Tim O'Brien Post #2

The main focus in “The Things They Carried” were unrequited love. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was unquestionably in love with a girl named Martha. He spent most of his life wishing that she would love him as much as he loved her. Jimmy often found himself thinking about Martha rather than the task at hand. Being a Lieutenant he was responsible for his platoon and they needed nothing less than his undivided attention. The story goes on to tell of all the things that they carried. They carry necessities, things for survival and things they need for the current mission. Depending upon rank and field of specialty, you carried things pertaining to that specific duty. On a psychological level they carry emotions including shame, guilt, doubt, pressure, embarrassment, and pain. The story goes on to tell that one of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ men was shot and killed while on a mission. Jimmy blamed himself because all he could focus on was Martha. This was the turning point in Jimmy’s life during the war. He felt so much guilt for the death, he decided to let go of Martha. Releasing Martha from his mind, not his heart, he decided to put all his focus into becoming a better Lieutenant. Jimmy Cross was absolutely obsessed with Martha, not being able to go a minute without her crossing his mind. His obsession took its toll on him and his men, even though they didn’t know it. O’Brien closes with “…his obligation was not to be loved, but to lead”(pg. 26). It was nice to finally see Cross realize his priorities and be the leader that he needed to be.

Summary V. Analysis

Summary:

On the Rainy River, writtin by Tim O’Brien was an untold story. Tim was twenty one years old and had just graduated from Malcaster College when he got a draft notice in 1968. He thought that the Veitnam war was wrong. He took a stand against war in his college years. A while after he got his notice he began to think about running to Canada to escape. He was often skeptical about the situation and was back and forth between going and

not going.

After some time he decided he would leave town and went to the Canadian border. He stopped at the Tip Top lodge and stayed there for six days free of charge. The guy working at the lodge, Elroy Beddahl, took Tim in. Tim was so torn between running off

to Canada and going into the army he made himself sick. Elroy gave Tim some money for helping out around the lodge. The two went for a fishing trip and that is when Tim decided he would go to war after all.

Analysis:

This untold story is based on being ashamed and embarrassed. Tim had no desire to go fight in the war and risk his life along with others. He though that the war was pointless and there was no reason for it. However, he admits to being young and not understanding politics. Tim thought he had too much to live for, he was too smart and had too much going for him to waste his life in the war. As the story progresses we see Tim’s struggle with either going to the war or bailing. The only reason that he ends up staying is because he does not want to be the laughing stalk of his town. He also does not want to let down his parents. Tim still has no desire to go to war but he chooses to anyways. His six days with the lodge worker, Elroy bring him to his final decision to go to war. Tim closes with, “I was a coward. I went to war” (O’Brien Page 61). Tim thinks that since he goes against what he wanted to do he is a coward. In my opinion he is, however he had a duty to his country that overpowers his own wants and needs.

Sam Hamill Response

Sam Hamill said many interesting things in his essay. Out of all the material that I read one sentence kept my attention throughout the rest of the essay. “-the only condition worse than being a victim is to be an executioner”(Hamill 1990). This sentence was taken out of the paragraph that was talking about battery. It was saying that coincidently a lot of the men in jail for battery had also been a victim themselves. Relating this to one of my psychology classes, when we are younger we look to our parents on how to act. They may not know it but as children we are observing their every move and that is partly how we develop. Thus, it only makes sense that a child being a victim of battery will also victimize their children. When I read the sentence I thought to myself, why would any one want to cause the same pain that they went through as a child on their own children? They know how bad it hurts, how bad it makes one feel and the damage it does psychologically. For one person to realize the only thing worse than feeling this type of pain is to inflict the same pain onto another is an accomplishment. This small lesson will be noticed among others and hopefully be repeated.
This essay is related to the “Poems of Witness” in that people witness horrible things happen right before them and choose to do nothing to stop it. Sam Hamill’s essay talked about abuse being passed down from one generation to another. Somewhere down the line someone could have noticed this and chosen to stop this behavior. In “Song of Napalm,” the man witnessed a little girl burning to death and he sat back and watched her die. Also, in “Charlie Howard’s Descent” the parents of the boy’s that killed Charlie encouraged his murder rather than prevent it. Not choosing to take action to prevent something will keep the horrible pattern going.

Responding to a Poem

The two poems that I reacted strongly towards were “Charlie Howards Descent,” by Mark Doty and “Song of Napalm,” by Bruce Weigl.
In “Charlie Howard’s Descent” I was shocked by the cruelty but then inspired by the power of forgiveness. A man lived his whole life being ridiculed and tortured by everyone around him. “I, imagine he took the insults in and made them a place to live…” (Doty lines 21-22). He was able to take the insults and lock them up to where they would not cause him pain. In the end he was killed for being gay and somehow he forgives his murderers. Having the ability to forgive those who have taken your life away is remarkable. He will never be able to see anyone that he loved again but he does not think of it in that way. In fact, he is much more mature than his neighbors, because rather than hating them the way they hated him, he chose to see beyond that.
After reading Bruce Weigl’s “Song of Napalm” I was distraught at the image of the little girl burning alive. When I finished the poem I was able to see the remorse he felt and the willingness to be strong for his wife. The picture I was able to create of the little girl was unbearable seeing as how I have a strong passion for children. I wanted nothing more than to believe that she had flown away and was rid of all her pain. “So I can keep on living, So I can stay here beside you” (Weigl lines 28-29). The amount of willpower it takes to try and forget such a dirty deed is astonishing. The power of love always seems to rise above all others.

Welcome

Good Readers and Good Writers

Nabokov thinks that imagination, a dictionary, an artistic sense, and a memory all make up a good reader. I do agree with Nabokov. The four items that he lists are all things that contribute to making a good reader. You must have a good imagination to be able to put yourself in the story, relating with characters, situations, and emotions. The reader must have a dictionary to fully understand the text and grasp the whole meaning that the writer intends for the reader. An artistic sense will allow you to see and create all possible angles to come up with what the writer really means. It would do you no good to read without knowing what you read when you are finished. That is where your memory comes into play.

In my opinion, the characteristics of a good reader are basically what Nabokov previously stated with the addition that in order to be a good reader you have to be able to think critically about the text and the story that you are reading. A good reader is able to see all possible angles that the writer may be saying, then evaluates these angles and comes up with a logical reason as to which one is correct.

I consider myself an average reader. I possess two out of the four characteristics Nabokov believed created a good reader. I am able to put myself in the story and relate to the text. I can also retain what I read for later uses.