blog #4

Blog #4 Hamill and Forche

Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch are both poets who write poetry of witness. Poetry of witness is poetry in which the author makes vulnerable his emotions and feelings as a witness of an event or circumstance. The reader is a guest as a second-hand witness of the author’s experience. Although Hamill and Forche are both poets. Outside of that they are very different in their approach. Hamill is more personal-minded, while Forche is more global minded. Forche is very difficult for me to understand. After reading and re-reading her article, I still don’t have a good grasp on what she is saying. Perhaps it is because I am not very politically minded.

I agree with Forche that we live in a country where we are safe from war on our soil, we have free choice, and we are not censored. Our society is anesthetized to these ills and it is easy to not fully understand the struggles on a global level. I understand how she feels the need to be a witness to open our eyes.

Hamill is easier to understand so I find him to be more engaging than Forche. Hamill uses poetry as a tool to deal with his abuse. Writing about his experiences is his personal release that he invites us to be a witness to. I like how he teaches others to do this also. I do not agree on his view of spanking leading to abuse. His perspective is extreme. I believe children need clear boundaries. When they cross those boundaries in a willful, defiant way, sometimes a spanking is the clearest communication that their action is not acceptable. When a consequence has been put in place in advance, the child chooses the consequence. Follow thru on the parent’s part can then lead to healthy respect. Hamill is passionate in his stand on many issues. I Believe this is what makes him a good writer, although I don’t

Final Presentation

There is so much that I learned in ENG 102 that I decided to note many of the skills and topics we learned and covered.

BLOG POST #7-Reflection on the Course

The past eight weeks have been quite the journey. I have learned more than I ever anticipated or thought myself capable of. I was surprised at the number of learning outcomes from analyzing and learning the difference between summary and analysis, interpreting poetry and learning to read between the lines, to overcoming the technical challenges of blogs, videos and submissions. In life, I will forever have to write in varying degrees, whether it is in my personal day to day living, or in my work environment of nursing. I do feel better equipped.

I thoroughly enjoyed the readings. I have always had a fascination about the Vietnam War, I guess because during this time, I was a preteen who only got bits and pieces of information, and was always curious to know the whole story. Growing up, it seemed no one wanted to talk about it. I feel like my eyes have been opened to Vietnam, war in general, and the mind-set of a soldier.

In terms of the learning outcomes, I feel I touched on all of them, conquering some better than others, and some were just plain a challenge to the very end! Organizational strategies were difficult and have always been a challenge for me. This challenge made starting my essay difficult because I wasn’t sure HOW to start. I did write my essay, so I did conquer this outcome, but not without experiencing every emotion imaginable! This is where I appreciated how Ms. Cline always made herself available whether in her office, by Skype or by email, returning emails promptly.

My writing has changed in that I realize how important it is to communicate in writing in a clear, concise way. This usually means many rewrites which I’ve come to realize is normal. I’ve learned that writing is a process that takes time in order to pull your thoughts out of your head effectively, unlike, say, solving a mathematical equation that is cut and dry.

One of the most challenging assignments was response to two poems. This assignment taught me to read, re-read, then re-read again. Analyzing poetry when the poem is abstract is like cracking a code. Once you crack it, you can see everything inside that was hidden before. Another huge challenge was the technical aspect of the class. Having very limited computer experience, made what would be a simple task for some, completely frustrating for me. Figuring out these tasks sometimes took longer than the assignment! Of course, time was always my enemy, with my work schedule and the fast pace of the class.

I’m glad I persevered! I feel a sense of accomplishment at attaining new writing skills that I will use throughout my life. Now, it’s time for a vacation before I start the nursing program!

BLOG POST #6- Annotated Bibliography

Anderson, Doug. “How Many People did you Kill Over There?” New York Times (1923-Current file). ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York oTimes (1851-2007). Jan 22 1989 Web July 13 2011.

This is a short article that is packed with examples of the attitude and mistreatment soldiers received upon their return from the Vietnam War. It is going to be helpful in showing how the attitudes of the American people transitioned from one of patriotic support to one of anger and contempt as their views of the war changed.

Foley, Michael S. Dear Dr. Spock: Letters about the Vietnam War to America's Favorite Baby Doctor. New York: New York UP, 2005. Print.

This book is a good resource because it is comprised of actual letters from people all over the country letting Dr. Spock, the famous pediatrician know their thoughts on the Vietnam War. Dr. Spock was a proclaimed resistance supporter which made the letters all the more interesting.

Foley, Michael S. Confronting the War Machine. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 2003. Web. 17 July 2011.

This book was a wealth of information on the draft resistance movement and the public’s perception on the differentiation between a resister and a dodger. It is fascinating to read about famous draft dodgers that are or were in politics. This book is a good resource for understanding what the mind-set of a young man who received his draft notice was and the ways many of them tried to evade being drafted. It also gives a clear picture of the guts and courage it took to publicly resist the draft.

Huebner, Andrew J. "Rethinking American Press Coverage of the Vietnam War, 1965-68." Journalism History 31.3 (2005): 150,150-161. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 14 July 2011.

The author gives a very fair and balanced perspective on how the media affected American’s attitude during the Vietnam War. I will use it as a source to show the power the media holds and its historical importance in the documentation of history. It also shows how the media can spin information towards a certain bent, changing the attitudes of the American people.

“Honor in Dissent.” New York Times (1923-Current file): 46. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2007). Dec 07 1966. Web 13 July 2011.

This short New York Times Article demonstrates the contempt that President Johnson had for dissenters in America. It was a good source to show how he labeled dissenters as cowards who were willing to let others do the fighting for them.

CLOSE READING OF A TEXT

streetsofmadison.blogspot.com http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT2v3GljzzxUwDDH5dKUb-KG_CCooNlz10AjVWZZ6gof7eQv8DpPg

“The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty. It’s not pretty, exactly. It’s astonishing. It fills the eye. It commands you. You hate it, yes, but your eyes do not…and a true war story will tell the truth about this though the truth is ugly.” (O’Brien pgs 80-81)

This quote caught me by surprise because I wondered how you could find beauty in war. The ugliness of war overshadows any beauty from an outsider’s perspective, but O’Brien, the witness, does speak about beauty. In the horror of death and killing he describes dusk, the end of day with its changing hues of orange and red. “…you find yourself studying the fine colors on the river, you feel wonder and awe at the setting of the sun, and you are filled with a hard, aching love for how the world could be and always should be, but now is not.” (O’Brien pg 82) I think it is our human nature to look for beauty because it is pleasing to our eyes and soothing to our soul. For those in combat, finding something of beauty is a mental reprieve. Perhaps it is a coping mechanism to incorporate images besides the ugliness of war into their minds. Our eyes capture images in milliseconds. The contradiction is that our eyes also capture images of horror before we are even aware enough to turn away. Unfortunately, the eyes and brain are not discriminating in what they choose to see or recall. When the mind is filled with these disturbing images, they can come out of storage and play like a movie when least expected in the form of post traumatic stress disorder. This truth is ugly.

Here is an informative link on PTSD.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/DS00246