Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

316 Words1 Page

“Facing It” is a poem by Yusef Komunyakaa which talks about the Vietnam Memorial and the names. He thinks about what he experienced in the Vietnam War. This poem has details that can represent the Vietnam Memorial, but it also represents him and what he experienced in the war. He is staring at the Vietnam Memorial and having a flashback to when he was in the war and then he is brought back to reality. Then he is standing there looking at soldier with no arm that is staring back from the wall. In this poem people can see the horror of the names on the wall, and the experiences that one who has been in war has to live with. In this poem we feel the experience of the war and toward the end, we see him staring at a soldier with a missing arm

Show More
Related

  • Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa is a collection of poems based on Komunyakaa’s personal experiences of the Vietnam War. He describes his experiences and observations in a way that isn’t as gritty and raw as some veterans, but still shows the horrors of war and the struggle to survive. What makes Komunyakaa’s work different is the emotion he uses when talking about the war. He tells it like it is and puts the reader in the soldiers’ shoes, allowing them to camouflage themselves and skulk around the jungles of Vietnam from the very first lines of “Camouflaging the Chimera.” Komunyakaa’s title Dien Cai Dau means “crazy” in Vietnamese and is an appropriate title based on the mind set of this veteran soldier. Two common themes I have found in Komunyakaa’s

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Komanuyakaa Facing It

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    An Analysis of Facing It 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.

    Read More

  • Yusef Komunyakaa's Facing It Poem

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It,” he discusses his experience during the Vietnam War. Komunyakaa was in Louisiana during the civil War. During the Vietnam War, he joined the army as a correspondent (Poets). Later, he began writing newspapers for the military called The Southern Cross. The poem begins with the reflection of Komunyakaa’s face fading as he views the stone. Those lines read, “My black face fades, / hiding inside the black granite” (1-2). The black granite does not allow his skin tone to show. He emphases his ethnicity when he uses ‘black’ twice. Furthermore, Komunyakaa acknowledged himself as an African American and created a connection between himself and the memorial. Here I believe he realized he should be on the memorial. He is remembering an incident during the Vietnam War that should have taken his life. His fading face makes me assume that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. They were all Americans. In the next line, Komunyakaa can not control his emotions. He rejects his emotions when he says, “I said I wouldn't, / dammit: No tears” (3-4). When Komunyakaa views the wall his past emotions rush back to him. As he struggles with the emotions his perception of himself and his surroundings change. At the beginning, his face was distant, but appeared as discussed the memorial and its meaning. He could now describe h...

    Read More

  • Beach Burial

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    This poem dwells heavily on the problems in war. It describes how high the death toll is for both sides. Slessor uses “convoys of dead sailors” to show that all these dead body’s are very much alike, with their movements and feelings being the same. It also outlines a major problem in war, being able to identify and bury they dead properly. "And each cross, the driven stake of tide-wood, bears the last signature of m...

    Read More

  • War Poems: Totoy’s War, State of Siege, and War is Kind

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    ..., as well as the readers. Stephen Crane’s poem in contrast, uses irony to try and convey the message about the ugliness war brings. Eric Gumalinda’ poem on the other hand, is the one that is sort of off-tangent to the two. This poem in particular, shows the readers a glimpse of what is happening on a damaged person’s mind. It shows the readers a first-hand view on what people during war times could do, and all their intentions.

    Read More

  • Im Flesh Vietnam Analysis

    220 Words  | 1 Pages

    The poem Facing it has many hidden meaning. First a background on what the poem is about. It is about a man that fought in the Vietnam war. He goes to the vietnam Memorial wall in washington DC. The wall is made out of reflective granite, so when you look at the wall you can see your face looking back at you as if to say you are among the fallen. Quotes like “im stone. Im flesh” reinforce the theme of guilt about his fallen friends. Your friends in war are closer to you than your brother. Putting you life in your fellow soldiers hands creates a bond that can never be broken. Therefore when your friends dies in comdate it creates a feeling of guilt. This guilt has been called survivor's guilt. Even if there was nothing that could have been

    Read More

  • Analysis and Interpretations of Reed's Poem, Naming of Parts

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The men are a vital role in the poem, as the general, uses his military background to help guide and train the “privates” he also distinguishes the role that the men will have to play later on with after the war is done and over with. To help realize this idea it is developed through the speaker, imagery and irony

    Read More

  • Effects of War in "Dulce et Decorum est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owens

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a poet, Wilfred Owens wants to show the effects of warfare from the viewpoint of a soldier during a War. Owens uses his own experience as a fighter to capture the reader’s attention and get across his point. He often uses graphic imagery and words to depict his thoughts about war. Wilfred Owens, poems, “Dulce et Decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed youth” talk blatantly about the effects of warfare on the soldiers, their loved ones, and those who make an ultimate sacrifice by making a statement about the efficacy of war.

    Read More

  • Always To Remember: The Vision Of Maya Ying Lin

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author, Brent Ashabranner, says to his readers at the end of his passage “Always to Remember: The Vision of Maya Ying Lin,” “It will make us remember that war is about sacrifice and sorrow, not glory and reward.” The it Ashabranner is referring to is the Vietnam Memorial designed by Maya Ying Lin. This memorial was the the main focus of his piece, “Always to Remember: The Vision of Maya Ying Lin.” The words Ashabranner used for his title have a significant meaning towards the passage. “Always to Remember” relates to the memorial and remembering those who died fighting in the Vietnam War. “The Vision of Maya Ying Lin” relates to Maya Ying Lin literally visualizing the memorial before is was even built.

    Read More

  • Anthem for Doomed Youth and Facing It

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    War is a patriotic act where one seeks the determination to lead their country. It can be viewed noble, cruel, inhumane and can make an individual a hero or a criminal. It effects everyone in a society, hoping their loved one is safe whether fighting in the trenches or waiting at home. It has led to severe individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Two poems in war literature “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa, the authors’ different perspectives will be presented. Owen portrays war as a horror battlefield not to be experienced and the glorious feeling to fight for one’s country. Komunyakaa on the other hand shows an African American that serves in Vietnam War and visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The poets’ choice of diction, setting of battlefield and various uses of poetic devices create a desired effect.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Message By Moustapha Akkad

    2518 Words  | 6 Pages

    The movie The Message by Moustapha Akkad tries to tell the story of Mohammad from the Islamic religion to an audience that may know nothing of the religion. As any representation of Mohammad is forbidden the movie never depicts or voices the Prophet using instead side characters who become the main characters to supplement the story. The creators also utilize an ingenious technique of second person filming.. The scenes which Mohammad was present the filming was done from the viewer's perspective that the remaining characters then spoke to. The handling of Mohammad’s epic tale along with stipulation of the religion was masterfully done. The Message acts as a wonderful medium to explore the story and historical life of the Prophet Mohammad.

    Read More

  • Compare Dulce Et Decorum Est And Suicide In The Trenches

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘Poetry can challenge the reader to think about the world in new ways.’ It provokes the readers to consider events, issues and people with revised understanding and perspectives. The poems Dulce Et Decorum Est (Wilfred Owen, 1917) and Suicide in the Trenches (Siegfried Sassoon, 1917), were composed during World War One and represented the poets’ point of views in regards to the glorification of war and encouraged readers to challenge their perspectives and reflect upon the real consequences behind the fabrications of the glory and pride of fighting for one’s nation.

    Read More

  • Disabled a Poem by Wilfred Owen and Refugee Blues by W.H. Auden

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Wilfred Owen and W.H Auden effectively express their opinions on the sensitive topic of war, having experienced the direct impact of it first hand which is indisputably evident in their poems ‘Disabled’ and ‘Refugee Blues’ respectively. Both the poems focus on the intense depiction of the unglamorous consequences tied with war. ‘Disabled’ as per the title is about a young soldier disabled both physically and emotionally during combat. The poem is written in close focus third person and zooms in on the soldier’s unwillingness to continue with his life as he falls into slow depression which is illustrated by the close focus pathos (pity) where at the end of the poem is spoken in the voice of the soldier as he questions himself ‘why don’t they come?’ in hopes of getting no reply. Here ‘they’ refers to death itself and the use of repetition reinforces on his misery and endless suffering. Similarly, ‘Refugee Blues’ describes the life of Jews who were forced to flee Europe when the Holocaust started in the voice of an old man speaking to what seems to be his wife by the use of phrase “my dear’. The calm attitude of the speaker throughout the poem may suggest that he has made peace with the fact that he can’t do anything and can only reassure his wife that everything will be alright“But we are still alive, my dear , but we are still alive’. Alternatively it may suggest his depression and lost hope of any future.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Face Of War By Salvador Dali

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    The title of the painting, “The Face of War” gives a very clear understanding of what this painting is supposed to represent. When looking at the deeper meaning however, one has to consider the context of the painting. Because it was made during both a civil war-capital letters?? and the Second World War, many aspects of these wars are reflected upon in this piece.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Last Laugh Poem

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tone is bitter and intense in a realistic way. It is achieved by the vivid and gruesome images in the poem. Wilfred Owen 's use of imagery in this poem is by depicting emotional, nightmarish, and vivid words to capture the haunting encounters of WWI that soldiers went through. In the first stanza, Owen depicts his fellow soldiers struggling through the battlefield, but their terrible health conditions prevent them from their strong actions in the war. When Owen says, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags” (lines 1-2). This provides the readers with an unexpected view and appearance of soldiers, as they usually picture as strong, noble, and brawny-looking men. Soldiers sacrifice themselves to fight for their country and are exhausted from their unhealthy lifestyle. In lines 7-8, “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas-shells dropping softly behind,” they have lost the facade of humanity and their bodies are all wearied and weak on their march. This reveals a glimpse at the soldiers’ actions, as well as inferring to a psychological effect of the war. Then in line 5, “Men marched asleep,” the author is making abnormality to be one of the major purposes of the war, that it

    Read More

More about Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

Open Document