Sunday, November 11, 2012

Monday, Nov. 12

Welcome back from your DWs. 

I'm excited to get right back into the swing of things with you all. Remember to make your health a priority, since the season change or the stress of starting a new sports season or the traveling you may have just returned from can have an effect on your immunity. Get lots of rest and drink lots of fluids--at least that's what I'm trying to do at this juncture.

In reflection of my DW, I wanted to share a thought. After seeing the plight and poverty of the Philippines and feeling dwarfed next to enormous task it would be to see a nation's devastation end, I wondered what good a toy or one more meal or a week of my time would do in the larger scheme of things. By the time I was done brooding over the futility of my charity, I recognized the flaw in my thinking. I was undermining the power of love and time, minimizing what I was giving. I may never know the impact of one afternoon with a child or the latent effects in the life of a villager that now has water and sewage system--but that doesn't matter. Instead, what I decided to believe instead was there was a greater power at hand than mine that extended beyond what I could give and in that design, I was I was empowered to be a part of it. Although I know I can't cure all the ailments of the Philippines, I can trust that what I did matters because by being a part of a greater plan, I am more capable than I had initially believed.

The same goes for everyone. So if you feel discouraged, say to yourself the following, trading out the "you are" and "you" for "I am" and "I":


Agenda: 
1. Finish Circle Discussion on Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

Homework: 
1. Comment below answering either 3d or 3e, depending on what you were re-assigned in class.

2. After reading the comments of your peers, complete the worksheet to turn in on Wednesday, Nov. 14th. If you are in section 4, we will finish 3a, 3b, and 3c next class.

3. Final-Final draft of memoir is due. Include the original draft with you

28 comments:

  1. 3d. What was the heaviest burden of all?
    Theoretically, the literal heaviest burden probably belonged to the big man Henry Dobbins, who was a machine gunner and carried at least 25 pounds, haha.

    However, I believe that the heaviest figurative burden of all was Jimmy Cross's burden of the lives of his men (in particular Ted Lavender). First off, we can infer this off of his actions. Once Ted Lavender died, Jimmy was devastated. He was shocked; he didn't have the cynicism towards war that his other mates did. Because of Ted Lavender's death, Jimmy decides to change his actions, and even goes as far as to forgetting about Martha. He decides to change his attention to war-time efforts, which shows how much of a burden it was to Jimmy. It also shows how disappointed he was in himself, in his inability to protect his men. He was unable to carry his load despite of his leadership, which shows how heavy of a burden it was.

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  2. 3e. Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p.380.
    "When someone died, it wasn't quite dying, because in a curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they callled it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself."

    O'Brien utilizes repetition of the word, "because", in order to put emphasis on death, which is a continuous theme of the story. To the soldiers, death gradually loses its impact and overall moral high ground at which it stands for normal people and who they were before the war. As they are exposed to death on a daily basis, whether anyone on their team dies has no more of an impact on their lives than whether their next meal is hot or cold. For their own safety, ever since they have stepped onto the battlefield, soldiers maintain a consistent fear of death. At any moment, a bullet could end their lives in an instant, similar to Lavender's death. However, after a while, the fear decreases into nothing more than a numbing pain, and they no longer care. If they do not do this, soldiers would become insane and paranoid over their own lives, ultimately leading to poor performance as a soldier. Still, the lack of emphasis on death towards a soldier seems nearly inhumane to people lacking first-hand experience in war itself, as we constantly live with a fear of death, whether it is the death of ourselves or those around us.

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  3. 3e) Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p. 380.

    In the quotation on page 380, the author explains that when a person died, it wasn't as if he were really dying. The reasons for this are connected into one sentence, with the word "because" connecting the ideas. O'Brien explains that because so many deaths have occurred, the ritual in which the men lament for their loss is so redundant that it almost seems rehearsed and "scripted" (380). I think that the repetition of the word "because" is used to emphasize the feeling of redundancy. The multiple uses of the word "because" can be compared with the multiple occurring deaths of the men.

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  4. 3d) What was the heaviest burden of all?

    I must say Jimmy Cross’s burden was the heaviest burden of all. Cross carried lives of his men, which became an even heavier burden after Lavender’s death. This killed Cross, both emotionally and physically. All thoughts in Cross’s head related to his blame for Lavender’s death. He gave up on his only escape way, Martha, for the burden he carried (noticing his men’s lives were more important than his fantasy). Every day was a pain for him, described as “burden of being alive” (O’ Brien 379). More importantly, this burden changed Cross’s goal of living. Although all he initially dreamed of was to share love with Martha, his burden changed him into a determined man only concentrating to lead his men throughout the war. This major shift of his aim underscores the heaviness of Cross’s burden.

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  5. 3d? What was the heaviest burden of all?

    I personally believe that the heaviest burden of all was to carry the lives of many men. Although as a leader and his duty to watch out for his men, it is still an extreme burden to Cross. When Ted Lavender died, Jimmy Cross was extremely shocked. It must extremely tough for Jimmy since he is responsible for the lives of these men. If one person dies then he has to take responsibility since it is his job. After the death of Ted Lavender, he commits to focusing more on the war and doing a better job protecting his men. Even though most of the other people in the war have important tasks and roles, none of them are more hard then trying to keep your men alive.

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  6. 3e) Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p.380.

    O'Brien's use of the word "because" emphasizes the comparison between death and a play script. This gives an insight on a soldier's perspective of death. Because they are so often exposed to death, their attitude towards it starkly contrasts with those who are not soliders. A soldier can face death any second, and they must always be prepared to die. Subsequently, when they actually are on the verge of dying, they would "recite" their "memorized lines" of the "play."

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  7. 3d: What was the heaviest burden of all?

    Throughout the story, it states that each soldier has their own burden. But the question remains, who has the biggest burden of all? Despite each burden relating to the specific soldiers in different ways, I would have to say Cross has the heaviest burden. This is because Lieutenant Cross has the burden of not only keeping himself alive but to keep the lives of his soldier. After seeing the traumatising effect of Ted Lavender's death to cross, I believe he has the heaviest burden of all.

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  8. 3d. What was the heaviest burden of all?

    Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, he thought Martha had loved him when she sent him the letters signed Love, Martha but later on once Lavender gets shot he realizes that she did not really love him but it was just a way to sign the letter. He did not care anymore about Martha but about how he failed as a Lieutenant. They also carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing- these were intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respect this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture. (381) This showed that Lavenders death was more of a impact for his fellow soldiers.

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  10. I think the most heaviest burden was Jimmy Cross because he carried and helped lives to all his men that stuck to him. After Lavender's death, Jimmy Cross has become a more heavier burden than he was before. Because of all the stress and distraction he had during the war was mostly related to Lavender's death and Martha. However, Jimmy Cross chose that war was more important than a girl he loves, he decided to finally let go of Martha. All the pain Jimmy Cross went through in this war, his mind and his determination of living has changed dramatically. His way of choosing war (leading his men throughout the war) to Martha makes him the heaviest burden of all.

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  11. 3e. Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p. 380.
    He uses the phrase to create a metaphor that shows the soldiers are indifferent to killing and death; or rather, shows they mask their emotions with such indifference. The fact that this act was "scripted" connotates that the soldiers acted as if the death was fake, but realistic. This is why they act so immaturely; they acted as if it was something that wasn't major, and pushed it aside as insignificant.

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  12. 3.d)I think the heaviest burden Cross carried lead to his change of view of Martha. His burden was the responsibility of keeping all the men in his platoon alive. Cross's job is to navigate the land correctly so that his men can safely carry out their mission without harm. However, he cannot carry out his task because of the distraction from Martha and Ted Lavender dies.

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  13. 3D- What was the heaviest burden of all?

    In my opinion, the biggest burden carried by the team is Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ responsibility. Burdened with items, responsibility, and his men, Jimmy Cross is weighed down the most. There is ton of pressure on Jimmy Cross because anything he does reflects on his men’s lives. If Cross lead his men to the wrong direction, or get distracted he can get the whole team killed. Not only thinking accurately, but also he has to think quickly, because staying in the same area is dangerous.

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  14. 3d. I think the heaviest burden of all was the fact that he thought Martha loved him in the beginning but then once Lavender's death came along he started to realize that she didn't love him, and that was only distracting him from what's really important. It's a big emotional burden he has to carry because he really did love her but he realizes he can't, and that it isn't doing him any good. Even though it wasn't constantly said throughout the text, of all his struggles, just the fact that she kept creeping into his mind repeatedly throughout the war, shows how much he was struggling just with himself.

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  15. 3e) Describe and explain O'Brien's use of 'because' on p.380

    O'Brien uses the denotation of 'because' as a literary tool to emphasize and connect the factors that conclude to the fact that they "…destroy[ed] the reality of death itself." (O'Brien 380) He uses it to connect the reasons why their action of "…used a hard covabulary to contain the terrible softness…", "…destroy[ed] the reality of death itself." The word 'because' is mostly used as a tool for clearance - to show the obvious connections. It follows the form of ' Because of X, Y happened, and because Y happened Z happened.'

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  16. 3d. What was the heaviest burden of all?

    The heaviest burden of all was without a doubt Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Throughout the story, not only does he have the burden to lead his men to the correct path, but he constantly reassures himself and his men. Adding on, after Ted Lavender's death, he begins to "wake up" and realize that the daydreams of Martha must stop, and protect the lives of his men. This is where he carries the guilt and the stress over. The failure of protecting Ted Lavender devastated him. I believe this is why Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries the heaviest burden of all the other soldiers.

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  17. 3e. Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p.380.
    "When someone died, it wasn't quite dying, because in a curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they callled it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself."

    O'Brien uses the "because" when talking about death in this passage. He uses it to justify him saying that the dead did not in fact die, but died in a different way. He use the repetition to explain with justification why their dying was scripted and not as much real. They used this acting sense of death as a way to distance themselves from the war and death, also keeping their situation a not so serious thing. Lavender's death lightened his burden of souls to be responsible for, but also showed how real war and death was, changing them all permanently.

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  18. 3e: Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on page 380.

    "When someone died, it wasn't quite dying, because in a curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they called it other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself." (O'Brien, 380)

    I think O'Brien's use of "because" is to underscore the concept and reality of death to the soldiers in the war. To them, the concept of death may be so unreal since in war, death is common and very sudden. Since so much death is going around them, it may seem like it's just an act now, and O'Brien is trying emphasize it. Not only that, but every time O'Brien utilizes the word "because," it brings out how unreal and unfamiliar the concept of death is to these soldiers and how much they dont want to face it.

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  19. 3)e) Describe and explain O’Brien’s use of ‘because’ on pg. 380.

    O’Brien uses ‘because’ in order to explain the reaction of the soldier’s towards the fact that one of their own has died. He states that for some reason the death of Ted Lavender didn’t seem real, because for some reason it seemed as if it were scripted it and they were all just actors. They all skirted around and avoided confronting the reality of death, instead focusing on trying to break it down by showing a wanton carelessness in its face. They took souvenirs from dead bodies, kicked corpses, and discussed how painless Ted’s death would have been because of all of his tranquilizers. The multiple times the word ‘because’ is used can also indicate how commonplace death has become, and that now that these men have seen it so often it’s almost like people are following a guideline or a script when they die. In short, they have become desensitized to death to the point where it is like a tiny little everyday problem, like burning toast. It is irreversible, but inconsequential.

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  20. 3e. Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p.380.
    "When someone died, it wasn't quite dying, because in a curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they callled it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself."

    Tim O'Brien uses the word "because" to include that dying was a norm among the men. He is describing how the men were actors and their reactions to deaths were scripted. Then he includes "because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy..." to show how bizarre the war was not only to just the men but to anyone with any knowledge of it because irony and tragedy rarely mix.

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  21. 3d.
    The "emotional baggage of men who might die" was probably the greatest burden. They carried grief,terror,love, and longing. They carried the common secret of cowardice. The men were afraid of blushing; to avoid the dishonor that followed cowardice was the most important job of a soldier at war.
    Whether it be a leader, like Jimmy Cross, a medic, or simply a common grunt, mental stability is the key to survival. Morals and values become unimportant in front of a trigger. Once you lose your guard and begin to day dream, lingering on the memories of home and of the people you left behind, you are putting your safety into jeopardy. This is the reality of war. This is what Tim O'Brien seek to convey to the readers.

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  22. 3e. Describe and explain O'Brien's use of "because" on p.380.
    "When someone died, it wasn't quite dying, because in a curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they called it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself."

    O Brian uses “because” repetitiously to emphasize the chronological order of events and how one event lead to another. This I think, is to stress his saying that death, and this war seemed more like a play than it was reality. In a play or anything theatrical, events are often laid in chronological order in order to avoid confusion of the audience. It unravels from the exposition, through the rising action, hitting the climax and finally through the falling action and denouement. These events often are laid out in a way that shows how one event has created a domino effect. For example, in the rising action through these domino effects the conflict will be aggravated whereas in the falling actions, this domino effect would resolve the cause. The use of the word “because” allows for the reader to see the cause and effect of an event, thus keeping the content chronological. Through keeping the structure of the passage much like that of a plot of a play, O’ Brian is trying to show that the lives of these men were often distant from reality.

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  23. 3e.
    When words are repeated multiple times in consecutive sentences, it is done to emphasize something. In this case, I believe that Lieutenant Cross is grieving so much his speech and mind was affected. He wants to believe that Lavender's death never really happened and that it was all a dream. He states multiple reasons as to why this could be possible resulting in the word because being repeated. He's soothing himself. He's taking the blame off him. He thinks that it's because of it was meant to be. It was written. Tim O'Brein was able to use this and really make Lieutenant Cross come alive. Cross had deep emotions in him and O'Brien beautifully showed that.

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  24. 3d.

    What was the heaviest burden of all?

    I think that the heaviest weight was put on Lieutenant Cross. He carried fairly light physical weights but he carried the biggest emotional burden. He carried the responsibility of his soldiers. If one of them passed away, he would be responsible. When Lavender died, he carried all the weight of that death on his shoulders. It affected him greatly and it made him change the way he is. It made him go back into reality. He is responsible for the lives of other men, which is one of the greatest burdens a human being can carry.

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  25. 3d. What was the heaviest burden of all?

    The heaviest burden of all would have to be the responsibility of death. If you were solely responsible for the death of a person, that is the ultimate form of burdens. The burden of carrying ammo is heavy, the burden of being responsible for a life is even heavier, but the burden of being responsible for a death is the heaviest of them all.

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  26. 3d. What was the heaviest burden of all?

    I believe that the heaviest burden of all was something that was not physical, such as the numerous weapons that the other men carried, but the responsibility that was put on Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Although he carried the least physical weight, he was the one who had the responsibility of all his men's lives on his shoulders. If any of them died, he would be the one held responsible, and consequently the one who would feel the most guilty about their death. Lavender's death came as a huge shock for him, and it made him realise what was truly at stake, and that his fantasy with Martha wasn't the priority. The responsibility for the living soldiers as well as the deaths of the other soldiers was the heaviest burden of all.

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  28. 3D: What was the heaviest burden of all?
    Each of the men carried physical weight of gear and personal objects. The bigger of the men, carried more of the tangible weight. The heaviest burden carried was by the Lieutenant Cross. Not at all the biggest man of the group, he was still granted with the leadership and liability of all his men. He was forced with the job of “carrying the lives of his men”, when in reality, death is so many times heavier then life. With life comes death. Where as life is celebrated, death is mourned. With the burden of death there comes emotional instability, blame is either given or taken, grief, loss and the time for self reflection. In this situation Lieutenant Cross is forced to examine himself and see that his distraction, Martha, was getting the best of him. He finally comes to the conclusion that it is best to move on and focus on his job. You can see that the men try to take death lightly and distance themselves from it as they are constantly surrounded by it. In war you either kill or get killed.

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