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Impact of the world war on american literature
Impact of the world war on american literature
Impact of the world war on american literature
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Yusef Komunyakaa's poem, “Facing It” is about him visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial after been in the war. The poem talks about his heart wrenching experience visiting the wall for presumably the first time. It took him many year to be able to write about his time in Vietnam and once he did it began to permeate throughout his poetry (Jago). This poem uses personal experiences from the author to show people how to face their fears so they can move on.
The title of the poem, “Facing It”, can be read to ways the denotation and connotations. But they ultimately mean the point to the same conclusion which is fear. On one hand you can take the meaning literal and say that Komunyakaa is physically looking at something. The thing that Komunyakaa is looking at is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial but it is also the thing he is most afraid of. Which is referenced in the first line: “My black face fades, hiding inside the
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black granite”. If you were to read it in a more figurative manner, you would use the second meaning. This meaning is usually heard as a proverb: “[you should] Face your fears”. But he is about to face it, and in the title the “it” that is being referred to is Komunyakaa’s “fear”. The fear he feel’s become apparent has he continues to stare at the wall. The poem starts with Komunyakaa writing “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears”(lines 3 & 4). He feels overwhelmed by the sight of the monument because it makes him confront the memories he has been suppressing. Toward the middle of the poem where he has been at the memorial longer some of these memories slip out. “I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flash”(lines 17 and 18). Komunyakaa has a flashback of one of his comrades tripping a land mind. After that line the thought changes and he mentions something else to get his mind off of the atrocities that he has seen from being in the war. It is obvious that being their is causing him a great deal of stress, but he cannot begin heal if he doesn’t “face” this obstacle. The overall tone that is used is a somber one, while the syntax is used to convey confusion. The tone is marked by the use of strong figurative language like “the profile of night slanted against morning”(lines 7 and 8 ) This metaphor is about how dark his shadow looked upon this already dark monument even though it is moring. This was to convey how gloomy he feels to be standing in front of this tribute to his worst fears and memories. He uses syntax to convey his confusion. He used it vividly in the last two lines, saying “a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair”. By breaking up the line it shows that he was confused at first by the reflective surface and then gains understanding. This also gives the reader a way to see the way he process the situation. Even though Komunyakaa feels fear, gloominess and confusion he still perseveres because this is something he needs to do for himself. In conclusion, Komunyakaa conveyed to us how we should face our fear hear on so that we can move on.
In away he shows us how we create our fears in a way. In line 5 he says “I’m stone.” which the monument is made out of. Throughout the poem he gets confused because of the reflectiveness of the monument. He is seeing the reflections as if they are happening in front of him, like the wall would be. It seems as though he is embodying this wall which holds his fear. This makes sense because he is the one holding the memories and the wall is only the name of people that could have been in those memories. The wall isn’t Vietnam nor is it a book written with his specific experiences. Meaning that he is the soul keeper and creator of this fears and the wall is what he is projecting it on. Komunyakaa say near the end of the poem “then his pale eyes looked through mine. I’m a window”. There is a metaphor that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Komunyakaa’s soul is what is harboring his fear and the only way to cleanse his soul is by letting his fear
out.
The poem “Where There’s a Wall” by Joy Kogawa is an interesting poem. It talks a lot about walls and how you might get over, under, around, or through a wall. The title is used throughout the entire poem and each thought usually starts with the phrase “Where there’s a wall”.
He drew inspiration from his brother-in-law, whose experiences during the Vietnam War are the basis for the song’s narrative. The song is thus a narrative style confession, and the title is significant in that it summarises the central theme of regret found throughout the writing. The subtitle (A Walk In The Light Green) describes the dangerous treks through lightly forested areas, where landmines were found most prominently during the Vietnam campaign. Perhaps the most powerful poetic device used in this writing is that of point-of-view, this being the retelling of the story from a first person perspective, allowing profound understanding of the inner thoughts of the character. Working in conjunction with this powerful medium is the shift between present and past tense in the verses and chorus of the song. Transitioning from a recollection of the “long march from cadets” to a plea as to “why [he] still can’t get to sleep?” (Schumann) juxtaposes the horrors of war with the mundane reality of civilian life. The meter of the poem stresses many consecutive short words, such as “…young and strong and clean…with my SLR and greens” and “…mud and blood and tears” and the rhyming scheme changes throughout the song between ABCB, ABAB and ABBB. This change contributes to the
War is cruel. The Vietnam War, which lasted for 21 years from 1954 to 1975, was a horrific and tragic event in human history. The Second World War was as frightening and tragic even though it lasted for only 6 years from 1939 to 1945 comparing with the longer-lasting war in Vietnam. During both wars, thousands of millions of soldiers and civilians had been killed. Especially during the Second World War, numerous innocent people were sent into concentration camps, or some places as internment camps for no specific reasons told. Some of these people came out sound after the war, but others were never heard of again. After both wars, people that were alive experienced not only the physical damages, but also the psychic trauma by seeing the deaths and injuries of family members, friends or even just strangers. In the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” by Bao Ninh about the Vietnam War, and the documentary film Barbed Wire and Mandolins directed by Nicola Zavaglia with a background of the Second World War, they both explore and convey the trauma of war. However, the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” is more effective in conveying the trauma of war than the film Barbed Wire and Mandolins because of its well-developed plot with well-illustrated details, and its ability to raise emotional responses from its readers.
In many parts of the poem, Guest uses metaphors to show the strength that one should always keep while facing their troubles. He tells his readers to "Lift your chin and square your shoulders, plant your feet and take a brace" to prepare for whatever could be ahead (lines 2-3). Even through the metaphor "Black may be the clouds above you" which gives a clear perception of difficult and hopeless moments that might be surrounding an individual, it is still better than running since it "will not save you" (lines 8-11). It is throughout the poem that Guest has used many metaphors to remind his readers about the facing the problems that will lie ahead. It is even pointed at points, such as, "You may fail, but fall fighting" to remind the reader that not all problems can be confronted. However, the author suggests that with a person's body language, like standing tall, could become a resolve. With these metaphorical commands, it gives the reader the feeling of a solider or fighter that is preparing to face an enemy. This is also further emphasized from his use of repetition. Guest repeats the figurative phrase, "See it through" to show the reader to overcome the toughest or most hopeless of problems. It is also from this statement that he suggests to go keep going no matter what since in the end it is possible that one can succeed. Becoming the clearest and most encouraging phrase and title of the poem, Guest has made the distinction of his theme to overcome everything that one can in order to achieve the best for one's
Throughout all the poems, Komunyakaa describes the lands of Vietnam in a way that could never be forgotten. In “Somewhere Near Phu Bai,” Komunyakaa paints a vivid scene of something we take for granted, being able to look up at the night sky and watch as the moon shines bright through the trees displaying earth’s beauty. Komunyakaa writes, “The moon cuts through the night trees like a circular saw white hot” (Komunyakaa, 193). He describes our everyday ability to see earth’s beauty as a “circular saw” suggesting the fear of being seen and killed in combat during the heat of the night. Another example of the dark side of nature Komunyakaa uses, is in “Starlight Scope Myopia,” he describes the river under Vi Bridge as a “Water God riding his dragon” and refers to the fog as a “Smoke-colored Viet Cong move under our eyelids” (Komunyakaa, 194). My interpretation of this explicit nature scene suggest that while in war the enemy continues to move like fog and all that is seen is the river that is sweeping away the soldiers that have been killed in the fog. Even though I have only provided two examples of the elements of nature, the book is full of nature, and confirming my belief that it is one of the common themes in the
Yusef Komanuyakaa's poem "Facing It" is a brutal examination of the affects that war leaves upon men. The reader can assume that Komanuyakaa drew upon his own experiences in Vietnam, thereby making the poem a personal statement. However, the poem is also a universal and real description of the pain that comes about for a soldier when remembering the horror of war. He creates the poem's persona by using flashbacks to the war, thereby informing the reader as to why the speaker is behaving and feeling the way he is. The thirty-one lines that make up "Facing It" journey back and forth between present and past to tell the story of one man's life.
Brian Turner's "The Hurt Locker" captures his personal and painful experiences during his time spent in war and furthermore, express the tragic events he witnessed. Brian Turner's poem is miraculously able to gather multiple first hand accounts of tragic, gory, and devastating moments inside a war zone and project them on to a piece of paper for all to read. He allows the audience of his work to partially understand what hell he himself and all combat veterans have endured. Although heartbreaking, it is a privilege to be taken inside "The Hurt Locker" of a man who saw too many things that should not ever be witnessed by anybody. Turner's words bring to life what many have buried deep inside them which subsequently is one of the major underlying problems facing combat veterans today. Reading this poem, I could not help but wonder what the long term effects of war are on a human being, if it is worth the pain, and how does a combat veteran function properly in a society that is unfamiliar with their experiences?
During times of war, man is exposed to the most gruesome aspects of life such as death, starvation, and imprisonment. In some cases, the aftermath is even more disastrous, causing posttraumatic stress disorder, constant guilt, as well as physical and mental scarring, but these struggles are not the only things that humans can take away from the experience. War can bring out the appreciation of the little things in life, such as the safety people take for granted, the beauty of nature, and the kindness of others. These universal consequences of fighting all contribute to what war is really capable of doing, sometimes bringing out the best and worst in people, and constantly shaping society. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien goes through this himself when he writes about setting up base camp in the Vietnamese pagoda, the return to site of Kiowa’s death, the story about the old poppa-san guide, and Mitchell Sanders’ “moment of peace”. When O’Brien includes these stories, it is not to insert joy into a tragedy, but rather to create a more wholesome and authentic feel into a tough, realistic war story. O’Brien’s’ “sweet” stories are there to show the hope he had during war, and also serve as a universal example that even in the darkest tunnels, it is always possible to find rays of light.
Yusef Komunyakaa, the poet of war, vividly describes his vacillating emotions about the Vietnam War and his relation to it as an African-American veteran in the poem, “Facing It.” Komunyakaa, the protagonist of his narrative, reflective poem, contemplates his past experiences as he promenades around the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, struggling to conceal his ardent emotions and remain hard and cold as “stone.” He writes one stanza in a dark mood, and by using metaphors and visual imagery, he paints a picture with his words for all to see.
The narrator in “The Things They Carried” deals with the subjective conditions of war. Throughout the story, straining emotions often brought O’Brien’s teams emotions, especially after a death, causes a “crying jag” with a “heavy-duty hurt” (O’Brien 1185). The fury of emotion associated with death begins to erode the sharp minds of the soldiers and become mentally effective. After an event of large magnitude, it still began to take its toll on the protagonist as they often “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might dies” during the war (O’Brien 1187). The travesties that occurred with the brutality of war did not subside and began to affect those involved in a deeply emotional way. The multitude of disastrous happenings influenced the narrator to develop a psychological handicap to death by being “afraid of dying” although being “even more afraid to show it” (O’Brien 1187). The burden caused by the war creates fear inside the protagonist’s mind, yet if he were to display his sense of distress it would cause a deeper fear for those around him, thus making the thought of exposing the fear even more frightening. The emotional battle taken place in the psyche of the narrator is repressed directly by the war. The protagonist in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is also faced with the task of coping with mental
I saw that soldier’s faces were lit eerily in the dim light. The sculptures apparel seemed fitting due to the light rain that was falling at the memorial site. I noticed the wall glimmering as the raindrops slid down the glassy surface and fall into the wilting flowers while the images illuminated from the glare of rain and light. I felt this morbid and realistic presence of the soldiers and for a mere second felt the gloom and menace of the war they were in. I walked around the site to gather more information on what the memorial was dedicated to. I walked past the mural wall and as I did I paid particular attention to the various images of people and equipment on the wall. All of the facial expressions of the people on the wall gave the memorial a very real presence to it. I continued walking down the granite walk and I read it was the Korean War Veterans Memorial and immediately got the message the artists were trying to convey. It was very clear that they were showing the public that freedom is not free. The memorial symbolizes the soldiers that have fought for the freedom of others and it recognizes the importance of these actions and
Through reading this poem several times I decided that the message from the poem is that war is full of horror and there is little or no glory. Methods which I found most effective were Full rhyme and metaphor.
"Mending Wall" is a poem written by the poet Robert Frost. The poem describes two neighbors who repair a fence between their estates. It is, however, obvious that this situation is a metaphor for the relationship between two people. The wall is the manifestation of the emotional barricade that separates them. In this situation the "I" voice wants to tear down this barricade while his "neighbor" wants to keep it.
It describes how the conservative farmer follows traditions blindly and the isolated life followed by him. It reflects how people overcome physical barriers and that later in life come to their social life too. Where a neighbor with a pine tree, believes that this separation is needed as it is essential for their privacy and personal life. The poem explores a paradox in human nature. The first few lines reflect demolition of the wall,?Something there is that doesn?t reflect love a wall?
This type of writing interests me because it was used as a tool to open people’s eyes to the brutality of war. In a way it protested and spoke up against this injustice and most importantly gave a voice to the people who became the biggest victims of war – the soldiers themselves.