Miss Brill

Plot
If I made "Miss Brill" into a movie, I would make the story about her every day life. When I read the story, I had the impression she forgot about her age and envisioned herself as young. The story would be about an elderly woman, but the audience would not find out until the very end when the young couple say cruel things about her. It would follow her life and begin with her getting out her fur, because I think that the fur is an important detail. She would then go to listen to her outdoor concert and this is where she meets her lover. The story will focus on how they met and what happened to their relationship. She does not end up marrying him because he leaves her. After he leaves, she is lonely and continues going to the concerts and watches people. Then at the end, she goes back home and looks in the mirror and she is old.

Point of View
Miss Brill is the main character and it would follow her life. The world would be shown through her eyes, until the very end. She will be reliving her past and she will look as she did when she was young, because that is the way she sees herself. At the end of the movie, the audience will find out that she is not young, she is old. Miss Brill is naive and possesses an innocence that will be conveyed through her relationship with her lover. He is not the best person for her, but she only sees what she wants to see.

Setting
I imagined the story taking place during the early 1900's so the movie will take place during that time. The young Miss Brill would have been young in the 1920's so when she is older, the year would be in the 1980's. She sees the world as it was in the 1920's though. She was happy then. She was young and in love. The town she lived in was fairly small, but when she is older, the town expanded and modernized. She is not happy with the modernized town and longs for simpler times.

Characterization
Miss Brill is naive and does not see the world for the way it is. She misses her youth and is in denial of her true age. She was emotionally scarred by her love affair that ended badly and never loved again. She could not move on with her life and lived for the past. She is a lonely elderly lady. Deep down inside, she knows the truth that she has aged and she cannot live her past again. She hoped for love again, but could never bring herself to get close to anyone again. She tries to forget her lover left her, but she cannot forget him.

Theme
The theme of the movie would be live for the present, not the past. So many people live for the past and they never move forward in their lives. People who live in the past cannot appreciate whatever is happening then. They miss so much and fail to enjoy their lives. Miss Brill is stuck in the past and cannot move on with her life. She dwells on the negative event in her life and her life stopped because of it. She was not happy with her life and never tried to get past her problems. She should have addressed the problem so she could start the lengthy process of recovery.

Field of Dreams

Point of View

The main character in the movie is Ray Kinsella. He narrates the very beginning of the movie and talks about his father and how he was in the war and what his favorite baseball teams were. This is when the audience finds out about his poor relationship with his father, which is not in the short story. In the story, it sounds like he has a good relationship with his father and they shared a common love of baseball and they liked the same teams. In the movie, the audience does hear the same voice Ray hears when the other characters cannot hear the voice. The audience does get to see what Ray is going through though we do not know his exact thoughts or feelings.

Characterization

There were many new characters in the movie that were not in the short story. Ray Kinsella's wife, Annie, has a brother in the movie. He is a reminder to the audience of Ray's financial problems because he and his partners buy the note to the farm. Ray and Annie go bankrupt because of the field and he threatens them with foreclosure. In the story, when he tells Annie he has to build a baseball field she responds, "Do it, love" (pg 512). In the movie, she is hesitant and even tries to dissuade him from building the field. His daughter, Karin, is not two years old in the movie. There is another character named Terrence Mann. He is an author and Ray has to take him to a baseball game where they find out about Moonlight Graham. Shoeless Joe is not the only baseball player in the movie. In the story, Joe Jackson mentions bringing other players to the baseball field, but the story ends. In the movie, Joe brings in other teams so they can play games.

Setting

The setting in the movie was the same in the short story. It takes place in Iowa and the family own a farm. The farm house, in the story, is described as "a massive old farm home, square as a biscuit box with a sagging verandah on three sides" (pg 512). The house in the movie fit this description. it was an old white farm house with a big wrap around porch. In the movie, Ray Kinsella travels to Boston to meet Terrence Mann and the to Minnesota to meet Moonlight Graham. He does not travel to these places in the story.

Plot

The plot in the movie was also similar to the plot in the book. The movie had to add different scenes to make the movie an appropriate length. The main character hears a voice telling him, "If you build it, he will come." In the story, he immediately receives a vision of a baseball field and decides to build the field. In the movie, he does not know what it means and the voice repeats itself a few times and Ray struggles to decipher its meaning. The added characters in the movie contribute to the changes of the plot. Ray has to meet Terrence Mann and Moonlight Graham. These characters are not in the story. Ray also gets two additional messages from the voice. The second message was "Ease his pain" and the third was "Go the distance." Ray's father comes back to play baseball in the movie. He was the catcher for the team. Ray does not meet his father in the story.

Theme

The theme in the movie differs from the theme of the story. The theme of the movie emphasizes believing in something. Ray builds the baseball field and believes Shoeless Joe will play on the field. He and his family can watch the games but Annie's brother cannot see the players. He did not believe it was possible and thought that Ray was crazy. There was another theme about the bond between father and son. In the movie, Ray had a bad relationship with his father. He left home when he was about 17 and he never went back. His father had wanted to play catch with him when he was younger but he refused. He later regretted his actions and he was sorry. At the end of the movie, he plays catch with his father. The importance of family is also a theme in the movie, though it is not as strong as it is in the story. Ray loves his family, but Annie does not always support him when he needed her full support.

Popular Mechanics

Question 5
I preferred the title "Mine" better than "Popular Mechanics" because it seemed more self explanatory. I did not understand the title "Popular Mechanics." A couple is splitting up and they are also splitting up their possessions. They fight over the baby. They have no regard for its safety. The baby is just another thing to be claimed and the only thing that matters is that the other person does not get it. They tug and pull on the baby. Any parent would know that pulling on your children is bad because it physically harms them. The couple did not seem to notice they were harming their baby.

You're Ugly, Too

When I first read the story, I felt sympathetic toward the main character, Zoe. She was very eccentric and seemed to have few people in her life. She is even described as someone who tries but did not succeed. "She was almost pretty, but her face showed the strain and ambition of always having been close but not quite" (pg 353). I sympathized with her for that. As I continued reading I started sympathizing with her less and less. I started to become annoyed because she seemed disconnected. She would tell random stories to people. She was not well in conversation and could not connect with others. She pretends to push a guy off of a building and laughs. She went too far and her joke was not funny.

The Drunkard

Question 6
The principle irony in this story is that the little boy gets drunk. He was supposed to stop his dad from drinking and he drinks one his father's pints when they are at the pub. He gets drunk and the father is forced to take his drunk son home. The situation used to be the other way around. The son comes home and the mother calls him a 'guardian angel.' When the father would drink, the next day he would not go to work because of his hangover. The boy drank so the father did not, or so the mother thought. The boy just wanted to know what alcohol tasted like and ended up getting drunk.

The Lottery

Question 1
When I started reading this story, I expected someone to win a large cash prize. I was very confused when the process of the lottery was explained. People would just pick out slips of paper and I could not figure out how anyone could win a prize when no one put anything in. The title leads the reader to think something good will come out of the lottery when in fact the winner, or loser, depending on how you look at it, gets stoned. The reader is not prepared for the stoning of a townsperson though children are collecting stones at the beginning. I assumed they were just collecting rocks for fun because some children do enjoy collecting rocks. When I read the end of the story, I understood why the children were collecting rocks and why some of the townspeople were nervous for the lottery.

Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa

Point of View
This short story is in first person point of view. The main character is told to build a baseball field and he does. He does not hesitate to build the field and with the use of first person, the reader understands his love of baseball. The reader experiences his love of baseball first hand. He says, "I count the loves in my life: Annie, Karin, Iowa, Baseball" (pg 513). He inherited his love of baseball from his father. The reader receives this information through his memories of his father. He would talk about the present events occurring and then tell a story that happened in the past.

Characterization
The main character introduces all of the characters in the story. His wife Annie is 24 and when he tells her he is going to build a baseball field she replies,"If it makes you happy you should do it" (pg 512). She does not try to persuade him to forget about his vision. Her looks are directly characterized. She had hair the color of "cayenne pepper" and she had "at least a million freckles on her face and arms." Shoeless Joe is idolized. He believed that "Shoeless Joe was innocent, a victim of big business and crooked gamblers" (pg 513) when he was accused of throwing the World Series. He did not want to believe Shoeless Joe did anything wrong. He also loved his father. He tells many stories about his father and his inherited love of baseball.

Setting
This story takes place in eastern Iowa on a farm. The main character is a farmer. He hears a voice and has a vision of a baseball field and knows he must build one. Because he is a farmer, he had a lot to lose by building a baseball field in the middle of his crops. He did not have very much money because he states he was "operating [the farm] one inch from bankruptcy" (pg 512). This shows his devotion to carrying out his vision of the baseball field. He truly believed Shoeless Joe would come and play baseball on his field.

Plot
The story begins with the main character talking about his father and Shoeless Joe and is then followed by the famous line, "If you build it, he will come" (pg 511). The reader is presented with this question: Who is the "he" referring to? The reader is given an explanation of what 'it' is because the main character is given a vision of a baseball field. Because Shoeless Joe is mention within the first paragraph of the story, it can be inferred that the 'he' is Shoeless Joe. When I got to the end of the story though, I felt the 'he' referred to the main character's father also. He mentions his father playing ball in Florida and at the end recommends a catcher who played ball in Florida. He would get the chance to see Shoeless Joe play baseball and he would see his father again who had passed away.

Theme
One theme in this story, no matter how corny it sounds, is to follow your heart. The main character hears a voice and acts on what he was told to do. He asks himself, "Was it really a voice I heard? Or was it perhaps something inside me making a statement that I did not hear with my ears but with my heart?" (pg 513) He loved baseball and had devoted much of his life to it. It kept his father close because they both had a special love of baseball. He is also very close with his family. He has a wife who loves him and a daughter who adores him. He had a good relationship with his father. My favorite part of the story was the ending when Shoeless Joe says, "This must be heaven" where he replies, "No. It's Iowa." He then thinks about all of the special people in his life who love him and he then says, "I think you're right, Joe" (pg 522). Family is very important and is something that all people should value.

Once Upon A Time

This was my favorite short story in this section. The story was very ironic because the family was so focused on preventing people from breaking into their house, they did not think about the effects it would have on the family. The little boy ends up getting caught in the jagged metal coils the family had installed to prevent anyone from breaking in. He got the idea of breaking through the wire coils from his book of fairy tails given to him by his grandmother. She was the one who told them to protect their house from burglars. In the beginning of the story, the narrator hears a creaking noise and automatically thinks someone is breaking in. I cannot say how many times I have heard a noise and thought someone was breaking in. I am glad I have a cat because I blame all mysterious noises on him.

A Worn Path

Question 5
Phoenix cannot see very well. She is not blind but she has a cane to help her move around. The fact that she has poor vision dramatizes the entire story. Her journey is more difficult because she cannot see well, she has a long way to go, and she is elderly. The same trip for a younger person with good eyesight would not be as challenging and less dramatic. She talks out loud to herself to ward off any creatures and uses her cane to detect any objects in the way. When she gets into town a lady ties her shoe for her. She picks up medicine for her grandson and the medicine is free. I thought that Phoenix is a very loving and caring person because she was willing to make the long trip for her grandson so she could get his medicine.

Eveline

Question 7
I believe Eveline is a sympathetic character. Her mother had passed away and Eveline had promised her mother she would take care of her family. Her two of her siblings were dead and the others have moved away. She feels obligated to stay with her father though she fears him. She is afraid he may abuse her because he had abused her brothers. She was seeing a sailor but her father did not approve so they had to meet in secret. She does not go to live with the sailor. She decides to stay with her father. She is a sympathetic character because she does not choose to go with Frank. She stays behind.

Miss Brill

Question 7
In the beginning of the story, Miss Brill brushes her furs off so she can wear them. She describes the animal and says the eyes looked as if they were saying, "What has been happening to me?" I thought the fur symbolized Miss Brill. She is getting older and is having trouble adjusting to age. When I began reading this story I thought she was younger because she described some people as being 'old' so I assumed she was young. She was crying at the end of the story. She cannot believe that she is old. She makes up this story of how everyone is an actor playing a role, but she was just pretending. She is unhappy with her life.

Hunters in the Snow

When I began reading the story, I thought it was going to be about three friends hunting. I was wrong. The characters in the story did not act like friends at all. They always made fun of each other and Tub ends up shooting Kenny. Tub and Frank do not even seem concerned for Kenny. He could die from the wound and they do not seem to care. They go back to the house for directions to the hospital. They put Kenny in the back of the truck but Tub accidentally drops him. He is not even being careful. Kenny was in great pain. When they are driving to the hospital, Kenny and Tub stop several times to eat and warm up. They leave Kenny out in the freezing cold.

Everyday Use

I believe the mother's refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicates a permanent change of character. She had promised to give Maggie the quilts because Dee did not want them in the past. Dee had not appreciated the heritage of the quilts. She was not even planning on using the quilts. The quilts were made to be used. If Maggie was given the quilts, they would have 'everyday use.' Maggie offers to her mother to give them to Dee, but her mother gives them to Maggie instead. This represents a permanent change because there was no doubt after she made her decision. She then enjoyed the rest of the day with Maggie.

Hunters in the Snow

In the beginning of the story, Frank and Kenny gang up on Tub and make fun of his obesity. Kenny seems to be the main source of the mean comments. Tub is often left behind when they hunt together. Frank and Kenny go off together when they split into groups, and Tub is left by himself. Kenny teases Frank about the babysitter which makes Frank angry.Tub shoots Kenny and this marks the major shift in loyalties. Frank tells Tub he would have done the same thing if it happened to him. As they go to the hospital, Frank and Tub make a few stops and they talk about their problems. They leave Kenny out in the bed of the truck while they eat and drink. They do not seems to be very good friends. Frank had sided with Kenny on everything before and now he is siding with Tub. Frank and Tub do not seem to care much about Kenny.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Question 11
When Bartleby first arrives, the lawyer is happy to have him. Bartleby works hard and does not complain. The lawyer is relieved that Bartleby works hard and does not have moodiness during the day. The lawyer then becomes annoyed and frustrated with Bartleby because he always responds, "I would prefer not to" when he is asked to do something. He threatens to fire Bartleby but he will not leave. He even pays Bartleby to leave and he still will not leave. The lawyer then becomes worried about Bartleby when the police come to arrest him. He felt responsible for Bartleby.

How I Met My Husband

This was my favorite short story for this section. It had a happy ending and it would make a very cute movie. The last sentence of the story made me think for a moment. Carmichael believed that she waited at the mailbox for him every day. Edie was really waiting for the letter from Chris Watters. Carmichael did not know the real reason why Edie waited by the mailbox every day and she was not going to tell him. Edie said, "...I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy." She knew it made Carmichael happy to think that she waited by the mailbox every day just to see him so she let him think that.

Interpreter of Maladies

When I read this story, I sympathised with Mr. Kapasi. He did not have a loving relationship with his wife. He had no relationship with his wife. They would not talk to each other anymore. Mrs. Das was also unhappy in her marriage. She did not act like she loves her kids very much. In the beginning of the story, Mr. and Mrs. Das were fighting over who had to take Tina to the restroom. They both did not want to help their child. When Mrs. Das was painting her nails, Tina wanted hers painted and Mrs. Das says, "Leave me alone." This is not appropriate speech for a mother to say to her daughter. Mr. Kapasi starts fantasizing about Mrs. Das after she asks for his address. I thought that he overreacted. She ends up losing his address and this is when he realizes that there would be no chance of a relationship between them.

How I Met My Husband

For most of the story, the reader is led on to think that Chris Watters will be Edie's husband. He is the new guy in town and a lot of the events revolve around the arrival of Chris Watters. It is not until Edie waits for Chris' letter every day that the reader is introduced to Carmichael. He is dependable and easy to talk to. Edie can talk to him and depend on him. He will be there with the mail every day at around the same time. Chris was not anything like Carmichael. He just showed up and he was intimidating to Edie. She was not very comfortable around him. He was also a lot older than she was. The surprise ending was appropriate. Chris Watters did not seem like that great of a guy. He would say things like "It's a good thing I'm used to shy ladies." or he couldn't take people up for plane rides because he had some ladies over. He did not seem to have much respect for women.

A Rose for Emily

Question 2
At the end of the story the reader finds out that there was a dead man in Emily's house. He had been murdered by Emily and the man was Homer Barron. In the final paragraph of the story, the reader finds out an interesting fact. There was a strand of 'iron-gray hair' on the pillow next to the dead body of Homer Barron. This shows that Emily must have loved Homer though she was the one who killed him. He did not love her so she wanted him dead. She kept his body after she killed him because she was lonely and wanted someone there for her. This shows that Emily wanted to be loved. She did not want to die alone.

Lonely Hearts

This poem was like a newspaper for personal ads. Each stanza was about a different person, but all of the people have something in common. They are lonely and want someone to be with. Each stanza ends with 'Do you live in North London? Is it you?' or 'Can someone make my simple wish come true?' Each person has very specific needs so their wish is not simple. They have certain requirements. The lonely people say that the person must live in North London so they narrow their chances of meeting someone. They really want to meet someone, but they are leaving it up to someone else to answer their ad.

Edward

In the beginning of the poem, Edward's mother asks him why his sword is bloody. He lies and says he killed his hawk. She asks again and he says it was his red-roan steed and then he admits he killed his father. The mother does not seem surprised Edward killed his father and Edward blames his mother for his actions. She was putting the idea into his head and he cursed her for it. He loved his father. He referred to him as 'father dear' and he just called his mother 'mother.' He regretted killing his father. By the end of the poem, I felt bad for Edward even though he murdered his father.

That Time of Year

This poem contains a paradox on lines 10-12, "That on the ashes of his youth doth lie as the deathbed whereon it must expire, consumed with that which it was nourished by." This is in the quatrain about fire. Wood fuels fire and wood burns down to ashes. The ashes then extinguish the flames. In youth, people are full of life and energy. The older one gets, the less energy one has. Death approaches each day. The speaker begins talking about fall, then twilight, and then a fire. Each image portrays a shorter time period. He is getting closer and closer to death.

Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead

This poem's tone cannot be described as optimistic or pessimistic. There are aspects of both within the poem. The son has a pessimistic attitude towards death and the father has an optimistic view towards death. The father is ready for death and the son is not. The father has an 'itch to see fresh worlds." The son is not condescending towards his father's view on death. He states what his father believes and he states he does not believe it. The son is not ready for death or for his father to die.

To His Coy Mistress

This poem is about a man urging a woman to tell him she loves him. He knows that they do not have all the time in the world to be coy. He speaks of all the things they could do if they had all eternity, but they do not. He doesn't want to waste time to find out she loves him. Eventually time will run out and they will die. He wants to live with her as his love. He does not want to die before they get to share in their love together. He wants to spend as much time with her as possible and make the most of their time together.

My Mistress' Eyes

When I first read this poem, I thought that the speaker was calling his love ugly. I reread the poem and I understood that the speaker truly loved his mistress. He believes she is as beautiful as the women who are showered with praise. He would not shower her with empty or false praise. He does not exaggerate her looks or give false comparisons. The author is mocking those who shower people with praise and say things like "Your eyes are as bright as the sun." He knows that someone's eyes cannnot be that bright. He is realistic.

Crossing the Bar

This poem has a tone of acceptance. The speaker thinks of his death and how he would want to die. He wanted a peaceful death without sad goodbyes. The sand bar eventually ends and leads to deep water. This means that in death he looks to the afterlife. He hopes to see the 'Pilot', which is God. The pilot of a plane controls the plane and God controls life. He is accepting of his death and is fine with dying.

Getting Out

In the first line of the poem, the couple is being compared to 'inmates.' The 'inmates' should be interpreted as confinement to a mental hospital. Both people did nothing wrong and they did not choose for their marriage to fall apart. They tried to make their marriage work, but could not. They had to get a divorce. In the beginning of the poem, there is a tone of anger and hate. Towards the end, there is almost a sense of regret and love. They both cried when the divorce process was finally over. They finally let go of their marriage to move on with their lives.

Mr. Z

The first line sets the tone of the poem, "taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error...". Throughout the entire poem, a person called Mr. Z, tries to get past his ethnicity, but society kept throwing it back in his face. I felt that the author was satirizing society. Society is obsessed with the idea of what is considered "normal." Anyone who is different is labelled by that difference. The label is hard to get rid of and many have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Later in his life he finally overcame his ethnic label but in his obituary it stated, "One of the most distinguished members of his race." He thought he had gotten past it, but it was always there.

APO 96225

This poem was my favorite of the section this week. Reading "The Things They Carried" helped me identify with this poem. It just really stuck out to me because a son is writing to his mother from Vietnam and he keeps the letters light and fluffy while she pleads with him to be serious. He eventually writes about the war and the father says he was depressing his mother. Many Americans are not involved with war. They do not keep up with what is going on or pay attention to the soldiers who fight in the war. Many people act like they want to know about the war, but when it becomes to depressing or scary, they have had enough and do not want to hear anymore. The lack of attention of wars hurts the country and especially the soldiers because they may need to talk about it, but no one is there to listen.

"Much Madness is divinest Sense"

This poem contains many paradoxes. The first is "Madness is divinest Sense" which is saying madness is good. The second paradox is "Sense is madness." The author is arguing that assenting to conform is considered sane but she thinks it is wrong. Demurring from conformity is considered madness but this is what she agrees with. She wants people to be different if that is how they are. No one should have to be like someone else just so they can fit into society. This poem also fits in with the other poem, "Barbie Doll." Both poems mention conformity and how it ends in a bad situation. These poems stress that it is okay to be different and never change just to be considered 'normal.'

"Barbie Doll"

"Her good nature wore out like a fan belt." This simile gives the impression of an assemble line or a manufacturing process. The poem is about a girl who was always told she had a 'big nose and fat legs.' Nobody noticed anything else besides her physical appearance. She also had many traits that are praised in men and not women. On line 8 it says, "...[she] possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity." This also furthered the reason for her to be an outcast of society. She had to pretend to be someone else to be accepted into society and she eventually stopped and cut off her nose and legs. In the casket, she had a fake nose and people said, "Doesn't she look pretty?" Society inhibits a picture of beauty that no one can have.

"February"

The poem begins with the speaker talking about what she likes to do in the winter. I got a sense that the speaker was grumpy and on edge. In the winter, people are more moody because the weather is cold and people are irritable. They are ready for warm weather and flowers and spring. The speaker mentions her cat and describes him as a "black fur sausage with yellow Houdini eyes...". She has to like cats to have one as a pet so this is where I got a sense of her moodiness. He wants her to get out of bed to give him attention, but she wants to eat french fries and watch hockey. By the end of the poem, the speaker seems to get agitated and says, "Off my face! You're the life principle, more or less, so get going on a little optimism around here. Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it spring." She is fed up with staying in bed all the time and she wants to get up and do something with her life. She wants winter to be over and spring to come.

"Pink Dog"

This poem compares a dog to the poor people in Rio de Janeiro. There is a dog that has not fur because of scabies. It has babies and it is starving. The poem states, "It's been in all the papers, to solve this problem, how they deal with beggars? They take and throw them in the tidal rivers." The society does nothing to help the poor. The way of dealing with them is getting rid of them. The poem also states, "Yes, idiots, paralytics, parasites go bobbing in the ebbing sewage, nights out in the suburbs, where there are no lights." This tells the reader not only are poor people thrown into rivers, mentally handicapped people and paralytics are too. People who cannot provide for themselves are outcasts. Society allows this to go on. "Where there are no lights" means that everyone may know what is happening, but no one says anything.

"Bright Star"

In this poem, the speaker expresses why he would want to be a star and tells of the things he dislikes about stars. He likes how stars are steadfast. The word 'steadfast' is repeated several times to enforce that is why he would want to be a star. He is in love and he does not want that to change. In the poem it states, "Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night...". He does not want to be lonely. He wants to lay with his lover forever and their love remain steadfast. He would not want to just stand at a distance and watch the world like a lonely star.

"Toads"

There are two toads portrayed in the poem. The first poem represents work. "Why should I let the toad work squat on my life?" Many people have to work all of their life, living paycheck to paycheck. Not many people are born into money. The second toad represents reality. "...And will never allow me to blarney my way to getting the fame and the girl and the money all at one sitting." The reality of the situation allows the speaker to know that he will work for money. He won't suddenly attain everything he wants in one sitting. He has to work for what he wants and he knows that there are many other people in his same position.

"Dream Deferred"

In this poem, there are five similes listed in a row. They are "like a raisin", "like a sore", "stink like rotten meat", "like a syrupy sweet", and "like a heavy load". The speaker is asking the reader to think what happens when a dream is put off. All of the similes are negative images. Some people live for dreams. Langston Hughes was a poet in the Harlem Renaissance. He was also alive during the Civil Rights Movement. I thought he was implying that people should never give up on their dreams, especially those who wanted their rights. They should never stop dreaming and they should take action or their dreams can never come true.

"London"

When I first read this poem, I was depressed. I instantly thought of Charles Dickens because his many of his books take place in London. The main characters in the book are usually poor and the rich people are snobs who hate the poor. The poem seemed dark and gloomy. It was also sad. The poem begins with, "I wander through each chartered street...". I thought that the word 'wander' meant that the person was lost in their life and there was no meaning. "In every Infant's cry of fear" adds to the tone of the poem. The children are not even happy. "How the Chimney-sweeper's cry every black'ning Church appalls; and the hapless Soldier's sigh runs in blood down Palace walls." I took this to mean that the soldiers are the common people fighting for the rich. There blood is lost whether it be in war or even politics. The common person's view did not matter and they suffered.

"Those Winter Sundays"

I took this poem to have two interpretations. The first is about a son looking back at his childhood. His father was a hard worker and he was not appreciated. Words like "blueback cold, 'cracked hands', 'banked fires blaze' show that his father worked a lot and in harsh conditions. The son was regretful that he never thanked his father for all that he did. Another interpretation of the poem is about God. God gave life to people. He does so many things for people and they do not always realize it or thank him for it. The phrase, "Speaking indifferently to him..." means people pray to Him but only ask for things. They do not thank God for all he does. They take and take and give nothing back.

"The Widow's Lament in Sprintime"

There were a few symbols in this poem. The poem was sad because the woman had lost her husband. The beauty of spring was lost to her after her husband passed away. Even though the season is springtime, she is not happy. "Sorrow is my own yard where the grass flames as it has flamed often before but no with he cold fire that closes round me this year." She is sad and her yard is constricting. Her son wants her to look forward because things will get better. He notices white flowers in the meadow. The meadow represents freedom. It is open space. At the end of the poem she says, "I feel that I would like to go there and fall into those flowers and sink into the marsh near them." The white flowers represent Heaven and the marsh is death. She wants to die to be with her husband in Heaven.

"Spring"

The imagery of this poem is primarily sight. "When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely lush..." (line 2). "...glassy peartree leaves..." (line 6). These two phrases give the reader pictures of spring. The phrases, "descending blue" and "earth's sweet being" help to describe the richness of spring. Spring represents new life because winter is over and the plants are blooming and turning green again. The Garden of Eden is also mentioned and so are children. These all share a common thread. They all represent the beginning. They are innocent and pure. This poem could also be a Christian poem because it mentions Christ which ties into new life. Christ was sent to earth to grant people new life.

Tone

The tone of the poem, "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," is dark. The poem seems to be about the funeral of the speaker, yet the speaker can still hear. The word 'funeral' has a dark connotation because it means someone has died. Each stanza gives the idea of the funeral. The first stanza is about the showing. The second is the service. The third is about the funeral procession with the fourth mentioning the church bells. The last stanza is the coffin being lowered into the grave. Funerals are rarely happy. The speaker could possibly be losing her mind and that gives a dark tone. The phrase, 'With those same Boots of Lead...", is dark because something is weighing the speaker down. 'Mourners', 'Service', 'toll', and 'wrecked' all contribute to the negative tone.

Poetry

I believe that there are some limitations to poem interpretation. Perrine mentions symbols. He states, "Its meanings ate therefore almost infinite. But they are not unlimited." This means people can still make their own interpretations and they can be right. Many people want a definite answer of what a poem really means. E. A. Robinson said, "If an author interprets a poem of his own, he limits its suggestibility." I agree with this statement because poems promote creativity. The reader has to decide the meaning of the poem.
When I first read the poem, "The Night March," I did not know it was about the stars. Reading the article made me realize I need to pay more attention to the details in the poem. The poem used many words such as 'bright', 'beaming', 'twinkling', and 'shining'. I did not pay close attention to these key words. Poems are like riddles. Whenever I read a poem in school, I know that the poem is hardly ever what it seems. There are usually symbols used in poems which make interpreting the poem difficult. If a poem about flowers was actually about flowers, I would probably waste a lot of time trying to analyze what the flowers symbolize when they do not mean anything at all. Sometimes I believe people analyze too much.

Final Entry

Whenever war is mentioned there is the generalization that "War is hell." It is also mentioned in The Things They Carried. Tim O'Brien said, "True war stories do not generalize. They do not indulge in abstraction or analysis. For example: War is hell. As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can't believe it with my stomach" (page 78). This idea leads me to my next thought. It is actually said by Hawkeye Pierce. There are many good quotes in MASH. He says, "War is worse than hell." Somebody asks why and he responds, "Because there are no innocent bystanders in hell." Many people in the war are innocent bystanders. Jake was an innocent bystander. He did not start the war or choose to be wounded in it. Many peoples' lives changed, especially after WWI because it was the first World War. People did not know what to expect. Little did they know there would be a WWII shortly after. People have trouble transitioning from life as a soldier to the life of a civilian. The lost generation did not know what to do with their lives anymore.

The End

I finally made it to the end. The ending of the book was expected. There was no resolution, no happy ending. Jake and Brett did not end up together. I would have liked Brett to have said, "
Oh, Jake, we CAN have a damned good time together." I still do not understand why she believes her relationship with Jake would never work out. I read the back of the book before I read the book and I noticed the line "unrealized love." I read the whole book and I did not find it in the book. Brett knows Jake loves her and she loves Jake. Was the line referring to another set of characters? I have read so many other good books. Why did we have to read The Sun Also Rises? There just had to be a better option out there.

(I AM) Bored Out Of My Skull

I was reading some other people's blog entries and some of them felt like I wrote them. I had written almost the same things other people had. I read an entry Emily Looney wrote about Brett and how her actions were confusing and stupid. She also mentions how much they drank. Did anybody ever do anything else? Many people seemed to have the same reaction when they read The Sun Also Rises. It was boring. I have had the hardest time finding things to write about and it feels like I keep writing the same thing. It is probably because a lot of the events happened more than once. The amount of drinking was very annoying and boring! Did I mention it was boring?

Between the lines

When I finished the book my second thought was, "Why did I have to read that book. It was nothing like The Things They Carried." My first thought, "It is finally over!" After I finished reading I talked to my mom and told her the reading seemed pointless. The books were nothing alike. She suggested maybe they were not supposed to be alike. There were some similarities if I dug deep enough. I guess it is not one of those books that is just about the story. The feelings and emotions are in the story but not clearly written. The main characters are both suffering because of the war. Jake would not have met Brett if not for the war. He could have found another person to love and he might have been happy. Brett might not have a drinking problem.

Simile

I just recently counted my literary terms entries and found I had forgotten to do one! Sorry simile, nothing against you. "I slept like a log" (page 105). Jake says this because Robert asked him how he slept. I really liked this line because I have heard so many people say it. It is a saying that almost everybody has probably said in their life. I did like that about this book. There were many lines in the book that seemed realistic. The lines were not too overdone, nor were they too simple. There were times when a character would respond with a terse one syllable word but at other times characters would ramble on about their personal opinions. That is how real people talk. The conversation moves back and forth and the amount of words spoken varies.

Robert

"Breeding be damned. Who has any breeding, anyway, except the bulls? Aren't the bulls lovely? Don't you like them, Bill? Why don't you say something, Robert? Don't sit there looking like a bloody funeral. What if Brett did sleep with you? She's slept with lots of people better than you" (page 146). Mike is very drunk and is verbally attacking Robert. Robert still just stands there and takes the insults. He was a boxer but he does not like to fight people. I think it is wise to avoid confrontation, especially with a drunk person, but Robert needs to stand up for himself. Robert does eventually fight Jake and Mike, but for a stupid reason. He wants to know where Brett is and they will not tell him so he gets angry. I feel bad for Robert because he loves Brett but she does not love him. He needs to get over her and find someone else.

Gored

"You hear? Muerto. Dead. He's dead. With a horn through him. All for morning fun. Es muy flamenco" (page 202). Jake is speaking to a waiter about the man who was killed by a bull. He left a wife and two kids. I could not believe it when the event was described. People are running from a bull that was set loose. It is a miracle that nobody else was gored. The man had risked everything just to see a bull. He risked seeing his wife and children again just to participate in a stupid sport. I do not understand why people want to watch other people play with the bulls and then kill them. I do not support animal cruelty.

Drown your troubles

"It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people" (page 150). This quote made me think of MASH. Hawkeye and B.J. have a still in their tent and they drink often. Radar comes in and asks for a drink and he takes a sip saying, "Hey, I thought this stuff was supposed to make you feel good." B.J. replies, "No, its supposed to make you feel nothing." The war has a very negative effect on people and they will always have to live with the trauma of war. Many soldiers become alcoholics because of the war. Is Jake an alcoholic? I really do not know but it seems like he is because he drinks almost all of the time.

Never Endng Cycle

The book reminded me of listening to a song that was on repeat one hundred times. The same events seemed to happen in the book over and over again. Jake hangs out with his friend, they drink, talk, drink, fight, drink, get drunk, then go to bed. That seemed to be the chain of events that happened throughout the book. The location the friends drank at changed but not much else. Everywhere Jake went he had to have a drink. I was not sure if people just drink a lot when they are on vacation or if people in France and Spain drink a lot. I think Jake might be struggling with personal problems as a result of the war.

Brett

When Brett was first introduced in the story, I did not expect her to be so annoying. She may not be annoying to all of the readers, but I found her to be a bad character. She is constantly falling in love with different men, even when she is engaged to Mike. She is extremely selfish. She falls for every whim and she never stays with any man for very long. She also knows that Jake loves her and she uses him to her advantage. Whenever she has a bad day, she goes crying to Jake. She keeps telling Jake that a relationship with him would never work out. In the end of the book, she complains to Jake about her bad relationship with Mike and then with Romero. She also drinks a lot just to get drunk. She reminded me of Bella and Jake in the Twilight series. Bella needs a friend and Jake loves her. Bella says she loves Edward but she is selfish and cannot stop talking to Jake. Isn't it weird that both of the characters are named Jake?

Disappointment

After reading The Things They Carried, I had an optimistic view of the quality of the second book I had to read. I began to read the first 27 pages of The Sun Also Rises and I was bored. I started reading it right after I had finished my 20 blog entries for The Things They Carried and it took me a while to get back to the book. The entire story of The Things They Carried was about the Vietnam War and the soldiers' lives after the war. The Sun Also Rises is not about a war. The story is about the generation that lived through the WWI. The book did improve as I kept reading but it still wasn't very interesting. Reading The Things They Carried was pleasure reading but The Sun Also Rises was homework.

Parallelism

"After a while we came out of the mountains, and there were trees along both sides of the road, and a stream and ripe fields of grain, and the road went on, very white and straight ahead, and then lifted to a little rise, and off on the left was a hill with an old castle..." (page 99). Hemmingway uses a lot of parallelism when he describes the scenery. The word 'and' is repeated within the sentence to link the different clauses together. The scenery is continuous and it is flowing, just like the sentence structure. The words are changing but the sentence flows. The scenery changes but it does not stop so the sentences are not short and choppy. Because the characters are riding in a car, the scenery changes faster than it would if the characters were just walking. I enjoyed the different scenery described in the book because I have never been to France or Spain.

Imagery

"It was hot, but the town had a cool, fresh, early-morning smell and it was pleasant sitting in the cafe. A breeze started to blow, and you could feel that the air came from the sea. There were pigeons our in the square, and the houses were a yellow, sun-baked color, and I did not want to leave the cafe" (page 97). I have never been to Spain before so I do not know what it looks like. Many people who read The Sun Also Rises probably do not know what Spain looks like. Hemmingway's use of imagery describes Spain and the other countries to those who have never seen it. There are many little details in the book too. "While we were waiting I saw a cockroach on the parquet floor that must have been at least three inches long" (page 97). In that one sentence the reader finds out what kind of floor the cockroach was walking on and the size of the cockroach. These little details add to the story and help the reader experience what the character experiences.

Onomatopoeia

"... and the red and green stop-and-go traffic-signal, and the crowd going by, and the horse-cabs clippety-clopping along..." (page 22). The phrase 'clippety-clopping' helps to describe the sound the horses make as they walk. It just adds so much more to the book. Hemmingway describes everything in great detail. He describes the lavish scenery as well as the color of pernod. The phrase also draws to mind that horses are still commonly used. Cars were used but the people had not yet transitioned from horses to cars. The clippety-clopping of horses helps set the time period of the book.

Round Character

Jake Barnes is a round character. He is very complex just as real human beings are. He loves someone who says their relationship could never work out. He experiences happiness, jealousy, anger, excitement, and boredom. These are all feelings that humans experience every day. The key to creating characters is making them as realistic as possible. He has a job and he has many friends. Jake was in the war and he was wounded. He enjoys bullfights and he is catholic. Real people have religious beliefs (even if they do not believe in religion that is their belief), they have hobbies, jobs, and friends. They enjoy some activities and hate others. They love some people and dislike others. Somebody could tell me the story was based off of a real person named Jake Barnes and I would believe them.

First Person

"I mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when thier stories hold together..." (page 12). The Sun Also Rises is told in Jake Barnes' point of view. I love stories in first person becuase I have a complete understanding of the character. Nothing is hidden from the reader. It is more intimate because it is like being inside the head of the character. Jake Barnes expresses his thoughts and feelings and all the characters are shown in his perspective. If he does not like a character, then the reader probably will not either because they will be exposed to negative thoughts. I say this because I liked Robert Cohn in the beginning of the story and towards the middle I started to think he was annoying. I was annoyed that Cohn never stood up for himself. "Why did he sit there? Why did he keep on taking it like that?" (page 58). At first, I did not think how Jake liked Cohn in the beginning and then slowly became annoyed at him. He hated him after he went out with Brett and would not leave her alone.

Stream of Consciousness

"... so I prayed that I would make a lot of money, and then I started to think how I would make it, and thinking of making money reminded me of the count, and I started wondering about where he was..." (page 103). Jake is in a church and is trying to pray. He begins praying for his friends and the bull-fights, then the fiesta , and finally their fishing trip. Hemmingway wrote this chain of thoughts very realistically. I will be thinking of something and then I end up on a random topic and I try to figure out how I had gotten to the idea. One thought automatically triggers more thoughts. Many books in first person do not always have a stream of consciousness but it is how humans think. It makes the character more real and believable.

Rhetorical Question

Frances begins to figure out that Robert Cohn is not going to be sticking around for much longer. She knows that it probably won't work out between them and they won't get married. She is upset at Cohn. She begins to get mad at him. She rages on for almost two pages in the book. I was rooting for her (I think Cohn is annoying-it might be because Jake thinks he is too). She just kept going on and on talking and then asking a question like, "Aren't you, Robert?" or "Didn't you, Robert?" (page 57). She doesn't even stop talking to see if Robert would even mumble a response. Cohn never stood up for himself. Frances did not expect a response from Cohn because she did not ask the questions to receive one. She was mad and she asks to questions to torment him.

Static Character

Brett is a static character. She does not change much thorugh the course of the novel. In the beginning she is planning on marrying Mike, but she has a bad habit of falling in love... all the time. She drinks. She is constantly finding a new love and never seems to be content. She also knows that Jake Barnes loves her but she says it will never work out. In the middle of the story she is still planning on marrying Mike but she has a fling with Cohn. She also drinks a lot just to get tight. Near the end of the book, she goes out with the bullfighter. She leaves him and goes to Jake for help. She drinks some more. Throughout the book her behavior stays the same, but she might be with a different guy. Brett is not content with her life. She cannot change her ways and that is why things would never have worked out between her and Jake.

Epigraph

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever... The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down..." (page 7). I skimmed this page before I read the novel. I did not understand the meaning of the quote before I read the story so I thought I would read the novel and get back to it. I finished the novel and I did not know why the novel was called The Sun Also Rises. I found the passage at the beginning of the book and I reread it. The quote, "The sun also ariseth," from Ecclesiastes inspired Hemingway to title his book The Sun Also Rises. My interpretation of the quote is that the world just keeps going. Nothing will stop the sun from rising or the rivers flowing. People will die but the world keeps turning. Life goes on.

The Things I Carried

When I read this book, I carried a pen, a highlighter, and an analytical brain. I carried the soldier's fear and anxiety. I carried their pain and sorrow. I carried their jokes and laughter. I carried their friendship. I really enjoyed reading the book. I was so enthralled with the settings and the characters. I know I have said this a lot but it felt real. I normally do not read books about modern wars. I thought this book was going to be boring and I was going to hate it because of all the homework that went with it. I loved the book and I would definitely recommend the book for anyone who can appreciate good writing and a good story. I have never been in a war but "story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth", so I guess I can say I have been in a war.

Wounded in War

When Tim O'Brien gets shot the first time, Rat Kiley was there to take care of him. He gets better and there were no complications caused by the bullet. Rat Kiley shoots himself in the foot and is shipped off so Bobby Jorgenson takes over as medic. O'Brien gets shot the second time but is not treated soon enough. There were complications because he almost died from shock. He has to put a special cream on his butt because the wound was infected. He hated Jorgenson because of it. Jorgenson should have been there to help him after he was shot. It was what a medic is supposed to do. O'Brien plans his revenge and he does get Jorgenson back. I do not really think he hated Joregenson though. He was the blame for being shot. O'Brien was mad that it happened to him and he almost died because of it. When bad things happen, many people need something or someone to blame. It helps them feel grounded because they normally blame the cause of the event. People also do not like to blame themselves or admit to any faults so they blame someone else. O'Brien did not want to be in the war let alone be wounded because of it and this fuels his anger. Because of his previous speedy recovery, O'Brien compares Rat and Bobby even though Rat had been there longer and Bobby was new. People always seem to ask "why me?" when bad things happen to them.

Bored out of my skull

"If you weren't humping, you were waiting. I remember the monotony. Digging foxholes. Slapping mosquitoes. The sun and the heat and the endless paddies. Even in the deep bush, where you could die any number of ways, the war was nakedly and aggressively boring" (page 34). This reminded me that soldiers were not always going out and killing all the time. Reading this part made me think of Hawkeye Pierce from the t.v. show, MASH. Hawkeye was a surgeon and was drafted into the Korean War. He hates the war and all of the people who created the war and those who are supposed to end the war. He constantly says he is 'bored out of his skull.' While the 4077th waits for causalities, there is not much to do. He drinks, pulls pranks, and talks to nurses. Hawkeye's friend, B.J., says that war is an unorganized bore. It is true because the soldiers are limited to what they can do as they wait. They do not have televisions or phones in the bush.

Not in the plan

"In June of 1968, a month after graduating from Macalester College, I was drafted to fight a war I hated" (page 40). I often like to imagine what my future life will be like. Becoming a Senior is exciting and I keep thinking that this will be my last year in high school. I will go to college and declare a major. Once I finish college, I will get a job. Then maybe I will get married and raise a family. This was probably the thought process of most people before they were drafted in the war. Some people may not have planned on going to college but once they were out of high school, they would have a job. A war was not in the plan. They had to postpone their hopes and dreams to fight a war they may not have believed in. I cannot imagine going to college, graduating, and then going to war.

Fact or Fiction?

I knew before I started reading the book that it was a work of fiction. As I was reading the book, it felt real. It is not until page 179 that the reader is informed that none of it is real except that Tim O'Brien is a writer and he was a foot soldier. O'Brien makes it confusing for the reader by creating a character with his real name. He further confuses the reader by making the character O'Brien write the same books that the author wrote in real life. It made me think everything was true. "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer than happening-truth" (page 179). Those two lines tell why O'Brien made a character with his name. I had never read a story about the Vietnam War. I really enjoyed reading the book and it was easy to read. I would read page after page before realizing I forgot to underline and highlight key points. It helped me understand about the life in a war zone. The characters were so realistic and had such complex personalities. The characters in the story are unforgettable.

Transition

Reading about Norman Bowker reminded me of how the soldiers are expected to carry on with their lives after the war is over. They cannot go on with how they were living before because of the traumatic events that happened in the war. It reminded me of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. He leaves his home, the Shire, to destroy the Ring. When he finally does, he returns home but cannot adjust to his old life so he leaves Middle-Earth. Norman felt guilty for letting go of his friend, Kiowa. He said, ..."there's no place to go. Not just in this lousy little town. In general. My life, I mean. It's almost like I got killed over in Nam... Hard to describe. That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him... Feels like I'm still in deep shit" (page 156). He could not go on with his life. He still couldn't get over his guilt and he was left grieving for his friend. Many soldiers come back from war with drug addictions or alcohol addictions. It is not surprising because the soldiers have to deal with so much. Many couldn't handle. Norman Bowker later hangs himself. It was sad to know that he couldn't deal with it anymore. He could have had a long and happy life it not for the war.

Dead Man

When I read the part where Tim O'Brien kills for the first time, I thought I kept reading the same line over and over. Many lines were repeated but on different pages and I finally realized why. The description of the dead body was repeated over and over because the character kept staring at it. It reminded me of when I see a dead animal on the road and I really do not want to look but I find myself staring at it anyway. Tim O'Brien killed the man and he cannot get over the fact that the man was dead because of him. "The left cheek was peeled back in three ragged strips" (page 124 and 128). "His one eye was shut and the other was a star-shaped hole" (page 126). "The star-shaped hole was red and yellow" (page 126). "One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole" (page 130). I felt like I was accidentally reading the same part over and over because the lines were repeated so often. It felt like I was there, staring at the dead body with 'one eye shut and the other a star-shaped hole.' I could feel O'Brien's guilt and shock after killing the man. His conscience tortures him further by thinking about the man's life. He imagines why the man was there and who he was. He made the man seem like the good guy and he was the bad guy. He really knew nothing about the man but he felt terrible for killing him.

Grief

As I read the book, I would come to a part that simply shocked me. It was the part where Rat Kiley mutilates the body of a baby water buffalo. Curt Lemon had died and Rat was lost. I felt sick as I continued to read about various body parts being shot off of the buffalo. I did feel bad for the baby buffalo because it did nothing to deserve this kind of treatment. In the book, it said, "It wasn't to kill; it was to hurt" (page 79). It was disturbing. Rat was hurting and he had to hurt something else in return. The harshness of his actions scared me. I cannot even imagine killing an animal, though I have killed bugs and I even feel guilty killing them! He did not kill the animal directly though it would die because of the wounds. It would have been better if he killed it but he let it suffer.

Checkers

In the book, there were many phrases that stood out to me. It was about Norman Bowker and Henry Dobbins and how they would play checkers every night. "There were red checkers and black checkers. The playing field was laid out in a strict grid, no tunnels or mountains or jungles. You knew where you stood. You knew the score. The pieces were out on the board, the enemy was visible, you could watch the tactics unfolding into larger strategies. There was a winner and a loser. There were rules" (page 32). I know that is a really long quote but I couldn't cut anything out because it all captures what Vietnam was not. The soldiers did not have a clear enemy. The enemy wore no uniform. There was guerrilla warfare which made anyone a possible threat. There are supposed to be rules to wars but the rules are often broken and go undetected. In a game of checkers, if the opponent cheats, it can be more easily caught. When Vietnam was over, there was an unclear end. Like the war in Iraq, there will be no clear winner or loser.

Hyperbole

"... the stiff thump of the bullet, like a fist, the way it knocks the air out of you and makes you cough, how the sound of the gunshot arrives about ten years later..." (page 191). I have noticed, on several different occasions, that many bad events happen in slow motion. Just a few days ago I went camping with my family and we were riding our bikes. We were riding along the road in the grass because there was a car coming. Once it passed, we transitioned back onto the road but there was a slight dip from the grass to the road. My sister lost control of her bike and I happened to turn around and witness her fall. I saw the way the handle bars turned as the bike slowly fell to the ground and the way her hands reached out to catch her fall. It was like slow motion. I just stood their watching, immobile and unable to help. It seemed like she took forever to reach the ground. She scraped her ankle and hands but she was okay. Many bad events happen in slow motion and I do not know why. The hyperbole lets the reader understand the shock of the bullet. A person gets shot and the shock of it blows everything out of proportion, like the time it took for the sound of the bullet to reach Tim O'Brien's ears.

Imagery

"Except for a few marshy spots along the river, everything was bone dry. No ghosts-just a flat, grassy field. The place was at peace. There were yellow butterflies. There was a breeze and a wide blue sky'' (page 181). The landscape in the book was so vivid. I felt like I had actually seen the field where Kiowa had died. It had seemed ominous and scary. It was dark and rainy and the men were miserable. When the character, Tim O'Brien, returns to the field, it seems very peaceful and calm. There were no visible signs that someone had died there in the war. The land had erased all evil memories at the site. With the use of imagery, Vietnam is clearly imagined and the book becomes reality. When I read a book with a clear description, I feel as though I am being transported into the book. The place becomes real and so do the characters.

Anaphora

Reading the part when Kiowa dies was depressing ( I could only read so much of the book at a time). I started thinking about all of the reasons why he died. The first reason I thought of was the war. He wouldn't have been there if he had not have been drafted. "You could blame the war. You could blame the idiots who made the war. You could blame Kiowa for going to it. You could blame the rain. You could blame the river. you could blame the field, the mud, the climate. You could blame the enemy" (page 177). The phrase, "You could blame", is repeated to show that in a war, there are many factors that contribute to one event. All in all, there seems to be no one and nothing to blame because of the countless factors. One person or thing cannot fully take the blame. The phrase becomes redundant and I finally thought that the reason will never be known why Kiowa died.

Symbol

"I [Rat Kiley] mean, when we first got here-all of us- were were real young and innocent, full of romantic bullshit, but we learned pretty damn quick. And so did Mary Anne" (page 97). Mary Anne is a symbol of all of the soldiers sent over to Vietnam. When they first arrive, they are not prepared for the life in a war zone. They are "green". They do not know exactly what to expect and they have to adjust. When Mary Anne arrives, she begins to quickly adjust to the life there. She learns about the Vietnamese and the land. She also begins to change because of the war. She had planned on marrying Fossie and having three kids and so on but she changes her mind. She begins to go on ambush missions with the Greenies. Eventually she disappears. She is a symbol for all of the soldiers who go to war and come back different people. Mary Anne changed and she would never be the same person ever again. All of the soldiers who go to war come back changed.

Paradox

"War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead." "But in truth war is also beauty" (page 80). When I first read this, I refused to believe that"war is also beauty." I did not understand what was meant by it. I read further as O'Brien describes why it is beauty. The mind hates the whole idea of war, but the events and outcome of the war is fascinating. He describes it, "like cancer under a microscope" (page 81). The cancer is amazing because it has the power to take life, but it is sad because someone must suffer because of it. War is powerful and as a result of it, lives are altered and many lost. After an attack and a soldier is not dead, there is a sense of happiness and pleasure in the mere fact that death was evaded. "... you're never more alive than when you're almost dead" (page 81). This paradox makes the reader examine life in a war more closely. I felt the exhilaration of being alive when the soldiers survived an attack. It made me think about who and what I loved in this world and all that I take for granted in my life.

Rhetorical Question

In the beginning of the book, Tim O'Brien thinks back on the day where he almost jumped off the boat to reach Canada to avoid the draft. He describes what the shore looks like and the trees and bushes and I was thinking to myself "Just Jump Off the Boat!" Then I read the questions, "What would you do? Would you jump? Would you feel pity for yourself?" (page 56). Then I really thought about it. I probably would not have jumped. I would be too scared to leave my family and live in a foreign place all alone. I would feel sorry for myself and ask why it was happening to me. I would cry just as the character did. The question, "What would you do?", allowed me to put myself into Tim O'Brien's shoes so I could feel what he was feeling. Some people may say they would have jumped but it is true? The Rhetorical question allows the reader to put themselves into the situation and understand why the character does not jump.

Antithesis

"Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards" (page 23). "I was a coward. I went to war" (Page 61). Most people think that going to war is a courageous, not a cowardly one. In the book however, it states that going to war is cowardly. The brave action would be to desert the army which ultimately saves many lives. It saves the life of the person and all of those the person might be forced to kill. Tim O'Brien (author) states that a coward goes to war so a brave person would not. There are too many lives lost in senseless wars. O'Brien uses the antithesis to show the difficulties of choosing to answer to the draft or reject it. If a person rejects it and runs away, the person will be shunned by society and they cannot return to their home or family. If the person goes to war, the person could die. There isn't much of a choice.

Extended Metaphor

"They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing" (page 21). The soldiers in the war never want anyone else to know of their weaknesses. If they are afraid of death, they joke about it. "They were actors" (page 20). They had to pretend they were not afraid of anything. Actors are not themselves when they become the character. Almost everything about themselves is forgotten to fully become the character. The soldiers could not always admit to the realities of war because it was too much for the human mind to cope with. The soldiers had to develop different personalities and mindsets to cope with the war.

Motif

The phrase, "they carried", is repeated over and over again in the book. This phrase is also within the title of the book. The phrase pulls the reader into the war, causing a better understanding of the realities of war. While the beginning of the book uses the phrase most often, I noticed it seemed to be implied throughout the rest of the book. The book goes back and forth between the then and now. Tim O'Brien was in the war and then the story goes to the present time as he thinks about the war. The story follows some of the characters and for Norman Bowker, he carried guilt for letting his friend go. He later hangs himself. The books relates how one event can change lives and alter personalites. The war changed people and they will always have to live with the memories of the war.

Anthropomorphism (personification)

"Imagination was a killer" (page 11). The most frightening part of war is the unknown. War is unpredictable when accounting for the amount of wounded, dead, or missing people. There is also no answer for an easy end to a war and there is no answer to the outcome of the war. The unknown allows for people to make up there own answers to all of the questions. In the book, this quote refers to the part where soldiers go on tunnel duty and the soldiers wonder what happens to the people down in the tunnel. They begin to scare themselves with all of the possible outcomes. The soldiers could die, or they could be trapped alive. The unknown is scary for most people. For most people, the reason for the Vietnam war was unknown and the outcome of the war was also a mystery.

The Things They Carried

As I started to read the book, I noticed that O'Brien would describe the things the soldiers physically carried and then something they emotionally carried. "He [Jimmy Cross] carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men" (page 5). That would be a lot to carry and I would have a hard time coping with that thought. I would not be able to function under the immense pressure that other people's lives depended on me. O'Brien states how heavy the physical items are that the soldiers carry and it directly links to the heaviness of the fear and anxiety the soldiers also carried.
"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried" (page 7). This quote really brought me back to the reality of the wartime draft. These people were not soldiers; they were draftees. They were forced to come into a war did not support or understand.