"On the Rainy River"

Summary: This last week I started reading The Things They Carried, a book by a Vietnam veteran named Tim O'Brien. One of the chapters that stood out to me was "On the Rainy River." In this chapter O'Brien talks about how he was drafted to the Vietnam war right after college. He mentioned to the readers that he never told his parents, his wife, or his children his story about when he was drafted because he was embarrassed. When O'Brien found out he would be going to Vietnam he had to make  a choice to flee the Country or stay and fight for it. O'Brien was against the war and did not feel right fighting for something he did not believe in. Over the summer before he was drafted he worked at a meatpacking plant in his hometown. Everyday he would work and contemplate whether or not he should go to war. One day he looses it and freaks out. He left work early, left a note for his family and head to the Rainy River which divides Minnesota and the border of Canada. O'Brien gets a room at a lodge and while he is there he meets an elderly man by he name of Elroy Berdahl. They spend six days together and the whole time O'Brien never mentions once why he was staying at the Canadian border, although he thinks Elroy has an idea. On the last day at the lodge Elroy takes O'Brien out on a boat and they head out to Canadian Territory. Elroy does not say anything to O'Brien but as they were sitting there in the water O'Brien could not help but think of crossing the border. Once O'Brien is face to face with his freedom he cannot do it. He thinks of his family and friends back home and knows that if he runs he will be embarrassed. He breaks into tears and Elroy pretends not to notice. Elroy turns the boat around and heads back to Minnesota. When they get back they have dinner and then O'Brien leaves to go back home and head out to war.

Response: The reason this chapter stood out to me was because I can sort of relate to O'Brien. I work full time, go to school full time, have two puppies and I have a lot of bills to pay, so I am overwhelmed with things all the time. Just like O'Brien sometimes I just want to give up. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I just ran away or if I chose a different career. I know I have a choice and O'Brien did not but I still feel his pain. I could not even imagine what it would be like to be drafted into a war and the Vietnam war at that. I believe that everyone that went to Vietnam was brave and couragous because even though they were scared they still went. It is hard enough to fight for your country in a deadly war but it is even harder to fight for a war you do not believe in. If O'Brien did not go to war I think he would of regretted it because he would never get to come back to the United States and he would of felt like a coward hiding out in another Country. O'Brien was lucky to run into Elroy Berdahl. Elroy made him face his fear and make a choice once and for all. Sometimes people need a little push to make a decision even if it is not the right one. I have a lot of friends and family that help keep me on track and I'm positive that Elroy was brought into O'Brien's life to do the same thing. Elroy helped O'Brien make a choice of whether to leave or stay and it was a hard chose for O'Brien but he made the right one in my opinion.

"Lost in My Writing"

Summary: In the book They Say I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein there is a section called "But Don't Get Me Wrong, The Art of Metacommentary," and it tells us about no matter how clear you are writing the reader still might not understand it. Metacommentary is the proof of backing up what you say. An example that they give us on page 133 shows us how easy it is to make what you want to say come out clear. Neil Postman says "before I begin to speak against the junk I must first say that I enjoy the junk as much as the next fellow." He is talking about the junk and wants to go further in talking about the junk but he makes sure that you understand that he likes the junk before he moves on. When reading this sentence the point the writer is trying to get across becomes very clear. The book gives you many templates to use for your writing. They show you how to elaborate on a previous area of your writing by saying; in other words, to put in other words and what X is saying here is that. By using these templates and the others that are in the book your writing will make more sense to your targeted audience and it will be very clear for them to understand.

Response: I have never really noticed if I have ever used Metacommentary in my writing but after understanding what it is I realized that I have. I have problems sometimes getting my point across and this chapter really benefitted me. Now I have all these templates to help me if I get stuck. I like to use in other words a lot because I do not now what else to use but now I have other ways of making my writing clear. This is not to say that I am going to over use it it but rather that I am going to sneak it in very carefully into my writing, so my readers will know what I am talking about. It is very important to not loose your reader and it is very easy to do but if you keep referring back to something you talked about previously you will not loose your reader. They will have a chance to keep reading without going back and reading it over again. You don't want it to be obvious, metacommentary should be subtle and should make the essay flow with ease. This was an area I wasn't that strong in so I am happy to now understand different ways of engaging my readers and help them from feeling lost in my writing.