Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong

In response to Sweetheart Of The Song Tra Bong, by Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried

Describe the changes in Mary Anne Bell from the time she arrived in vietnam to be with her boyfriend until the end of the chapter.

Mary Ann Bell was able to stay at the platoon her boyfriend, Mark Fossie was based at. When she first arrived she was very lady like and proper. The soldiers saw women as someone to comfort men and make their lives easier. Then she quickly changed in Vietnam, she became almost fearless and wanted to help in the war but unlike the soldiers she embraced the vietnamese culture. She learns some vietnamese and learns to cook. Some of the soldiers were hurt and she jumped at the chance to help them. When Mary Anne disappears for the night Fossie finds her with a necklace made of tongues.

Why do you think she changed? What did the change symbolize? How long did the metamorphosis take?

Mary Anna Changed because she embraced the culture she was surrounded by. The soldiers in her boyfriend's platoon ignored the vietnamese culture, they did this so that they could be less passionate about the people and it would be easier to fight them. Her change did not take long it only took a few weeks.

Does it matter that Mary Anna is a women ? How so? What does the story tell us about

the nature of the vietnam war?

Yes it does matter that Mary Anna is a women. There were no women that served in the vietnam war so she was surrounded by men and obviously treated differently than the men. The men saw her as a  caregiver more than a normal person and just wanted her to comfort them. This shows that soldiers in the vietnam war was ignorant to the culture around them.

Field Trip

The Things They Carried

In the response to the chapter "Field Tip" in the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

In the chapter “Field Trip” why did O'Brien not only go back to the field that Kiowa died at, but why did he bring his daughter?

In earlier chapters O'Brien says that he doesn't want to talk about the war with his daughter and doesn't want to tell her he killed someone. Yet he takes her to a spot that has heavy significance to him from the vietnam war. I believe O’Brian was hoping he could get closer from seeing the same place that his comrade kiowa died at in a different light and different time. People with traumatic experiences often go back to the place that they experienced trauma years later to find closure. He brought his daughter because he wanted her to know about the was and that he is still in pain. She was to young to understand at the time what was going on (since it was her tenth birthday)  and paid more attention to the tour guide doing tricks rather than the sites they were visiting. O’Brien desperate for closure jumps into the murky water field and scares his daughter.

Beat Poetry

Inspired by "Speak Out" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and beat poet

You are living in the dream country. You are so lucky to live in a country that gives you freedom and equality. Or so they say. You stand there silently along with your parents and classmates silent, silent of the fact that your society treats your brother differently than you. Remember liberty and justice for all. "You should never walk alone at night, you will look like an easy victim ". "Don't wear that unless you want to get raped ". "Don't drink too much the boys will take advantage of you". Yet when boys hit girls in kindergarten all they say is "boys will be boys". Then when you ask why your brother can stay out longer than you at night your father replies "Because he's a boy we don't have to worry about him". Teaching boys that raping girls isn't OK we blame the victims. "They can't control themselves cover your shoulders ". "Don't wear those short shorts your distracting the boys from their education". "If your shirt is that low they can't pay attention in class". Our society asks victims questions like "what were you wearing?" and "were you drinking?" because if they get depicted as "asking for it" it's their fault. Yet a lot stand silent and don't speak out what they know is right. I will not let societal acceptance of sexism in our country silenced me from what I know to be wrong and I never want my future daughter to be told "don't worry he just likes you" when a boy called her mean names in school and I never want her to question if what's she's wearing makes her look like a victim. I hope she will not stay in silence like many do.

What They really carried in "The Things They Carried"

In response to The Things They Carried 

What did the troops in The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien actually carry? O’Brien tells his story of being in the Vietnam war and also the stories of others through characters he created to represent those who he fought alongside with. As readers, we are told in the beginning a long list of all the things each soldier physically carried with them each day and the weight that those items were. This was written by the author so we could get an understanding of what the soldiers had to do each day. Some of the things they all had to carry for example where, “can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of cool aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, military payment certificates, c rations and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 15 and 20 pounds”(The Things They Carried, O’Brien). The author then goes into what each individual person carried in his platoon, for example, ted lavender carried tranquilizers they author explains that he carried these because he “was scared”(O’Brien). Ted lavender also carried dope “which for him was a necessity”(O’Brien). So obviously each soldier had to carry things emotionally and mentally also. As the book goes on we are able to know more and more about each character. We are able to see that O’Brian had to carry shame with him though the war because he joined the war even though it was something he was against, for fear that others would speak badly of him. Jimmy Cross carried grief with him because he wants so badly to be with the women that he loved, he carried each letter that she wrote him and would read them every night dreaming of being with her. Dobbins would wrap his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck when he would go into battle, and when she broke up with him he still wore them around his neck because he thought they were a good luck charm. Dobbins was an example of someone who needed to believe in superstitions and good luck charms to distract themselves from the war. In the end, each soldier carried more than just physical items, they carried grief, shame, sadness, anxiety and each one had to hold onto hope and superstition to not go crazy from the war.

Protest Song Analysis

In response to protest songs during and after the Vietnam war 

In todayns music the mass of the public listens to very popular singers like; Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and many more who are all mainly POP music singers. POP music is repetitive and is commonly easy to dance and sing to, that's one of the reasons there is a huge love for it. Todays popular music is a lot different than the popular music listened to in the 60s or 70s. Back in the time of the Vietnam war music was a way to protest against the war. During the Vietnam war was the first time we as citizens have seen a war televised and the public was able to see the awful things war was doing to other people in different countries. There were singers like Buffalo Springfield 'For What It's Worth' which was written 1966 to join the people fighting the police over a potential new citizen curfew. Bob Dylan 'Masters of War' this song was written by Dylan in a feeling of rage against the arms industry who were feeding off the war. Country Joe And The Fish 'I-Feel-Like-Im-Fixin'-To-Die Rag' this song was written to speak to the young people who were Anti-war and was huge at the music festival Woodstock. All of these songs and more spoke to the public and fueled progression and change. Do famous musicians do that today? Can we find meaningful themes that push for a better tomorrow in most popular music listened to today?

1920s Progression or regression

1920s Progression or Regression

Every era has its fallout, no era is perfect. Although it's easy to assume the 1920s was a time of regression due to it being the time right before we had the great depression, but the 1920s was definitely more of a time of progression than regression. The 1920s was a time where new ideals for women and people of color were fought for.  New inventions made in the 1920s made life easier for americans. Also america became a big part in foreign investment and trade.

On august 18th 1920 the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified (doc 1) . This was a huge step towards women's equality and people started to really think about why women weren't treated as equally as white men. “This war could not have been fought, either by the other nations engaged or by america, if it had not been for the services of the women”(Woodrow Wilson doc 2) women were now recognized for how much work they do in this country and leaders at the time did not turn a blind eye. “Women of america are too noble and too intelligent and too devoted to be slackers”(Woodrow Wilson doc 2), the idea that society believed that women are less than men was being brought out into the open. In the 1920s the flapper was born. Women that wanted to be a flapper would drink illegally smoked cigarettes and wore short skirt. They didn't follow the status quo that society tried to put them in and they fought against the oppression on women at this time. The flapper broke down the women stereotype and helped pave the way for women to realize they didn't need to get married and have babies right away and they could have successful careers and lead happy lives(doc1).

Barriers were broken down for people of color also. African americans now could perform their music on stage and perform in silent films this was the tie of harlem renaissance. People of all colors would go to watch these performances (doc 5). Although there was a lot of pushback from white americans who believed that whites were superior to those of color. African americans fought back just as hard with their own protests and the development of the UNIA (United Negro Improvement Association) which was a group of people who fought for better rights for the African American people.(doc 5)

The standard of living changed so much in the 1920s due to new scientific research and inventions. These new inventions were things like; the washing machine, the television, toasters, electric shavers, car radios, refrigerators and that's only a few of the new inventions that make our lives easier today (timetoast). The standard of living went up due to the fact that people lived more leisurely lives. There was another invention that didn't have as such of a good of an outcome as the others, this was the invention of credit. Credit was used by citizens who wanted to buy things they couldn't afford at that time, and over time they would pay off that credit. It was seen as acceptable to go to debt so a lot of people lost their homes once the great depression came around(doc 1). We now have learned from that mistake and that's why it's now frowned upon to go into debt.  

 

America in the 1920s was producing 80% of the world's cars and 40% of manufactured goods. This was an amazing progression for the US because we were helping fuel our economy and the US was seen as an icon for manufacturing. Productivity went up due to adopting the assembly line techniques.   

In conclusion the 1920s may have had some downfalls, but the advancements were so important because without them our world would be nothing like it is today. On top of our scientific advancements we also had social changes in the way we view one another when it comes to race and gender.

sources

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/inventions-in-the-1920s

docs 1, 2, 5

What is thhat lovely noise-Poem collections

What is that lovely noise?
Looking down the road through my dreamy eyes I see the music and merriment, my hips are now swaying faster and faster too.
The girls curl their hair and wrap their bodies in silk or velvet to go dancing down the road.
Turning down the road to the happy sounds, intriguing me. I know our babies, babies will hear the stories, the stories of how we leaped and bounded down the road to where our troubles melted and happiness was easy.

The warm feeling you feel rush over you is not drugs is not money, but happiness. the feeling a caged bird gets when it stretches out its wings and flys for the first time.
The twist and twirl your feet give to the music is the true feeling of letting go. Like letting the damn flow.
When you let your soul dance your true beauty will show. its a feeling you never want to let go.

listening to the drum; tap, tap, tap, its thin canvas and the trumpet ring its brass shell you feel as if the sound has ringstroms that hit your body in such a way that your part of the music. You hit your feet to the ground like the rain hitting the pavement.