Blogg # 5

Close reading of a Passage:

“In many causes a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.”(O’Brien pg. 68)

This quote came from the story “How to Tell a True War Story” By Tim O’Brien. When one is listening to a war story how does one know if it is true or not? More often than not it may seem that the teller of the story is making their story up. Tim O’Brien explains that you have to be “skeptical” (O’Brien pg. 68) when listening to a war story. Meaning, to have some kind of doubt or questions to the story that you are listening to because the story may be a little more beefed up than it really was during the actual event of the story. Also you need to keep an open mind when listening to a war story because, as O’Brien writes in this short story, the crazier the story is the most likely it is true. Some story tellers do this simply to keep the story interesting. Some story tellers are just really dramatic and they want their story to sound good and really life like.  Some story tellers may tell you what you want to hear because they do not want to relive the actual event. For whatever the reason how a story is told you will never know the actuality unless you have lived it yourself.  As O’Brien writes “Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t” (O’Brien pg. 68).  This makes me as a reader not know the whole truth. Would I believe the craziness? Yes, I would probably believe the craziness because in my own mind war is a place no one knows except for the ones who are actually there. Do I want to hear the truth of what the story teller is saying?  I would probably have to say yes because; being in the medical field that stuff interests me.  Knowing that war is very difficult for all involved; weather it may be, a friend, a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister, or any persons close to the service men and women, who can say what the credibility of a story  teller maybe be. All people deal with war in their own way. As for me I would believe the craziness of any story weather I thought that it was true or not.

http://weaponsandtactics.coolpage.biz/vietnam_war_images.htm 

Here is a cite that I found that gives a little more information about Guang Ngai City. Which was were O'Brien was during part of the war. http://www.pensfans.com/vietnam4.html

Works Cited

O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.”Mariner Books- Houghton Mufflin Harcourt. Boston

       New York.1990.

Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forche VS Poetry Blog Post # 3

After reading the two different articles  I have to say that I agree with Sam Hamill more than Carolyn Forche when it come to comparing the two authors to the poem I wrote about which was “Photographs from September 11^th.” I agree that the authors can write in a poetical or a personal style. It just depends on what the author is going to be writing about. I kind of disagree that they say that you cannot be both that the writers have to be either one or the other.  I can really relate to Hamill’s way of writing because he talks about his experiences and about imagery in his writing.  Which really helped me with the ideas of writing my paper especially my thesis sentence.  His article talks about creative writing and writing off of emotion and experience and how that will capture the reader’s attention when they are reading the poems. He also uses his way of writing to teach men and women in jail how to write. I think that that is pretty awesome. My favorite thing that I got out of reading Hamills article is when he said “because writing creates emotion in the audience, the writer’s responsibility  is enormous, arousing passion, exploring the grief of loss, making another laugh, showing someone how to care- these are the concerns of the writer, and they do not come free of responsibility.”(Hamill pg. 547). I feel that I can take that information and out it to a lot of use especially in this class. However The poem that I use for my essay was not very political and that is why Forche‘s article does not really relate to my essay very well. Forche’s idea about writing seems to be mainly about political ways of writing not about emotion or experience.  Don’t get me wrong writing about political issues can be very interesting at times but, when you use that in writing poem it can seem to get a little boring. That is why I feel that I would have to agree with Sam Hamill more than Carolyn Forche.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733

Here is a web cite that you can use if you would like to read more about Sam Hamill.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733

Blog Post #3

 http://blackicezone.blogspot.com/2010/09/ground-zero.html

After reading through all of the poems there are two that I could relate to in some kind of way. The two poems that I really enjoyed the most were "Photographs from September 11" by Wiskawa Szymbroska and "Song of Napalm" by Bruce Weigl. I can relate "Photographs from September 11" because I have been to ground Zero. On the other hand I feel that I can relate to "Song of Napalm" because the writer talks about horses and pastures which brings me back to the good memories from when I was a child when because I was raised around horses.

When I was in the eleventh grade I took a trip to see where the Twin Towers had originally been built. As I was reading the poem "Photographs from September 11" I could see my self back at ground Zero and I could imagine every little detail as I  were there on that tragic day. As I read the first line "They jumped from the burning floors" (Szymbroska line 1). I can close my eyes and just imagine what these people were feeling at that very moment.

When I am reading the first part of the poem "Song of Napalm" "We Stood in the door way watching horses" and "Walk off lazily across the pasture's hill". (Weigl lines 2 and 3). It makes me remember the time when I was younger and we use to go to the ranch every summer in New Mexico. We use to ride every day and would switch out horses often to give them a break. I use to love to climb to the top of the barn and just watch the horses run and play in the pastures. This poem seems so peaceful to me as I was reading it, and that time on the ranch was a peaceful and fun time in my life.

http://www.davisonfarms.com/sale.htm

If your having trouble reading poems maybe you can check out this cite.http://www.shmoop.com/poetry/how-to-read-poem/how-to-read.html

Works cited

Symborska, Wislawa.  “Photograph of September 11.” Poetryfoundation.org. Poetry.

            Monologue of a Dog. Copyright 2005

Weigl, Bruce. "Song of Napalm." Poetry foundation, Poetry. Archaeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems. Copyright 1999.

Blog Post #2, Summary and Analysis

http://www.collegefashion.net/inspiration/fashion-inspiration-walt-disneys-cinderella/

 http://childcoloring.blogspot.com/2011/05/drawing-coloring-cinderella.html
If I am being completely honest with you and with my self I have to tell you that I have never read a book willing for my enjoyment. I know I had to read a few books in High School but I really have no idea what the books were as of today. So I went ahead and used Cinderella as my image examples because everyone can relate to her story. I chose this black and white illustration of Cinderella to show an example of a summary. By looking at this photo you can get the point that it is very bland and you can see the definition of her job. I picked the illustration of Cinderella in color to resemble analysis. By this photo you can be much more descriptive and choose certain areas to talk about instead of your subject being just black and white you can have a lot of gray areas in between to relate to.

 Summary versus Analysis

Do you remember when you were in elementary or middle school when you had to do all of those book reports? It seems like that is all our teachers wanted us to do, was to summarize current events or to write book reports. I was taught  that when you summarize you are suppose to give a description of the arrangements of the actions in the order in which the actual events had appeared in the story such as begging middle and ending. We were supposed to be very descriptive and informative about what was going. So that if the reader had never read the book or current event we were talking about, that they would be  able to get a good grasp of what was going on. Sounds simple enough but really it was kind of boring. I have recently been taught that there is more to writing than just a summary. To summarize may be to explain to the reader about what is happening but really we should try to analysis what is going on for the reader.

To analysis a book or a current event we should be able to explain to the reader what events and why they are happening throughout our report. An analysis is a form of literary criticism in which that a structure of writing is analyzed. Like Mrs. Cline said we need to” take something apart into pieces and then examine the elements”. When you’re analyzing a text you should be able to have an argument for a particular interpretation of the text so that the reader can relate to it and maybe be able to argue your point of view from there’s.

Here is a link that may help you with Analysis.http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310/analysis1.htm

Good Readers and Bad Writers

Picture Source: http://www.observer.com/2008/wylie-agency-adds-nabokov-estate-its-client-list

Blog Post #1: Good Readers and Good Writers

What does Nabokov think makes a good reader?

Nabokov had some genuinely good outlooks on how to be a good reader. He talks about being a good reader you have to have imagination, memory, and a dictionary. (615).  Nabokov explains that when you are reading you should notice the details even if it takes you a second time reading the book a reader should be able to picture and imagine the details that are being talked about in the book to help understand it. To imagine something in writing can really help you understand and really get into the book. As for memory well that is important because usually throughout the book it will bring up past times  for example and you will have to remember what the author is talking about to understand the text. Also if you do not have a good vocabulary many books will be hard for you to read and understand which might make you not like the book or like reading simply because you do not have a good dictionary. I like how Nabokov said “if one begins with a ready-made generalization, one begins at the wrong end and travels away from the book before one has started to understand it.”(Nabokov 613).  

Do you agree?

            I defiantly agree with Nabokov. I feel that when you pick a book you cannot judge it by its cover or will probably be missed led. I also agree that a good reader has to have imagination, a good memory, and a decent vocabulary.  If you do not have a good imagination how do you expect to like a book or really get into the book. As for memory you need to have a good one especially if the reader likes to read a series of books like Twilight. Well for the dictionary part its simple you either understand it or you don’t. If you keep reading though your vocabulary will improve and you will become a better reader.

What do you believe are the characteristics of a good reader?

            I think that one of the most important characteristics for a good reader is that you have to personally enjoy reading. You have to have a passion for reading otherwise you’re not reading to your full potential.  If you do not like reading then you are probable just doing it because you have to not because you want to. With that state of mind a reader will probably not have a good imagination or memory they are just reading to get through it. So if you want to be a good read try picking something that you are interested in.

Do you consider yourself a good reader?

            I do not think that I am a good reader. Probably because I am not very good at reading. Honestly I do not have a very wide vocabulary so sometime reading is hard for me. Also I always say why should I read when I can go outside and do something active. I notice that I also always say I have better things to do than to read a book and that’s probably because I’m not good at reading so I don’t enjoy it. I have had people tell me that I just haven’t found the right book yet but really I haven’t even looked because I choose not to. I feel like there are better things for me to do than to sit around and read. As I am reading all of this out loud I realized that all of my reasons why I don’t like to read are just excuse because I am not a good reader.

Here is a Link on how to become a good reader.

Shellys welcome blog video