Storie of Truth

In Tim O’Brien’s "The things They Carried" he talked about how a true war story should be told. There were many different aspects to each story and how you could tell if it were true or not. The desire to believe was so great that you really didn’t know if the story was true or not. In fact the story may even change the next time around by adding a twist or some truth to get a different truth across. Even if the stories being told were untrue parts of them where fact. As emotions run high and the adrenaline gets the best of you sometimes even the soldiers themselves are not sure of the truth that was once in front of them . They may have to take a hard look back and take a minute to realize what had really happened. He also talked about how each story had a moral. The moral of the story may not be completely clear at the time but later down the road once you have had some time to take it all in and remember what had happened the moral may come to you. It may be in the dead of night or when you are watching some but there is a moral. There are so many things that go on during a war. For each of the soldiers it seemed that the stories they told were not directly related to the war but of comradery and friendship. Remembering the things you want and even the things that haunt you still. War is war and the way you perceive it will make your stories that much different from your brother in arms next to you. Holding things from each story could also make a better story for the person hearing it so that you don’t have to let them know of what truly happened or the things that happened that you don’t think the person needs to hear. Telling them only what you see fit.

Here is some information about the Vietnam War.

http://www.vietnam-war.0catch.com/

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/pages-3/Military-enthusiasts-add-rape-murder-to-Vietnam-War-reenactment-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html

Responding to a Poem

There were two poems that hit me the hardest. The first one is "Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting" by Kevin Powers. This letter to me is almost heartbreaking because this poem shows how much of the war consumes a soldiers life. The soldiers almost forget that they have a life back home. The same things are going on day in and day out that they forget that there may be other events in life going on back home with their families, children, or friends. In this poem he tells what I believe to be his significant other "that war is just us making little pieces of metal passing through each other." (Powers lines 10-12) He is so lost I thought that all he has to say to her is what a comrade in arms has told him. The second poem that I chose is "Compendium of Lost Objects" by Nicole Cooley. In this poem everyone lost almost everything that was near and dear to them. They no longer have the objects to hold that had the best memories behind them. They no longer have the physical things but only the memories. All their personal belongings were thrown in disarray and can’t even think of where to start to put them all back together. "Or the pink shuttered house on the streetcar line where you were married" (Cooley lines 9&10), all of this disappeared. The sacred piece of land where you gave you vows to the one person you love just ripped to pieces never to be seen again. Both of these poems are very sad and bring the devastation back. Soldiers don’t like to think they have forgotten how to live their lives back home and the families from the natural disaster don’t want to think of all the things that were taken from them. Both have to remember how to move forward in their lives and be thankful for what they do have.

http://www.zimbio.com/Saddam+Hussein/articles/Wu1_pGYl1dY/Beautiful+Collection+Iraq+war+Saddam+Hussein
Here is a site on differnt stories from people and stories of triumph.
http://www.nola.com/katrina/

Speaking

http://www.washingtonpoets.org/lifetime_award.php

It is amazing the thought of going from victim to the executioner. Being able to verbalize and write is so incredibly important for anyone person.  Speaking out is also a way to let go and forgive. That way you don’t have to hold in the emotion that you are carrying.  Writing is a freedom and allows us to speak truth and everyone is able to express themselves.  In Sam Hamill’s “Necessity to Speak” the ideas that he presents is that everyone speaks through writing. There is a group of people who have been battered and a group who are the batterers. Speaking out and trying to get out of the routine is a step in a different direction.  It is necessary to peak to bring out thoughts and visions and let out truths. When each person speaks they are speaking from experience thus bringing personal issues to the table. We as a whole would not be able to get to know each individual unless we have a way to speak to one another. May it be talking in person or through writing. So many things were going on in the world in the 1940’s and some of those same things are going on in today’s society. Being afraid to speak out is a weakness but brining it out in poetry and other works of writing can help make a person stronger or even just be heard. The many men and women that chose to go back to their life style of battered and batterer are just going back to the cycle they are used to but those who chose to break away from it are able to move forward with their life and start over and hopefully have a much more positive outlook on life. In turn their children will then be able to have a more positive outlook on life and learn from the experiences of their parents. The written word is a very powerful thing and much can be learned from it if you choose to listen to what it is telling you.