What is courage?
The word can go by a few definitions..."the ability to do something that frightens ones", "strength in the face of pain or grief", or "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery" (taken from various dictionary sites).
This isn't the first time something of the sort has appeared in one of the narrator's stories. The idea of "courage" and "bravery" is a reoccurring concept within The Things They Carried. To me, in this particular chapter I don't think that Norman Bowker shows any type of courage. Courage would be to speak out to those you imagine having conversations with...to try and remain a part of society.
I know that something such as the Vietnam War is a trauma-inducing event; however, I think that one could at least try to be apart of the society. Maybe my viewpoint isn't valid since I, myself, have never experienced something like PTSD, but I just find it as an excuse. Norman Bowker is not courageous at all to me. Winning a medal doesn't show bravery...feeling guilty about the death of a friend doesn't show courage either...it's admitting your problems that, to me, seems to take more effort.
Times like these have happened in O'Brien's story before where I debate on the fine line between "cowardice" and "bravery". The chapter "On the Rainy River" is a prime example of where O'Brien explores the two concepts. Here, we see that the narrator struggles to come to terms with the feelings within him. He's torn between whether he wants to go to war and die for his country or run away. To me, both of those situations would require a large amount of bravery: going to war is a heavy decision...run away is too, and even though the act is cowardly, don't you think that's what makes it a harder choice? Running away from something like war isn't as easy as people may think it is...sometimes it takes a bit of courage to do what others think is the "wrong" thing to do.
Or think about it like this; isn't this whole book an example of "courage"? Wouldn't it take a lot of bravery to write about events that may disturb you or trigger unwanted feelings that you haven't had since the event happened? I know that a lot of the details and situations O'Brien puts into The Things They Carried are fake, but not all of them are.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Beyond Tears
This memoir was not only well written, but I could actually picture myself in the speaker's position. It's about the speaker's childhood self (the age is hinted around preschool age, I believe) that has to stand up to a boy bullying her. When she finally acts though (stepping on his foot to get him to stop), the teachers don't believe that the boy had done anything to deserve what she did to him. What did she learn? She learned not to do anything she would later regret.
The dialogue in this memoir is simply amazing; it isn't complex or overly detailed, but it holds a simplistic and childish feeling that relates to the character's situation. After all, the girl is roughly a toddler so her speech shouldn't be too over-the-top. Not only that, the speaker/author does well in explaining how she felt back then and speaking about how she feels now when dwelling on the memory...especially when she explains to the reader the lesson she learned from her experience.
I like this memoir a lot because I, and I'm sure any other kid, can relate a lot to this. We've all had that moment in school where someone's being a jerk and decides to horse around a bit, usually resulting in throwing things at you or pulling your long hair. You try to fight back, but when you get caught, none of the teachers believe you without having a witness. Because I can relate to the way the character feels, that makes this memoir appeal to me even more.
Beyond Tears
The dialogue in this memoir is simply amazing; it isn't complex or overly detailed, but it holds a simplistic and childish feeling that relates to the character's situation. After all, the girl is roughly a toddler so her speech shouldn't be too over-the-top. Not only that, the speaker/author does well in explaining how she felt back then and speaking about how she feels now when dwelling on the memory...especially when she explains to the reader the lesson she learned from her experience.
I like this memoir a lot because I, and I'm sure any other kid, can relate a lot to this. We've all had that moment in school where someone's being a jerk and decides to horse around a bit, usually resulting in throwing things at you or pulling your long hair. You try to fight back, but when you get caught, none of the teachers believe you without having a witness. Because I can relate to the way the character feels, that makes this memoir appeal to me even more.
Beyond Tears
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Vietnam War
The 1950s marked the beginning of a nineteen war in Vietnam between the Northern and Southern areas of the country. At that time, France's (who ruled over Vietnam then) rule was harsh and made living hard for Vietnamese. Though there are other reasons for the causes of the war, the goal of the North was to rebel against the Southern government. The war took place not too long after World War I.
America didn't get involved right away, but they marginally took minor steps towards ultimate involvement. They ended up aiding the Southern part of Vietnam, as they feared that if the North were to succeed it would mark the beginnings of communist rule, which the U.S. did not want to spread in a 'domino effect'. That type of reason for the U.S. is common in most wars as a lot of countries who might be affected by some other country's wars. Such things happened with others too like in France and Europe in the terms of a battle for absolute monarchy.
Eventually, American military forces withdrew their troops from the war and exchanged prisoners just before a ceasefire, where they came back with a vengeance.
Within the war, there were many different terms to refer to the Vietnam enemies (some ranging between abbreviations or phrases that were usually very derogatory). The main term for a northern soldier was a "Viet Cong", which was slang for a Vietnamese Communist. they were usually called this by American soldiers or southern Vietnamese soldiers.
Conditions were absolutely dreadful for anyone not native to the terrain. Everywhere you stepped could be a landmine or a booby trap, hidden by the tall elephant grass. Elephant grass usually ranged any six feet to twenty feet, which (you could imagine) made it very hard for soldiers to maneuver through. They were blinded not only to the surroundings, but the war itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/causes.htm
America didn't get involved right away, but they marginally took minor steps towards ultimate involvement. They ended up aiding the Southern part of Vietnam, as they feared that if the North were to succeed it would mark the beginnings of communist rule, which the U.S. did not want to spread in a 'domino effect'. That type of reason for the U.S. is common in most wars as a lot of countries who might be affected by some other country's wars. Such things happened with others too like in France and Europe in the terms of a battle for absolute monarchy.
Eventually, American military forces withdrew their troops from the war and exchanged prisoners just before a ceasefire, where they came back with a vengeance.
Within the war, there were many different terms to refer to the Vietnam enemies (some ranging between abbreviations or phrases that were usually very derogatory). The main term for a northern soldier was a "Viet Cong", which was slang for a Vietnamese Communist. they were usually called this by American soldiers or southern Vietnamese soldiers.
Conditions were absolutely dreadful for anyone not native to the terrain. Everywhere you stepped could be a landmine or a booby trap, hidden by the tall elephant grass. Elephant grass usually ranged any six feet to twenty feet, which (you could imagine) made it very hard for soldiers to maneuver through. They were blinded not only to the surroundings, but the war itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/causes.htm
Monday, January 23, 2012
If Daisy was Our Narrator
I was losing grasp of the situation quickly; everything was spinning out of control in terms of the conversation between Jay and Tom where it was incredibly difficult to follow. The hostility Tom held for Jay was so blatantly obvious and undiluted that I was sure Jay had realized it too, though he tried to act rather nonchalant about it. I tried to divert the topic by offering to make my husband a mint julep, but he wasn't finished quite yet.
"Wait a minute," he snapped, "I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question." When Jay politely insisted that he go on, Tom continued, "What kind of row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?"
"He isn't causing a row," I defended as I desperately looked to the others around the table--Nick and Jordan. "You're causing a row. Please have a little self-control."
"Self-control!" he repeated incredulously. "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out...Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white."
I was stunned by the remainder of his rant, and I was sure most of my shock came across my face; I felt as if I was unable to breathe...unable to move. I knew though that I wanted to leave--I wanted to leave now.
"I've got something to tell you, old sport--" began Jay, but I was quick to cut him off when I knew the direction in which his sentence was spiraling; my heart was jumping so quickly.
"Please don't! Please let's all go home. Why don't we all go home?"
"That's a good idea." I was thankful for Nick's help as he got up. "Come on, Tom. Nobody wants a drink."
"Wait a minute," he snapped, "I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question." When Jay politely insisted that he go on, Tom continued, "What kind of row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?"
"He isn't causing a row," I defended as I desperately looked to the others around the table--Nick and Jordan. "You're causing a row. Please have a little self-control."
"Self-control!" he repeated incredulously. "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out...Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white."
I was stunned by the remainder of his rant, and I was sure most of my shock came across my face; I felt as if I was unable to breathe...unable to move. I knew though that I wanted to leave--I wanted to leave now.
"I've got something to tell you, old sport--" began Jay, but I was quick to cut him off when I knew the direction in which his sentence was spiraling; my heart was jumping so quickly.
"Please don't! Please let's all go home. Why don't we all go home?"
"That's a good idea." I was thankful for Nick's help as he got up. "Come on, Tom. Nobody wants a drink."
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The American Dream
Some people want the vigorous fame, fortune and recognition...
Some people want power.
Some just desire the idea of starting a family in a nice little house by the seaside.
Each of those individual aspirations could classify themselves to be an "American Dream". Once you set that goal--that dream of yours that you want to obtain--that's something that should definitely stick with you for life and become one of your major motives.
So what is the ideal American Dream, or the standard one at least? No matter what, everything all leads back to the idea of having some sort of wealth, which (as CBS says) "may very well be the root of all evil". They say that the dream has been split into two different sections and types: those who work to earn it and those who think it's owed them.
It's ludicrous to think about just how similar this definition is to the views of those in the book The Great Gatsby. The two divisions can definitely be identified as East Egg (the earning of money) and West Egg (the inheritance of it).
The quote "start from nothing and become a big-time success" is practically the exigency of Gatsby's entire being. Originally, Gatsby wasn't the man who he became later in the book--he wasn't a big hotshot with loads of cash to fill all of his pockets. Gatsby actually started out not having anything and eventually worked hard in order to achieve the status of becoming infamous. In this sense, Gatsby is like the symbol of the American Dream that is being questioned today: the idea of starting from nothing and working up to something.
Some people want power.
Some just desire the idea of starting a family in a nice little house by the seaside.
Each of those individual aspirations could classify themselves to be an "American Dream". Once you set that goal--that dream of yours that you want to obtain--that's something that should definitely stick with you for life and become one of your major motives.
So what is the ideal American Dream, or the standard one at least? No matter what, everything all leads back to the idea of having some sort of wealth, which (as CBS says) "may very well be the root of all evil". They say that the dream has been split into two different sections and types: those who work to earn it and those who think it's owed them.
It's ludicrous to think about just how similar this definition is to the views of those in the book The Great Gatsby. The two divisions can definitely be identified as East Egg (the earning of money) and West Egg (the inheritance of it).
Perhaps the most damaging piece of popular career and leadership fluff is that you should reach for the stars, aspire to the corner office, and don't stop until you achieve your dreams. Now, I know what you're thinking: Isn't that the American Dream, start from nothing and become a big-time success?-- CBS
The quote "start from nothing and become a big-time success" is practically the exigency of Gatsby's entire being. Originally, Gatsby wasn't the man who he became later in the book--he wasn't a big hotshot with loads of cash to fill all of his pockets. Gatsby actually started out not having anything and eventually worked hard in order to achieve the status of becoming infamous. In this sense, Gatsby is like the symbol of the American Dream that is being questioned today: the idea of starting from nothing and working up to something.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Zelda's Lullaby
Zelda's Lullaby is an orchestrated piece from the video game series entitled the Legend of Zelda. It made its first appearance in the Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past, and continued on ever since. The name of the song derives from the game's Princess (Zelda) as it is notably her personal theme song and played each time she makes her appearance within the games. The song itself is supposed to induce 'peace' and 'tranquility'...two things that Princess Zelda is renowned for...and I think it does an amazing job at capturing those feelings. It's especially effective when played on an ocarina (like in the Ocarina of Time game, flute, or on the piano; the melody—despite its simplicity—can help ease one's nerves quickly, which is the major reason I took up learning how to play it on piano. It’s my way of calming down when having a bad day.
For learning how to play the song, the chords and finger movements can be quite challenging, making it the only downfall of the song. Some notes are too much of a stretch to complete the chord progression while others are too close to the left hand, but once you get used to the timing and flow of the song, things will become easier. “Zelda’s Lullaby” is also fun to play in different pitches as well.
I enjoy the innovative ways that the Nintendo™ incorporates the song into the ongoing Legend of Zelda franchise. In the most recent game (Skyward Sword), the new song that is used for Zelda’s theme (“Ballad of the Goddesses”) is actually “Zelda’s Lullaby” played in reverse, and if you play the original theme backwards, you come up with the main intro to Skyward Sword. Neat, right? It just goes to show you how popular that song is. :)
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