The Things They Carried Promt #3

In my opinion the alter personality created by war is one that holds a lot of "soul" sentimental value opposed to "things." Is seems like Wes wants to let go of the stories and his perception and really get people to understand what he does. I think that the soldiers have a far deeper sense of connection with each other after being in war. They know their boundaries, their skills, and their fears. They have been through thick and thin and have a stronger understanding of each others being.
O'Brien message is definitely pro women. I believe he is trying hard to make the point that its not brawn that makes the soldier its the wits and guts. Mary Anne liked the challenges and appreciated the primitive side of war which are very valuable factors in entering war. The way Rat Kiley told the story even the Green Barrettes scoffed at some crazy stuff that Mary Anne would get involved in. I'm surprised there aren't more women regulating the recon side of war because honestly some are way more sneeky than burly men.
I think that O'Brien is being one hundred percent true. Although some of the facts might not add up, the morals and values of the his stories remain the exact same which is the whole point. As long as the principal still stands it doesn't matter if someone stretches the truth. I think the only disadvantage to writing a book under these circumstances is that it was probably hard to not show boat. These were all very brave man going to durastic measures to complete their duties so I'm assuming Tim O'Brien wanted to make them all look good.
It might distract others from the story but no me neccessarily. When I read books like these I usually don't read them slowly so it's like a constant mental image along with some emotional connection so little things like that don't get to me. The majority of the story falls under the non fiction catagory so little quirks here and there aren't too bothersom.

The Things They Carried 2

The soldiers carried sentimental things along with the literal things. For example the soldiers held onto stories, emotions, and sentimental trinkets that held them close to what they love and live for. The soldiers carry with them their hometowns, reputations, legacies and history. Each soldier has a story for their being.
Tim O'Brien is the character that stands out most to me in the book, probably because he's the author but thats beside the point.. We've learned that Tim was once a coward who almost ran to Canada but out of embarrassment never committed and then joined to USMC. I will admit after reading that I was not too impressed with his character but then as I read on I respect how he changes. By the end of the book I have no idea how Tim is going to turn out but with his constant detailed perception he's an interesting one to follow.
Ultimately everything we've done in class has represented different perspectives of the Vietnam war. In one way or another they all relate to the war being immoral and not wanted. In a way they all make the war seem like it was necessary though, for a reason I can't explain it just feels that way to me.

The Things They Carried

I believe that war is only necessary as a defense response. I find it pretty ridiculous when when any country wages war over money, religion, or government. The wars that America has been involved in have already happened and I don't have enough information on any of them to have a bias against them but currently I feel that with all the money that has been put towards war we could have been putting funding into efficient fuels. I don't want to think that America ever needs to go into war but its hard to know every single factor in circumstances our government bases decisions off of. I don't know much about the Vietnam war except America intervened to cut the communist influence in Vietnam. After watching The Most Dangerous Man in America I was really surprised that a United States president would be so greedy, selfish and willing to kill thousands.

Perfect School Environment

The perfect school environment would be a learning system for the committed. Teachers put up with too much crap from students who mess around and it's what ultimately what changes their perceptions on rules and regulations for students. WHEN I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM IM GOING TO THE BATHROOM. Any school system that does not allow students too pee during class is corrupt and ridiculous. I can understand if the information is important but bodily functions are bodily functions and school is an government system not a way of life. That's the other aspect of school I'd like to change. People don't realize that there is a lot more to life than school but it ultimately is important but nothing to kill yourself over. I would continue but I'm out of time..

Gatsby

Through out the Great Gatsby I found that Gatsby's mistakes were what were most meaningful to me. The realizations of the fact that materialistic items aren't everything is what I respect about the novel. Everyone has the feeling that the American dream is to fall in love and have a whole ton of money but many people are so ignorant to disregard the fact that materialistic items do not bring happiness let alone happiness for a partner. Friends, family and you're personal desires are what needs to be pursued in order to find happiness.
Through out the novel, Nick represents (in my eyes) what Gatsby really wants but he's too blind by his money to fall back to that level because of what people would think about him. When he finally meets Daisy after five years he has no idea what to do because his materialistic items don't bring back that "spark" they once had. Gatsby's selfishness gives off on Nick because he is dragged into a weird and random few months of his life. I don't know how Nick would feel about all of this but I would certainly feel used and disrespected. He lived to suit Gatsby almost..
If the novel gave a hint that Gatsby was slightly like Nick even remotely, it would change everything but it seems like his mistakes were just a learning experience for Nick. Nick must see something past Gatsby's things because near the end Nick says "you're worth the whole damn bunch put together" referring to daisy and tom and co.

The Great Gatsby

So far from reading the first chapter in The Great Gatsby I've gotten little detail to judge the characters from. Nick seems to be humble and not high-maintenance but also not very assertive. He appreciates what he has and does not strive for material items. I couldn't find a quote from Nick that was suitable to show his personality. Daisy, Nick's cousin, seems like a dumb, stuck up broad. She acts all cheery and is very quick to brag about herself "Sophisticated-God, I'm sophisticated." She is talking about how all her experiences make her accomplished when in reality she doesn't do much but spend money. Tom seems like a big dumb dude. He cheats on his wife and brags about reading very scientific stuff when really he can't come close to comprehending the information. He refers to his white supremisist message books "It's all scientific stuff, it's been proven." Jordan just seems to be a nice girl. She's not obnoxious nor shy. So far she has not played an important role to understand her character better so I didn't choose a quote because I couldn't find one that was fitting.

Anticipating The Great Gatsby

I believe that the Great Gatsby will be based on a person's struggle in the times and how he/she makes a change for the good. The reason why I think this is because my research shows that many went from poor as dirt to rich from either getting a job in the new factories or smuggling booze. This could be totally inaccurate but I hope that the book turns out to be interesting.
The most interesting fact I found when doing research was how much money situations have changed over the years. In 1920 teachers made roughly $970 and the average for everyone was just over a thousand. Now a days people complain that making $70,000 is not enough to live comfortably.