughout their lives. Then when one day they are not there anymore could be very tough to cope with. From my experience, the best way to deal with the loss of someone of meaning in your life is to come to terms with what has happened and be thankful for the people that you still have in your life.

"The Things They Carried"

Chapter one was by far my favorite chapter of the whole book. It is what drew me in and made me more interested in the book. I loved how everyone had something physically they carried with them that had meaning, like the toe , the comics, rabbits foot etc. It was there piece of happiness, luck and strength. Not only did they carry physical stuff my emotional baggage. Which sometimes seemed to weigh more than there actual stuff. I was sad to see that Jimmy Cross blamed himself for the death of Ted Lavender. It was in no means his fault, but he still blamed him self because he was distracted on Martha. He carried that with him through out the whole war and never ever forgave himself for his death. I feel like it is hard for people to deal with death because life is such a scary thing that in one second it can be taken away. It is hard for any one to deal with a tragic loss. That's why they call it a loss, because you are loosing somebody you care about. People struggle so much because when your so close with some one and its taken away and never coming back its hard to deal with. I have personally never delt with a tragic loss in my family. I am lucky to have a happy healthy family. I would say the best way to deal with a tragic loss is to appreciate life and appreciate the life that was given to you. Dwelling on it will not bring that person back. They wouldn't want you to dwell they would want you to live your life.
Jimmy Cross is in charge of his troops so he takes a lot of responsibility for things. In my case I'm the oldest child in my family. I take a lot of responsibility of how my siblings act and what the do. They see as i do and I'm the one that sets the influence. If they do something bad i almost feel like it was my fault that i was the one who did it. I have an opinion about war. I don't support any type of war or fighting or violence but i do support the men and women who risk their lives to fight for us. I feel that there are other ways of dealing with issues than killing each other.

Exploration 4 Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

I really liked this chapter for many reasons. One of them would be that it really shows how being in a place of violence and brutallity would influence the personal, characteristics or traits of an individual. It talks about how Mark Fossie got his girlfriend to come to Vietnam to visit him. She starts of as this really sweet, bubbly young lady named Mary Anne Bell. She was very young and kind hearted until the war changed her. I think that this book makes me feel a lot of emotions due to the tragic loss that is occuring through out the book. Many people die in the book, but the reason why it is so hard to get over the death of someone very close to you is when you know it could have been preveneted. I think people grief more when the person dies in a preventable situation rather than natural causes or when you know that it's coming.

"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"

I enjoyed reading "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" because I can relate with Mary Anne. There were two part of the chapter that caught my attention the most. The first was when the the Rat was describing the changes in Mary's look. It doesn’t take long for someone to adapt to war, its not so much they want to its more that they need to. To survive someone must worry about what’s outside the walls and the soldiers you work with, not so much your personal preferences to hygiene or material possessions. The second part I liked about the chapter was on page 111, she talking to Fossie and describing how she truly feels about the country and the situation she has been put in. She describes how much she has learned about herself and how when she is out on mission she can feel her body working. War is like no other experience, your body is on a constant adrenaline rush and all your senses are heightened. It’s a feeling not many understand, nor want to but once you've had it you don’t want any less.

As for responsibility, in the past few months mine has changed dramatically. If you asked me this lat year I would of said that mine are no different then the soldiers in the book. Today they are not as stressful and I have to say, though it may not make sense to most, they don't feel like responsibilities as much as they feel like privileges. I have school and family matters that I am responsible for, along with bills, friends and my boyfriend. Through these responsibilities I am in control of my own life. To be responsible is to be "grown up" or mature. It shows someone's independence or their will to strive. For example in high school most teenagers didn't have to worry about electric bill or mortgage. Then in college they decide to get a place of their own, now they have an electric bill and rent. As we get older we strive for more; a good job, a family and with that comes more responsibilities. To some the less responsibilities the better, others feed of them.

Exploration 4 Spin

Spin is the chapter that was most intrigueng and intresting to me. this chapter talked about how the writer tim obrian having a within a fight to forget the horror of a war or to the live the memories he had about some 20 years ago. this chapter talks about how the soldiers were very young and they were all teens and into their early twenties. this chapter brings the vivid images or the horror and nightmares of the vietanam war, but it also talks about the good times. some of the good times tim talked about in this chapter was forexample when kiowa was teaching Rat kiley and dave jensen to dance in the rain and the local villagers were watching with a mixuture of fascitanion and giggly horrror. in this chapter just like every other chapter in the book Obrian gives a good discription of the chracters and the scene. but to me most fascinating quote is from the end of the chapter when Obrian said "stories are eternety, when your memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story."(tim obrian p 38). this shows that writer feels the resposiblty to tell what had happened some 20 years ago on a place half globe away. and he wrote this book so those stories the glory and horrifying truth were told and those young heroes will never be forgetting and their stories is being told.

this book takes us through how hard it is for one to get over the horror of lossing someone you love infront of you. and seeing the way they died. and living that memory and playing it like a dvd in your head over and over again the rest of your live and it is really a struggle.

How to tell a true war story

The chapter that has engaged me the most is how to tell a true war story, because it's interesting how your in the war seeing a very tragic event but you just do not believe it happened. You see something but then when trying to recall this event it may not be the whole truth of what you saw. I wonder why someone can't recall something so vivid in their minds happening right in front of them. The biggest event of this chapter is Curt Lemon dying while out in the woods with another soldier friend, they were goofing off not realizing their surroundings. Curt Lemon stepped on a detonator and died instantly while friends of his saw this happen right in front them.
I have two different types of feelings towards the war. My first thought about war is we obviously need war to make a stand and a point to other countries that want to start stuff with us. We help protect our country so our country can stay together and not get walked on by other countries because it shows a sign of weakness. My second thought about war is that it is sad to go fight over in a foreign country and possibly never returning to your loved ones. If there was another way for our country to fight a war without having Americans do it and losing their life's I would chose that.

The Things They Carried- Favorite Chapter

The chapter "How to tell a true war story" was the most engaging in my opinion. This chapter represents what is unknown to those who didn't experience the war. The stories that the soldiers tell whether true real or fabricated give insight to the intensity of war. Even when things are calm and there isn't any violent "war-like" situations, there is always something stirring under the surface. Although heartbreaking, and disturbing to read the part about Rat torturing the baby buffalo says a lot about the condition he was in. To engage in something so pointless and cruel out of frustration says a lot about what he was feeling.

So far, this book has opened my eyes to war. I'm not sure if things like the buffalo torture or Mary Anne coming to Vietnam are plausible today (or even true) but seeing how the men responded to what was going on around them was interesting. Even in such a mentally disturbing atmosphere there was a sense of normalcy. " Though it's odd, you're never more alive than when your almost dead", is a quote from my favorite chapter. The soldiers realized that at any moment they could be gone like Curt or Ted Lavender. I thought that it was sad that as much as they could repeat a story and try to make people understand, the reality was that no two soldiers experience of war was alike.

Exploration Four: love

I chose this chapter because it was very interesting how strong love is many years after the war and Jimmy Cross still was in love with Martha. After he knew she did not fee the same way I couldn't understand why it at least didn't start to fade away. I started to believe he would never get over the woman I thought after they met back up in the Reunion that she would Finally feel the same way about him but I was sadly mistaken. Also in this chapter Jimmy still feels extremely responsible about Teds death. I feel responsible for a lot of things myself, my siblings, my job, my school work. In comparison to Lieutenant Cross I have it easy I couldn't handle the pressure of being responsible for the lives of a whole platoon. Responsibilities affect us in different ways for me it affects me in a good way such as keeping my priorities in order so I won't let anyone down. For Jimmy it wasn't so positive it left him with regret because he felt he let Jimmy down because he should have been more focused.

Exploration Four: The Things They Carried

The chapter that engaged me the most was The Man I Killed. I thought it was so sad, yet interesting how O'Brien describes what he thinks the man he killed might be like. O'Brien has so much guilt because he thinks that the man he killed could be a normal man just like him. He thinks he could be an innocent guy who has done nothing to deserve this. O'Brien imagines him as an intelligent college student who is interested in mathematics and is in love with a classmate, just as he is. This chapter is important because O'Brien realizes that the enemies they are fighting against could actually be men just like him. Men who are innocent and who don't even want to participate in the war. The guilt of killing the man really distresses O'Brien during this chapter.

The Things They Carried really demonstrates the impact of tragic loss throughout the book. The men deal with tragic loss on a common basis. Losing one another really impacts them because they become so close as comrades and they never know who is going to be lost next. I can't even imagine how terrifying that is. People struggle so much to get over the loss of close friends and family because well, words can't even explain the pain. I've mentioned this before, but death is so permanent and I think that is tough for all of us to face. The reality of the situation is really hard to deal with. We become so close and attached to the loved ones around us. I don't think you can really ever get over the loss of someone. I think time helps, but the pain never truly goes away. The best way to deal with a death in my opinion, is to surround yourself with other loved ones and try to focus on the good memories you had with that person.

Exploration Four

The chapter On The Rainy River engaged me the most, because the reader can really feel the emotions Tim goes through while trying to decide on whether or not to run from the war. Tim mentions that he does not agree with the reasoning behind the Vietnam War, and that he should not be forced to fight in a war he does not believe in. His dreams were else where, he had received a full ride scholarship to Harvard and was looking forward to going before he got his draft letter. Fear runs through him as he tries to imagine himself fighting in a war, for he can not see himself taking another human live. What caught my attention most was that he made his decision to go to war based on shame. Tim knew he would not be able to live with himself if he brought dishonor to his family for running away. The main theme of this chapter was Tim's decision on going to war or running away from it.

This book has a great amount of tragic loss, and some of the stories really upset me. I can not imagine fighting along side a friend one day and then having to transport their body to a chopper the next. The shock that they were fine one second and then in a blink of an eye they were gone forever would overwhelm me. People struggle when they lose a friend or family member because they can not get over the reality that they are really gone and never returning. When my grandpa lost my grandma he was in shock because it was so sudden and we had no warning. He was so upset he didn't know what to do with himself. While talking to me about it he said that he knew one day they would part but that he never imagined how hard it would be to live without her. I believe the best way to grieve over a loved one is to remember them even if it hurts, remember the the great times you shared with them. Keep them with you in spirit.

Exploration 4: On The Rainy River, and Question 3

My favorite chapter in this book has to be On The Rainy River. For me, it really brings together alot of the issues as to why Tim O'Brien may have wanted to even write this book. O'Brien did not even want to go to war. He thought he was "too good for this war" and that he was "above it." i also think that the man that we are introduced to in this chapter, Elroy Berdahl, is a contributing factor in the way that O'Brien's life played out. O'Brien says of him, "The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life." Again, without this chapter, I think the book would have ended up a completely different way. Another very interesting quote in this book is the point where O'Brien realizes that he is going to go to war. O'Brien states "I would go to the war-I would kill and maybe die-because I was embarassed not to." He now realized what he had to do. It would eat him up inside if he did not.
This book gives me a different perspective into the issue of war. You see how it really affects each individual. People who have not served may think that those in the service just come home, and resume normal life, as if nothing had happened. It is so much more than that. If changes you for the rest of your life. I think this pertains to those in the past, and the present. It really showed me how it affects each individual.

Exploration 4

The chapter that engaged me the most is " On the Rainy River" because the narrator in this book Tim O' Brien is been drafted on the Vietnam war a month after he graduated from college. Like many people O'Brien is not fan of wars and he things wars are wrong. He was shame about it that really he was going t0 fight in a war . O'Brien says that he has not told this story to his parents, siblings, or wife. O’Brien’s picture of his moral problem about going to Vietnam illustrates how the war was fought by soldiers who were often reluctant and conflicted. The funny thing in this chapter is when he time to go to the Vietnam war, he decided to runaway to boarder in canada to hide his embarrassment. He stayed with old guy named Elroy Berdahl. He is very quite guy who almost accepts anybody that runs from U.S. because of them been called in a war. O'Brien refers this guy as a god. Finally, he decided to go to war and make his community Pround.

This book makes me feel that the war change for the batter because changes in the war. Back than in war you didn't have a choice whether you want to stay or go to war. Also, most of the people that were drafted in the wars were middle class people and some people that not even father their education to college. But, now people have their own choices to go war or not.

exploration 4

The chapter that engaged me the most was the one called "stockings". It was a short chapter but i felt like it had a big point to it. It was the chapter talking about Henry dobbins wearing his girlfriends stockings around his neck like a good luck charm. The themes that are important to me in this chapter are how some simple object can make you feel protected in a place where in reality nothing can protect you.
The book makes me hate war, both in the present and past. There are so many examples in the book about how men that do not even like the issue they are fighting for are having to die for that issue. Also i think war makes some people very depressed, like the man who hanged himself in the book after the war because he felt like he had nothing to do.

on the rainy river

on the rainy river, its intersing story , in the sometime its sad story,because he past twenty year tim obrien was to scrared to tell his story ,and its was kind shame to tell anyone not even his mother sister ,brother, and his father. '' stil , its a hard story to tell. all of us believe that in a moral emengercy we will behave like a heroes of our youth , bravely and forth- rightly, without thought of personal lossor discridit. its was sumer in 1968 when tim obrien was working pig factory , and his used to work long hours , but he doesnt like the work because the only work sumer time. one day when he get of work he went home , and when get home he recieve later from life guard , and full scholarship but he didnt seem happy when he open the later because he had thought going to war. i learn about this chaper when a person dont feel like going to war, didnt have any choice to refused.

if i were him i would go war?

when i read this book it makes me to be very strong if ihad bad sitution such as like going to war or to be very brave,
peope strugle many ways to love their clos friend or their close fimaly . the one way a person can lose a close person its war , or car acciendent. i wouldnt ecourge my close friend or brothers, or sister go wars because i dont like to los them. there were certain reposible of this book because in order for them to be caring to each other they need to look everyone responsible because they alla t war and they have different responsible. my responsible it wouldnt affect anybody as long iam doing right things ,and taking my responsiblities.
the issu of war is not something right because someone gonna loss their life in the war. in the past and in the pressent war is gonna help anything somone is gonn die.

In The Field

In The Field seemed interesting to me because of how Mitchell Sanders seemed to have no feeling or emotion to Kiowa's death.

"After ten minutes they covered most of Kiowa's lower body. The corpse was angled steeply into the muck, upside down, like a driver who had plunged headfirst off a high tower..." Mitchell Sanders finally nodded and said, "Let's get it done," and they took hold of the legs and pulled up hard.."

Although people say feelings come and go it never does when it comes to the loss of a loved one. I very hard for people to get over the of someone whether they are blood related or not. These people share a special bond that no one understands so it's very hard for some to related to others when it comes to a tragic loss. I think this the reason why Lieutenant Jimmy Cross had a hard time copping with the loss of Kiowa. At the end he seemed to debate about whether he would write a letter to Kiowa's father. I wondered why in certain moments Cross would close his eyes. It seemed to me that he was trying to block out the fact that Kiowa is dead.

Exploration Four

The chapter that engaged me the most was "On the Rainy River." I thought this chapter was interesting and engaging because we learned a lot of things about the author, Tim O'brien. We learned that he was drafted and did not want to go to war. We also learned about how he couped with not wanting to go to war by learning about his trip to up north and meeting Elroy. I thought Elroy was a nice guy by giving O'brien a place to live and I think it gave O'brien a chance to really think about what he was doing and how he would let his town down if he didn't return to the US.

The book " The Things They Carried" gives me a negative connotation on war because they don't really describe any positive aspects of war.

Exploration Four: The Things They Carried Response

The Chapter in the book that had me most engaged was, "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra bong". Out of what i have read in the book so far, this chapter was by far my favorite. I find it amazing that Fossie was actually able to pull off bringing his girlfriend all the way around the world to a war zone. I believe that this chapter also represented the fact that we can talk about war all we want when were are sitting at home safe and sound, but we will never truly understand it, or its effect on the human body and mind unless we decide to live through it.

This book has made me realize that I really have no idea what war is like, and that the American people and it's government do not have the right to make decisions about war while sitting being a big wooden desk in Washington. We will only truly understand war, and how it works when we are directly involved in it.

Feelings About the Issue of War

I have mixed emotions about war.

This book makes me feel that the lives lost a lot of times are without purpose. Many of the men and women who fight in wars do not necessarily believe in the war, which makes the war that much harder to endure. personally I feel that war is many times unnecessary and never really solves the root cause of the problems. Vietnam for example was in many aspects a huge waste of time, money and probably most importantly a waste of human life. In the end, no change occur ed in the two countries, and even today south Korea poses as a threat to many countries. Many people feel the same way today with the war on terrorism. Personally I feel that the tragic events of 911 needed to be dealt with, but this war has been drug out for way to long. All of the lives that were lost in the book were a result of a fight between other peoples desires for power.

On the other hand, war is necessary to protect innocent people. With out those that are willing to protect others, events like 911 would occur more frequently. This struggle between Life and Liberty is what makes the issue of war so complex, and will continue until the end of time.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

I picked this one because it had the most interesting theme. The idea that this girl from the states could go into Vietnam as a normal person and come back as a psycho that wears tounges on her neck really surprised me. The chapter is erie and different which I like, and the ending where she went into the forest and never came back is also interesting because it sounded like it had a lot in common with the story in the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story," about the patrol that went in and came back completely silent and looking depressed, the same as when Mary Anne when she went to an ambush and came back the same way. Because it was told second hand it was more interesting to see someone else's point of view besides Tim O'Brien. The book makes me reflect on past wars and how as a whole they are pointless. In the book every one of the people change significantly based on what they experienced in war. I hear stories about people that come back from Vietnam and people always say how they completely changed from their time over there. If people are getting destroyed mentally and physically I makes me wonder why we have wars at all.

Exploration 4: The Things They Carried

The chapter that ingaged me the most was In The Field. I liked it a lot because it Jimmy Cross shows self reflection during it. He is blaming himself for Kiowa's death. He keeps thinking to himself about how he should of got the platoon to higher ground and not had them spend the night in the field of waste. I think that the main theme is a feeling of guilt by multiple soldiers. Norman Bowker thinks that it is his fault because he was not able to pull Kiowa out of the mud. Jimmy Cross thinks it is his fault because of bad preparation, and is thinking about what to say to Kiowa's mother. The young soldier knows that it is his fault becausee of the flashlight he used to show Kiowa a picture of his girlfriend, but he is reluctant to admit the fact that that is what happened.
This book really hits on the wrongs and rights of war. Tim O'brien says that is a bad war to be fighting in and I believe that it really was. What did the United States army actually acomplish in Vietnam? It makes you think twice about whether the decision to go to war is right. The war being fought over seas now is wrong too. What were the terrorists main objective on 9/11? They wanted to make the United States mad. They wanted the military to take action and start a fight. Where has the war got us to now? In my personal opinion, I do not think we have acheived anything. Families have just lost their children for no reason. We have spent loads of money and gotten the country into unfalable debt. The thing that is really hurting us though is that we did react on such a large scale. How can we finish what we have started when there is not an end in sight?

Interpretive question

In the chapter Spin, why does O'Brien skip around and use so many fragments of different stories? Saynab and Sidney

Interpretive questions

from Jimmy and Tyler: Why are the men in Jimmy's platoon so afraid of showing fear or embarrassment?

Why do the soliders take death so lightly?

Why does Jimmy Cross blame himself for Ted's death?

Based on the little stories the soldiers told, what kind of morality do you think they have?
-Kelsey and Reid

Even though the letters that lieutant jimmy recieved werent love letters why did they mean so much to him?

Why does Jimmy Cross analyze Martha's pictures so much, instead of simply looking at them?

Why do they consider marching to be "humping"? What are the reasons behind this?
Brice Sheldon and Kyle

If you didn't get drafted by going to college, then why if Jimmy's love for Martha was so strongdid he not go to college? Seth and Njama

Even though Lt. Jimmy Cross is'nt actually responsible for Ted Lavendars death, why does he feel like he is?
Clayton Omar

Tornado Responce

I am not quite sure how to interpret this poem but i have the idea that the poem is making a connections to religion. I think what was initially striking about the poem was in the first couple of lines. The author talks about Lyle as being "one of the slows ones" but yet he fills such an important role on the team. To be a catcher in baseball, a lot of responsibility is bestowed upon you. It is one of the only two positions in baseball that touches the ball on every play. Why would you put someone who is "one of the slow ones" in such an important role? God does not care who is the most talented all he really wants is to utilize those who have their heart in the right place. The tornado represents the trials and tribulations that are associated with the world. The pews (bleachers)represent protection and comfort that is provided with a relationship with god. "Right were we had lost so many in the sun represents hell and the lost soles.

The main feelings expressed in this poem are the feelings of terror and unrest created by the tornado. The feeling of relief and security returns once the storm has subsided. This is expressed when the author talks about how everything is starting to steam and the calm coming back. I think my favorite part of this poem is the part about the fat grey carp. This part of the poem really made me think to understand what the author meant.

Woman At The Wall

The woman is grieving because she has lost her son in the war. Emotions that are shown through the poem are deep sorrow and suffering. I really like how the poem personifies what the woman does, such as putting her arm around the name's shoulder. The personification emphasizes to the reader just how badly the woman yearns for her son to really be there. I have also lost loved ones, which helps me relate to the woman, especially in losing my father. It is the worst thing in the world to lose someone who is close to you. The pain is indescribable. Coming to reality with a death takes great time; the fact that it is permanent is so awful. I think that this is what the woman is suffering over within the poem.

Woman at the wall

What feelings the poem made the reader feel was sadness I felt bad for the grieving mother losing her loved one in war. War is a horriable thing and the vietnam one was probably the worst because alot of people were against it protesting and stuff. What struck me the most was when the mother kissed the name hoping that everything would go back to normal. I wish life could work like that and as long as you prayed to god for thinks to work out it would autmatically happen. my favorite part of it was "she will find the name sleeping again in its bed." I liked it because alot of people could relate to that I can connect to the character in that part because I have some loved ones that passed away and I want them to be sleeping in there beds to like nothing happened. All an all it was a good poem it brought out alot of emotion and it was very heartfelt.

along lake michigan, U.S.2

What struck me about this poem is the beginning how the author described the four patch's of fur after a woodchuck was hit by a car. I was amazed because the author was amazed calling it a trick of the woods or an act of magic. It brought out a feelings of sorrow as the animals kids were eating from their dead mothers bodie. The author was able to use language creatively when he was being descriptive when the dead animals children where trying to be fed by they're mother so they were sucking like they were trying to bring life to their mom. My favorite line was "They suck, nudging her side until the belly ripples with life from their mouths." This reminds me of the first poems reptiveness the author puts emphasis that the main character is counting the cars which is the setting that they are in the middle of the road. I believe the author is using the french vilonal style of writing. I author was in depth with this writing the meaning was clear I knew exactly what it was about. Unlike some poems that you have to think really hard in order to understand the main point of the writing. The meaning is after the man watches the mother become road kill he feels like he has a duty to protect the other animals from their mothers doom, at least until they are finished eating because without they're nurturing mother god knows how long they will survive out in the world. The main character doesn't know when they will get their next meal so he feels obligated to serve them like his a solider protecting his country. I thought he was brave for letting cars swerve past him as he was protecting them.

WOMAN AT THE WALL

this poem is about a mother grieving her dead son at the memorial wall at d.c

"Along Lake Michigan"

What struck me most about this poem, was how in detail the writer talks about how the person hit the woodchuck. The wrtier also goes in depth of what he saw during the hit and after when they got out of the car to see the woodchuck.
The basic story is this person driving and hit a woodchuck, as they hit the helpless animal he looked back and stopped. The person stopped to see how badly the animal was hurt, and saw the woodchucks new born babies. The new borns have no way of surviving now that the mother is dead and the only one's to take care of them. I feel bad for the mother because she died and now can't take care of her young, and the babies will all die from no food and shelter.
My favorite line of the poem is when it says, " to take the animal back, to take it back lightly, into the woods to start over." I liked it because it would take away the animal to happiness again and start a new life and new children.

Along Lake Michigan

The poem to me was somewhat of a sad story. The four young woodchucks are helpless. they cannot survive without their mother. The man is so saddened by what he sees, he seems like he is angry that cars just keep driving by doing nothing. The feeling of helplessness in my opinion is the main idea of the poem and the helplessness of the young woodchucks saddens the man who sits and counts the cars as they pass by.

Response to the "Woman at the Wall"

The feelings I got from this poem were a sunken stomach and a heart in my throat. I cant imagine how the "Woman" is feeling. To loose a family member when the soldier most likely was not a volenteer in the war efforts. In the second part she talked about how she prayed to go to let him come back and make everything right again was probably the worst for me to hear. Being a soldier I helpped send over ten soldiers home in boxes and this puts it in more perspective for me. I viewed them as friends, co-worker not brothers sister mothers fathers.

Response to Woman at the wall

I felt this poem had alot of hidden meaning behimd it, the woman in the poem showed he sorrow and pain for the lose of who i believe to be her son. I thought though it was short it was a powerful piece losing a loved one is never easy i could feel her grieving as i read it. The line that stood out most to me in the poem is hwere she says "God will put all the names into the jar and pull the one name out, that in the morning when she awakens she will find the name sleeping in its bed" she is having a hard time dealing with the reality of the situation she wants only to forget about what has happened and everything go back to the way it was. She cannont let go of her loved one.

Poem Response Prompt-Tornado

In the poem Tornado, I was surprised how the beginning had a calm, peaceful and soothing setting. I assumed that the first stanza of the poem would describe bad weather or the unruling nature. I believe that the story is describing how the fields were and what was on/in the fields before the tornado hit. "Or to chase our long flies." This quote makes me think of the children I see on the hill who chase the fire flies. This poem makes me feel like a little kid, but then everything gets out of control. I think that the author uses reflection interior monlogue by describing the weather.

women at the wall

this is what she does . she place her arm behind the neck of the name or around the name's shoulder , she kisses the name on its forehead , that way mother do. thes peaom is sad one because i think the mother lose her sons or her husband and she could be lonely. its a sad peom because when you lose the person you love its to forget them because every time their came up to your mind the tears come down, and will remain them into yourheart in int he rest of your life. the laguage of this peom is jappense peom.

"Along Lake Michigan"

I guess the thing that struck me about this poem it the amount of repetition and detail he uses to describe one act. The basic story sound like, a person hit a woodchuck either with a car and is now watching it's children go up next to the body and try and figure out what is wrong, the ending is a bit confusing but based on the line "I am counting the cars as a man who counts before acting. I am holding a stick in my hands." it sounds like he is planning to kill the kids out of mercy. It sounds like it would fit the dark nature of this poem. The repetition in this is the idea that I like the most. I shows importance in a simple act.

women at the wall

There is a strong feeling of sadness that i got after i read this poem. It is sad that the women goes to wherever the name is at, and kisses the name like she is kissing her missed loved one. Also i felt sad reading the poem after she prays to god that he will pull the name out and put the loved one back into her world again like he never left. This poem means something to me because after my uncle died, there was a fight in my family about if we should get a tombstone made for him still even though he was cremated. I see now how important it is for some people to have a place to go to visit a loved one that has passed away.

Woman At The Wall

I really liked this poem becuase it was very touching. At first I thought that poem was about her looking for someone or feeling lost. I read it again and it seemed more like someone had died and she's hoping that they would return. She feels like she has lost someone. She seems like she's searching or trying to forget that this person is gone. In the second stanza, she says that "she prays that tonight while she is sleeping God will put all the names into a jar and pull the one name out, that in the morning when she awakens she will find the name sleeping again in its bed, she won't know any difference. I really think that this stanza shows such beautiful language. She really gets us to understand how she feels. She really loves this person. I can't decide weather its her husband or son. I just know that it's a loved one.

Response to Woman at the Wall

What feelings or emotions come through in the poem? Explain.

The feeling of sorrow really sticks out to me in this poem. Clearly, this woman is mourning. When reading it at first, we don't quite understand where or why. After thinking, we come to a conclusion that she is at the Vietnam Wall at Washington, D.C. It is written in a way as to describe that she is treating the wall as her lost loved one. It says, "she places her arm behind the neck of the name or around the name's shoulder, she kisses the name on its forehead, the way mothers do." In the second paragraph, it is describing her desire to have God bring him back to life, place him in his bed, as if nothing has happened. She wants everything to be back to normal. She misses her son. I believe it is her son whom passed away, because in the first paragraph, it says that "she kisses the name on its forehead, the way mothers do."

Boy, Waiting For A School Bus

I thought this poem was very good. It does a great job of describing what it is like to wait for a school bus in winter months with cold weather. I think that the basic story of it is being told by someone that the boy knows who sees him on the side of the road waiting for the bus.
I thought the emotions and feelings that come through in this poem are the feelings that you get when you have to stand still outside in the cold. The boy might be mad for having to wait so long, or the fact that the bus that will be picking him up will be taking him to school, a place that a lot of kids do not enjoy going to.
I thought that the descriptive language is written well. Some examples are: frozen dawn, hangover moon, tar that never ends, and his breath carves little statues out of cold. My favorite line is "Frozen dawn. A scattering of snow spits a boy a raw welcome..." I really like this because I had to walk to school in the harsh Ohio weather until my senior year. The wind and tempurature gives you quite the wake up call at 7:30 in the morning.
I connect this poem to the paragraph I wrote above. It was always tough to walk out my door every morning, knowing what I was going to endure on my mile long walk to school. I would also see parents and kids that I knew that would honk and wave as they drove by, and in the best cases, would stop to pick me up.

"Women At The Wall"

The women at the wall is referring to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC. I am looking at this as a mother awaiting to hear if her son will be drafted off to war. It says "She prays while she is sleeping God will put all the names into a jar and pull thee one name out," I took that as her waiting to find out if her son will be drafted or not. The son is mention "a name" which is also another indication that this is about a draft. The mother seems very worried for her son, because back during the Vietnam war young boys were sent basically for their death due to lack of experience. However, she seems very hopeful that in the morning she will see her son sleeping in bed.

-Kelsey Tiberi

poem response 1

Taking Down the Laundry

In my view this poem is about a mother who is looking back to when her children were young. She is reflecting on their growth and coming to terms with how they have gone on to live their own lives. She realizes that they no longer need her to wash their playclothes, but wants to keep memories of their childhood close. She can't believe how fast they grew up.

Response to Tornado

I thought this poem was a little bit of a funny story during a scary time. Lyle was i bigger kid who was slow but wanted to play sports. The kids let him play by being the catcher for baseball so he wouldn't really have to move, but he wasn't too good at catching the ball. One day when they were playing a tornado struck near by so they all took for cover except Lyle who stayed at home plate. When the tornado had pass the boys came out and Lyle had caught a fish flying from the tornado where we has standing. I liked the last line were it says "He had caught it over home plate, right where he had lost so many in the sun." It's making fun of Lyle a little bit using some irony.

Poem response

The poem that I'm writing my response about is Woman At The Wall. This poem is about a woman's grief towards a lost loved one from the Vietnam War. When she speaks about God pulling a name out of the jar I believe she is hoping that one day the name of her lost loved one will be pulled from the jar and she will receive relief from her mourning. While reading this poem I feel the emotions of sadness and despair. I can feel how upset the woman is through her words, she prays that one day her suffering will come to an end. My favorite part is at the end when she says "she will find the name sleeping again in its bed, that she won't know any difference". When I read this I got the impression that she longs for the day when she is not upset anymore, like how she use to feel before her loved one went off to fight in the war.

Response to: Woman at the Wall

I think that the basic story is that this woman lost her son in the war. To me it seems like she is a mother and not a spouse because it says, "she kisses the name on its forehead, that way mothers do." I feel like the woman is sad and misses the one she lost because she wishes that she could wake up in the morning and find him in the bed. She is praying to god to basically bring this person back, she must have very deep feelings for who ever she might be talking about.

Response to "Woman At The Wall"

I recently read the poem, "Woman At The Wall". At first i thought that the poem was simply about a mother was kissing her children before they go to bed, and praying that they are safe when they awake in the morning.

After reading the poem for the first time, i took the title into consideration. The only reason for the title of the poem that i could think of was a woman being at the Vietnam Wall in Washington DC. I have always seen video clips of people kissing the names of relatives or friends who died for their country in the Vietnam conflict. Most of those images included people on ther knees in tears, thinking of their loved ones who lost their lives.

I then began to put all of the pieces of the poem together, within the aspect of the Vietnam wall theory. I can imagine a mother kneeling at the wall, remembering their child. They remember them so well that they can feel them kneeling next to them.

That person that they loved so dearly, has now been demoted to a simple name on a stone wall, but to that mother, the name is more then just a simple engraving. That name symbolizes the person that had such a huge impact on their life, and still does to this day.

My favorite lines from the poem is, "she will find the name, sleeping again in its bed". This line symbolizes her prayers and hopes that some day god will bring that person back into their life, as if nothing bad ever happened ot them.

Taking Down The Laundrey

After reading this poem, I thought the basic story of the poem is how this mother is seeing her kids grow and how their clothes change with their age. The emotion of this poem is that she is sad to see her children leave. In the poem the writer talks about wind and how it pulled her sons shirt away. I beleive that the wind symbolizes her son's leaving or that it washed them away because my favorite line is when the author says that " the laundrey billows now; everything is moving and I watch my sons shirt pull free away from the line."

Poem response prompt from Mike

Let's get started today by responding to one of the poems in the packet.

What struck you about this poem? What is the basic story, in your view?

What feelings or emoitions come through in the poem? Explain.

Where is the language especially well done? What's your favorite line from the poem? Why?

How might you connect to the poem? What does it mean to you?


YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THESE, but pick ones that are interesting to you, and write a poem response on the blog.


To post, you must use the new post feature. To comment on other students' writing, click on the comment feature. Please write one original post, and three comments, on the blog.

Remember: Every chance to write is a chance to write well!

All best,

Mike Lohre, Instructor