Today in period 6 someone mentioned "the consequences of war" such as PTSD survivals guilt, memories and any other psychological issues,but not so much about the release of war and the way former soldiers escape it. Going back to page 86 Kien couldn't seem to escape any thought of war. War was constantly looming over him showing those consequences of war. on page 117 (which many people referenced) the narrator says "he is not afraid of death", "he feels that only death will give him a real rest", and "each memory was a drop of water...". Because Kien isn't afraid of death, it shows his openness to the idea of dying because it is the only thing that "will give him real rest", he seems to be hoping for it. And with the final paragraph in the passage it truly exemplifies the notion that war was taking over his life and the only true way to escape it was to die.
A passage I found on the bottom of page 17 said “…One year is not a long time. No, it is the war that is the difference. Then it was war, now it is peace. Two different ages, two worlds, yet written on the same page of life.” I thought this was an interesting passage and my interpretation of it is here Kien says that over a course of a year the landscape has not changed, but then he says “Two different ages” which makes it seem like a longer period of time. He is contracting himself. Although the physical appearance of the area is the same after one year, there is a great change in the non-physical aspect which is the number of people that were affected emotionally by this war which gives the affect that it was much longer than a year. I believe this all ties back to the value of time in war which I saw repeatedly throughout the book that was discussed in the seminar.
I feel that what Bao Ninh was trying to say from the novel was the affects that war has on someone and how for the soldiers the war never ends. For example on page 46 Kien keeps having flashes of being attacked whether its an attack by air or by land it had to affect Kien very deeply if he is rememberemembering it years after the war. I also think that the reason the book was written the way it was, was to show how a soldier never truly leaves the battlefield. This can be seen because no matter what Kien is talking about he cycles back to a story about the war. It may not even seem relevant, but like someone said in 6th period for someone that is on the battlefield all they can think of is the battles and the war.
I feel that what Bao Ninh was trying to say from the novel was the affects that war has on someone and how for the soldiers the war never ends. For example on page 46 Kien keeps having flashes of being attacked whether its an attack by air or by land it had to affect Kien very deeply if he is rememberemembering it years after the war. I also think that the reason the book was written the way it was, was to show how a soldier never truly leaves the battlefield. This can be seen because no matter what Kien is talking about he cycles back to a story about the war. It may not even seem relevant, but like someone said in 6th period for someone that is on the battlefield all they can think of is the battles and the war.
My main passage I found regarding the heart of the story was on page 42 when Kien is conversing with the truck driver. The driver has a very negative perspective on peacetime, which is something I color marked for, almost comparing it to wartime. He only mentions the bad things about peace, such as the non-normality. In 7th period, Colter mentioned that Kien never seems to be able to find inner peace or happiness. I agree with this statement, as it somewhat connects to my UHT: there is no true peace. Even in peace time, there are smaller conflicts, such as neighbors quarreling or post-war confrontations. Just as Kien can't find peace, no one can find true peace.
I also thought Sierra's comment about war being natural vs. unnatural was very interesting. I fully supported Emma's view on it and how we have unnaturalized war. A passage to further support this claim would be on page 12 when the squadron is smoking the canina flower to forget the war. The soldiers took something that was natural and pure and turned it into something unnatural for their own benefit. This is just the way of mankind.
In my passage, throughout a juxtaposition of hope to defeat, I found a theme of sacrifice, in which I came to the idea that the UHT is no matter what role you play in a war a soldier, and ally, or a relative to someone in a war, everyone has to make sacrifices in some way. Secondly, I found the book continuously talks about war, which is obvious, but it made me think about how often war is present in modern day. War is present all the time, war is ALWAYS going on, and it's something we will never be able to escape.
Today in period 6 someone mentioned "the consequences of war" such as PTSD survivals guilt, memories and any other psychological issues,but not so much about the release of war and the way former soldiers escape it. Going back to page 86 Kien couldn't seem to escape any thought of war. War was constantly looming over him showing those consequences of war. on page 117 (which many people referenced) the narrator says "he is not afraid of death", "he feels that only death will give him a real rest", and "each memory was a drop of water...". Because Kien isn't afraid of death, it shows his openness to the idea of dying because it is the only thing that "will give him real rest", he seems to be hoping for it. And with the final paragraph in the passage it truly exemplifies the notion that war was taking over his life and the only true way to escape it was to die.
ReplyDeleteA passage I found on the bottom of page 17 said “…One year is not a long time. No, it is the war that is the difference. Then it was war, now it is peace. Two different ages, two worlds, yet written on the same page of life.” I thought this was an interesting passage and my interpretation of it is here Kien says that over a course of a year the landscape has not changed, but then he says “Two different ages” which makes it seem like a longer period of time. He is contracting himself. Although the physical appearance of the area is the same after one year, there is a great change in the non-physical aspect which is the number of people that were affected emotionally by this war which gives the affect that it was much longer than a year. I believe this all ties back to the value of time in war which I saw repeatedly throughout the book that was discussed in the seminar.
ReplyDeleteI feel that what Bao Ninh was trying to say from the novel was the affects that war has on someone and how for the soldiers the war never ends. For example on page 46 Kien keeps having flashes of being attacked whether its an attack by air or by land it had to affect Kien very deeply if he is rememberemembering it years after the war.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the reason the book was written the way it was, was to show how a soldier never truly leaves the battlefield. This can be seen because no matter what Kien is talking about he cycles back to a story about the war. It may not even seem relevant, but like someone said in 6th period for someone that is on the battlefield all they can think of is the battles and the war.
I feel that what Bao Ninh was trying to say from the novel was the affects that war has on someone and how for the soldiers the war never ends. For example on page 46 Kien keeps having flashes of being attacked whether its an attack by air or by land it had to affect Kien very deeply if he is rememberemembering it years after the war.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the reason the book was written the way it was, was to show how a soldier never truly leaves the battlefield. This can be seen because no matter what Kien is talking about he cycles back to a story about the war. It may not even seem relevant, but like someone said in 6th period for someone that is on the battlefield all they can think of is the battles and the war.
My main passage I found regarding the heart of the story was on page 42 when Kien is conversing with the truck driver. The driver has a very negative perspective on peacetime, which is something I color marked for, almost comparing it to wartime. He only mentions the bad things about peace, such as the non-normality. In 7th period, Colter mentioned that Kien never seems to be able to find inner peace or happiness. I agree with this statement, as it somewhat connects to my UHT: there is no true peace. Even in peace time, there are smaller conflicts, such as neighbors quarreling or post-war confrontations. Just as Kien can't find peace, no one can find true peace.
ReplyDeleteI also thought Sierra's comment about war being natural vs. unnatural was very interesting. I fully supported Emma's view on it and how we have unnaturalized war. A passage to further support this claim would be on page 12 when the squadron is smoking the canina flower to forget the war. The soldiers took something that was natural and pure and turned it into something unnatural for their own benefit. This is just the way of mankind.
ReplyDeleteIn my passage, throughout a juxtaposition of hope to defeat, I found a theme of sacrifice, in which I came to the idea that the UHT is no matter what role you play in a war a soldier, and ally, or a relative to someone in a war, everyone has to make sacrifices in some way. Secondly, I found the book continuously talks about war, which is obvious, but it made me think about how often war is present in modern day. War is present all the time, war is ALWAYS going on, and it's something we will never be able to escape.
ReplyDelete