Monday, December 04, 2006
Reflection on The Things They Carried- Chapters 1 and 2
If you did not get a chance to before, view the Iraq photoessay on the Time magazine website. You can find it by clicking on the link to the left, then clicking on "view full photoessay" at the end of the article. Watch the entire presentation, then record your thoughts. I'd like to hear your comparison/contrast of the Iraq war to the Vietnam war. Also, is it valid to compare the two in the first place? Finally, in your response, consider the difference in mediums- we are reading a book based on what soldiers "carried", but we can also watch a slideshow with photographs depicting similar events. What are the differences between the two representations? What are the different or similar effects of each medium? Which would you say is more powerful and why?
Your response should be posted as a comment and should be a minimum of 500 words. It is due at the end of class today. Please show thoughtfulness and creativity in your responses.
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The Vietnam War and the Iraq War both had its reasons. The Vietnam War was well the fight over Communism and well the Iraq War is over some nuclear weapons that were never found. Now that you mention it, there is no reason to compare these two other than they were both wars fought by the United States of America and another foreign country. Still, I'm not one to say that Vietnam was very important and stuff. I mean the U.S did lose and so can it be said that the war was rather useless for the U.S., other than a few war heroes and medals. I find war, not the solution so I'm really prejudice about it.
The pictures seen in the slideshow are more powerful than in the book. Since you can actually see the soldiers' pride and expression in their possesions. While in the story, its a story, which may be a fictional story making the power not really there. Sure the story tries to go in depth, but its not enough compared to the real thing.
It seems to me that both the Iraq War and the Vietnam War have lasted a long time... as well as in every war the soldiers don’t want to take part in it but are forced to because they are in the military. Both types of soldiers are forced to live in unjust worlds and are always plagued with the fact that they won’t be able to sleep in peace or even rest because they will have to be constantly on the alert of their enemies and have to live in paranoia. Many of these soldiers carry items that they think and believe will lead them out of harms way … these could be either good luck charms “talismans” or any type of artillery weapon. As in most wars there are language barriers between opposing soldiers and thus creates more problems and prolongs a war, seeing as opposing soldiers won’t be able to reason with each other. But it has been said that no two wars are alike…sure in general it’s just go in and shoot and then go out victorious, but it’s not that simple because each war is started for some reason and wont be ended until that goal is met or that opposing side realizes that it can’t win so every war’s duration varies. A war can differ from on another by different technology advancements, which can give an opposing country an advantage on their enemy, and it also depends on the soldier’s age because a younger soldier is unaware of his potential and is motivated for any kind of action but for an adult he is cautious and knows the danger and is less motivated by action because they know the outcome won’t be pretty. It seems that no two wars should be compared with one another because every war is heartbreaking and painful in their own way it depends on the person because if they had relatives in it then it might be the most worst war in the world for them, but if they had no relatives in that said war then it won’t be as bad as the latter. We have been reading a book “The Things They Carried” and we learned of the various items that soldiers in the Vietnam War carried for safety and good luck charms, things like weapons, medicinal pills, and snacks, and we have also seen what some of the soldiers in Iraq are bringing on to the battleground. The differences between these two are that a book is able to tell you and describe for you the whole scenery of war and inner thoughts of soldiers and background information that makes you more interested but as said before by many people “A picture is worth a thousand words”, so it matters not whether an author uses exemplification and sensory detail because that author won’t get as close to the real thing which is a picture, and that is why they use those tools to go further into detail about places, people and things because they can only get as close as they can to a picture.
=====I think that in both the story and in the pictures there is many similarities. Both of them have symbols of God and religious thins also they have one incident in which one of all the men “carries” the underwear of his wife. Also some carry pictures and important papers to them like letters or even priers of saints and things like so. They also carry things like charms or rocks, just small like pebbles. They carry rosaries around the neck and bibles that mean something to them.
=====The things that they carry in the book and are not mentioned in the pictures are big guns and grenades, and other things to defend themselves. Also they carry some mental things or even sicknesses. I’m sure that these people do carry thing that they need to defend themselves. I mean they must, I’m also sure that they do carry with a lot of emotional and mental baggage, though the pictures do not show this.
=====What they carry in the pictures and don’t mention caring in the in the story, is dog tags and which I’m sure they had because it’s a form of identification therefore they must but they haven’t said that in the story yet. Also one man carries the engagement ring that belongs to his fiancé. Some of them even carry poems, how cute.
=====Both the story and the pictures are both very powerful. In the story there is very specific description that helps take you there and gives you a great picture in your own mind. You can feel as if your there, a million words can give you an imaginary picture just like a picture can speak a million words. There fore the pictures do create the same feeling and have the same powers as the story because in this case both have great specific detail. In a picture you can also position your self as if you were there because you are automatically looking ant the place where you would be just like the great specific detail of the story causes you to do so as well.
=====I think that every war is always different but I also think that soldiers keep being the same. For example every war is usually for a different reason then the last one yet the soldier are for the most part the same inside. Not literally the same guy but still human being. For example this war in the book the Vietnam War happened decades ago but still there was men whom carried there bibles and there rosaries and even there girls underwear and other things of sentimental value!!! As to the war it is in a different place and with different people and even some guns and other war equipment is different. At times some wars are more violent ore rather actually more safe then others. The war is always different and things vary a lot and just many differences. Yet the men and even women at war are always alike because some have families others have girlfriends of fiancé’s, many may thing like that. In the end what they carry is usually alike and the war is usually different.
After I read the Iraq Photoessay in Time magazine Website and The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brien, some strong mysterious feelings which can’t described by words appeared in my mind. I would say it is sour and bitter. When you taste it or even walk closer to take a look, you would shrink back really quickly. We are the lucky one; we don’t need to face the cruelty, horrible and destructive war. That’s what I really want to thanks God for giving me life in this peaceful or quieter world. I admit that tough time would push us to improve ourselves. However, wars are too tough for everyone. Wars kill lives, kill sprits, and kill many tears. From the first day I born till today, I think that violence is not going to help anything. What would it do? It would only make things become worse.
Both Iraq Photoessay and The Things They Carried described the stuff that soldiers carried. In common, those soldiers carried the stuffs that were meaningful to them. Those stuffs gave them support in this bad environment; they helped them to run across the tough time. Those essays used stuffs the soldiers carried to represent their deep feelings. When I read through the stuff that everyone carried, I could think of what the stuff represented. Everyone was unique; they had different minds. Going to war, it might not return. Soldiers brought the things that were important to them. Soldiers depended on those stuffs to fight bravely.
In The Things They Carried, the author used the story to describe the war in Vietnam. It captured everyone’s attention to it. Reader might be bored by history stuff, story is more interested. Also, story is a good way to record one’s memories. It not only shows the facts of the history, but also helps the author to release his or her deep feelings about the war. It would reflect author’s perspective on the history; readers could recognize author’s thinking way easily. The Iraq Photoessay used the slid to show what the soldiers carried. It was powerful as it was more realistic. Readers would influence deeply when they saw those photos. Also, they would become more sensitive when they look through the photo and the stuffs they carried. From soldiers’ action, their eyes, their stuffs, you could really tell what they are going to say. How painful they are. In addition, you might apologize for the hard lives they had.
After the war, spirits are flying everywhere; they had no homes to go. How pity they are! Was — really need to stop. When this continuous to happen, it only shows human’s cruelty and heartless.
what interesting thoughts! War involves conflict, which always looks different when it occurs between different groups of people. I also think it is interesting that much of the generation that witnessed or participated in the horrors of Vietnam are now in charge of the war in Iraq. Don't people ever learn? I think it is fascinating how soon we forget that there are some types of wars that are "un-winnable". Or maybe we never learned it in the first place.
I also appreciated your thoughts on the two mediums- photos are extraordinarily powerful and can tell stories on their own, but the written word carries freedom and meaning with it as well. It is interesting to think about the different skills involved in each one: a phototgrapher must have a well-trained, developed outer eye; a writer must work on improving his "inner" eye in order to display the world to through the written world. Even then, some people are touched, and some are simply confused.
Well the first chapter only talk or described the things they carried. I think that it is true that some soldiers do carry things that will remind them of home. All those things that they mentuioned in the first chapter are all heavy and i think that if someone was to be asked to carry them for a little while they would get tired very easily. I know I would. Especially back then because I think that the weapons where much heavier than todays. When i read the first chapter i was just picturing all the soldiers walking through the dark jungle and then i would just picture them laying down ready to go to sleep, and they have a picture of someone back home. And there just thinking of what there family is doing and just promising to the picture that there going to go home real soon. I know i would do that if I was a soldier. Chapter two basically talks more about the things they carried during the war.I think the pictures do have a strong and powerful effect because you see them and you could see expressions in there faces and just imagine what they go through. In my opinion i think that the reading has a stronger affectiong because you actually hear the description of what the soldiers have gone through and you can actually picture it and you kinda dont have to be wondering or imaging ng what they went through but you actually know. Im sorry that its late. SORRY!!! :(
The vietnam and Irak war both are to long. I'm desagree whit the Irak because a lot of inocen people died like childrens, woman, man,and young people. Every day american soldiers died and this is the same thing that was hapened in Vietnam a lot of people die. A don't nkow how is the life of a soldier during the war but in the story the character describe that he can't sleep, he remember their family and sometimes he have scare. I see in the picture how the soldier life and what kid of wapons use during the war.
To tell the truth, i don't know very much about either war except that everyone seems to think that on both occasions, the U.S. had ulterior motives. Frankly, i don't like to get involved in dicussions about war and politics and all that stuff because people never really understand eachother about those kinds of things and that's why we have wars in the first place. so anyways, i guess it's valid to compare the two wars as far as they are both wars and they both involved the U.S. i couldn't really tell you much more than that. I think the two mediums are very effective when put together. The photo essay shows you the images of things the soldiers carry and their facial expressions give us a clue as to what they are going through in the war. The written part completes the scene by showing us what others like these soldiers thought about concerning the things they carried. These thoughts are probably shared by the current soldiers in Iraq.
I sincerely don’t really know about the Iraq and Vietnam war. I just know that the Iraq is really confusion for me because I hear one reason why they are fighting and then make up another. So I don’t really know why we are fighting I disagree because each day each minutes in innocent person dies. Also know that the Iraq and Vietnam war are long.
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