Monday, April 13, 2015
Dialectical Journal #20
This book overall was really pleasing to me. Covering a topic that many may have previous knowledge of, this novel puts all the facts and information into perspective, showing us the true and unbelievable encounters many had during the times of the Vietnam War. While this topic is harsh, O'Brien really captures the essence of the war as a whole, and puts it into a way that any reader is able to grasp.
Dialectical Journal #19
The writing style of this novel was very enjoyable to me as a reader. While is could sometimes be choppy and hard to follow, the idea of storytelling really comes together in the last few sections. Using this idea of storytelling the reader is able to grasp and understand the felling and thought behind each and every move that a character makes. It puts each though into perspective and it very beautifully written.
Dialectical Journal #18
pg. 208-233
"Sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story." Closing the book as a whole O'Brien tackles the overwhelming subject of how memory and storytelling can come as a media for comfort in times of hopelessness. Helping himself deal with memories of the past he also does the same for the reader, helping is get though the tough topics this book discusses throughout.
"Sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story." Closing the book as a whole O'Brien tackles the overwhelming subject of how memory and storytelling can come as a media for comfort in times of hopelessness. Helping himself deal with memories of the past he also does the same for the reader, helping is get though the tough topics this book discusses throughout.
Dialectical Journal #17
pg 208-233
This being one of the final sections of the novel it closes with the same attitude that it entered with, despair. Starting off the novel with Jimmy Cross and Martha, that shows a sense of loss and the strive for normalcy, while the novel ends with many of the platoon members feeling the long lasting effects of the war and they start to show signs of a loss in their own minds. Covering this topic at the beginning and the end can bring a sense of closure for the reader and while the subject matter may be harsh, it does show the reality of the situation at hand.
This being one of the final sections of the novel it closes with the same attitude that it entered with, despair. Starting off the novel with Jimmy Cross and Martha, that shows a sense of loss and the strive for normalcy, while the novel ends with many of the platoon members feeling the long lasting effects of the war and they start to show signs of a loss in their own minds. Covering this topic at the beginning and the end can bring a sense of closure for the reader and while the subject matter may be harsh, it does show the reality of the situation at hand.
Dialectical Journal #16
pg.180-207
This section also deals a lot with the idea of change. After Tim is shot he is being cared for by Rat Kiley. After moving on to the later recovery process, he returns to find that Rat too has been wounded and was shipped off, only to be replaced by Bobby Jorgensen. This being a big change in his already unstable life it creates a major imbalance inside O'Brien, not seen in the previous pages of the novel. While change can be a huge hurdle in many lives, one cannot shake the fact that change is inevitable and is needed to move forward in our lives.
This section also deals a lot with the idea of change. After Tim is shot he is being cared for by Rat Kiley. After moving on to the later recovery process, he returns to find that Rat too has been wounded and was shipped off, only to be replaced by Bobby Jorgensen. This being a big change in his already unstable life it creates a major imbalance inside O'Brien, not seen in the previous pages of the novel. While change can be a huge hurdle in many lives, one cannot shake the fact that change is inevitable and is needed to move forward in our lives.
Dialectical Journal #15
pg.180-207
"I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, all the credentials, but after seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities. I’d turned mean inside." In this section, Tim O'Brien realizes that the war has hardened him. Planning to enacting revenge on Bobby Jorgensen, his eyes are opened to the rough conditions of the war. He realizes that he is a changed man and that there is no going back.
"I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad, Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, all the credentials, but after seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities. I’d turned mean inside." In this section, Tim O'Brien realizes that the war has hardened him. Planning to enacting revenge on Bobby Jorgensen, his eyes are opened to the rough conditions of the war. He realizes that he is a changed man and that there is no going back.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Dialectical Journal #14
pg.155-179
“I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth.” This sections has a big impact on the reader. What this sections tells us is what we have been reading about for the pervious parts of the novel, stories and their impact on the listener. While some stories may not be the 100% truth, it doesn't mean they can’t mean something to another person.
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