The Things They Carried

Summary: During this semester my favorite reading had to be the chapter "the Things They Carried" in the book The Things They Carried. In this chapter the author Tim O'Brien talks about what each soldier of a platoon carried in the Vietnam War. Each solder had there own weird safety net that they carried around with them. One of them had panty hoes, another had drugs, and the Lt. Jimmy Cross held love letters. They traveled all around Vietnam in all kinds of weather. Even though they had a ton of stuff they had carry these soldiers would take the extra pounds for their personal stuff. As the story goes on you realize that the soldiers do not only carry physical things but they carry emotional things. The people next to them are dying, and they were killing people themselves. Its an eye opening experience seeing what these men had to go through and see that the littlest things can make a difference when you are so far away from home.

Response: I am not a very good reader or writer and that is why I enjoyed reading this book/chapter because it grabbed my attention and it was easy to read. The way each chapter was its own story made it easier for me to build my own interpretations on the sties and break each story down. O'Brien had details and descriptions that made me feel like I was in Vietnam with him. I have not read too many books but this one stands out to me because it was one book that I read without having to read it over agin to understand. It was great book to relate to our writing in this class. I will recommend it to others to read and I will keep the book in my collection to read again.

Proposal for Extended Essay

I have decided to use my paper about Car Advertising-Dominating Nature to do my expansion essay. In my essay I give a variety of examples about how car advertisers and car companies are beginning to push the "green" movement of cars on people. Green being a vehicle that is is safe to the environment and a vehicle that will save you money in the long run. I also discuss the different ways that car advertisers try and target a certain group of people with their nature friendly vehicles. I believe that this will be a perfect essay for me to extend because I am able to give people an argumentative essay that clearly has two sides, it just depends what side you are on. I plan to talk more about why these car companies are starting to push the eco friendly green cars now, because they have always had them around so now why is it so important to "go green" now? I am going to use a couple different car commercials that reach the environment friendly crowed as well as the group of individuals that do not wish to trade in there power and speed in order to help preserve the environment.

keyword:

car 

car advertising 

eco friendly 

environment safe

dominating nature 

speed 

power 

green 

save the world 

"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.

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings

Summary: In chapter 24 of Maya Angelou's "I know Why the Cage Bird Sings" Maya gets a really bad toothache. The closest black Dentist was miles away, so her grandmother took her to the closest white Dentist that was in town. Momma took Maya there because she helped Dr. Lincoln during the Great Depression. Because people had no money to pay for things Momma would make trades in her store. It put food on their table and helped out others. Momma thought because she helped Dr. Lincoln that he would help her back. Momma was wrong. Dr. Lincoln said that, "I'd rather stick my hands in a dogs mouth"(189). The doctor never even looked at Maya let alone try and help her pain. Momma paused in disbelief and asked Maya to wait downstairs for her. Momma went into the office and yelled at him, to the point of tears. She argued with him telling the doctor that he was not a gentelman and that he had no respect. In the end the Doctor was just glad that he wasn't going to be killed. Momma left the office with authority. She went up to Maya and told her she was going to take her to the black Dentist. For a minute there Maya couldn't really feel the pain of her tooth ache anymore. She said "I was so proud of being her granddaughter and sure that some of her magic must have come down on me" (191). Maya knew with Mrs. Henderson on her side that she could never be hurt.

Response: Maya has had to deal with a lot of racism but this was the one time that I believe she felt safe. Maya was so lucky to have a grandmother that cared about her so much. Maya was in a lot of pain and Mrs. Henderson did everything she could to try and fix Mayas toothache. Mrs. Henderson did a lot for other people. During the Great Depression she helped people of all colors but it did not seem to help her in this situation. Momma does everything she can for Bailey and Maya. She thought that, that day she could could get help for maya pain quick and without any problems. Dr. Lincoln was a dentist that she had helped during the Depression and she thought he would return the favor by working on Mayas tooth. It was a shock to both Maya and Momma when Dr. Lincoln made those nasty racist comments. It made me think how people with color got through some of the things they had to go through. These days racism is around but it is no longer on the surface like it was back then. Even Children and women were not spared in the horrible display of racial discrimination. The white's had to keep up their appearances and there is no way Dr. Lincoln was going to screw up his image. When momma asked Maya to leave and she started yelling at the doctor, I felt that she was not only sticking up for Maya but she was also defending herself as a person. I liked the fact that she put him down till he cried because thats what he deserves. Mrs. Henderson was a good person and doesn't deserve that kind of disrespect, especially in front of her granddaughter. It's like the old saying "If you can't take it, don't dish it out." Mrs. Henderson put that doctor in his place. She didn't give up either, she stuck to her promise and took Maya to get rid of that awful toothache. Maya had a guardian that will always have her back and no matter what will make sure she is not suffering in any kind of pain.

Information

Summary: In Steve Johnson's short story "Its All About Us," he describes how there is no accuracy when it comes to social media, blogs and anything else on the web these days. He continues to tell us that, "There is an undeniably a vast increase in the sheer quantity of accessibility of pure crap, even when measured against the dregs of the newsstand and the cable spectrum." In other words you can't alway believe what you read or see on the web. There are professional journalist that write about true facts and they site all their work but are getting pushed to the side because of blogs, Wikipedia and other online websites. He talks about amateur writers and professionals and how they differ. There are more amateurs out there these days then professionals. Amateurs speak their mind, whether it's talking about their local community or world news. In a way it is a good thing that people in their communities are talking because people are getting more involved. The local conversations talk about personal experiences that you can't get from experts in the media. Its not the same getting your information from someone who has not experienced it themselves. Therefore it's a good thing that we have hard working journalists and the personal opinions of the people in the community.

Respons: In my personal opinion I listen to the experts, but it is helpful to see others opinions. For example I go online all the time to look for car parts and information about vehicles, and I constantly end up in someones blog post. There is useful information occasionally but I want to see what the  professional opinion is. Meaning if I'm looking for something particular I want to be directed to the right sights and not have to fish for what I'm looking for. I want the information that I'm looking for to be accurate. I don't want to try to fix something on my car and go on You Tube to follow someone else's instructions and then have something happen to my car. It is very important to be accurate in certain things but in others its nice to have someones personal opinion. On the other hand I would like to read posts from locals about news and things that are going on in my community because it is better to hear from the source. I know sometimes that the telephone effect happens with word of mouth but when it is put on the web people can cut that wire and get the straight information with any misinterpretations. Just like the article says the people in the communities know more about the issues that are going on then someone writing a story about it. I don't believe the we are losing our experts but I do think its going to be a battle between the everyday man and the hard working journalist.

Desire

     Fantasy is something that is produce by the imagination, an ideal about doing something that is far removed from normal reality. Advertisers use their ability to make fantasies come to life to sell their product. In my English class last week we read part of the book "Signs of Life in the USA." I was educated on advertisements and how they target specific genders by using their creativity. Jack Solomon, author of "Masters of Desire," discussed "The contradiction is between the simultaneous desire for social superiority and social equality that lies at the heart of the american dream" (542). Therefore in order to sell a product you want the viewer to think that it could be me in this commercial. You want them to relate but also play out their ultimate desires. For example; the Victoria Secret commercials use beautiful women to model their underwear because it attracts both male and female viewers. The male is pulled in by the half naked beautiful women, which makes them want buy the underwear for their significant other or wish that they could be there in the commercial with the women. Women want the product as well because they want to look like these women and be sexy for their man. They think if I buy those bras or panties maybe I could look even a like bit like one of these models. Its the sex appeal that grabs in the viewers and sells these advertisers product. All they have to do is make the everyday persons dream come to life and they will keep thriving.