Thesis Blog Post:

Identify the weak thesis statement:

1.)  B.

·      Sentence B relies on evidence and is arguable. It is short, yet straight to the point. It does not present a large summary.

2.)  B.

·      Sentence B is much more descriptive than sentence A. It gives the reader an idea of the main focus of the paper.

3.)  A.

·      Sentence A is much more original. It is definitely a statement directly from the author.

4.)  B.

·      Sentence B may raise argument and is very assertive. You are able to tell the statement relies on evidence.

5.)  B.

·      Sentence A is much more of a summary where as B is very descriptive but still remains right to the overall focus and point. It is both original and arguable.

My Thesis:

War is something that many people are unable to grasp and gain an understanding of; its effects are often overlooked. Sean Huze’s stance against the Iraqi war is broadcasted in his monologues thoroughly.

Why is this a good thesis?

I believe my thesis is arguable, some individuals may believe Huze is in support of the current war in Iraq. I am able to support my thesis using examples from the text and I feel as though it is original and stays right to the main point of my essay. 

            

Borch, Fred L. "The Forever War." The Journal of Military History 73.4 (2009): 1395-399. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

                   This journal entrée talks about a book entitled “The Forever War” by Dexter Filkins. It is about the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book is about the people, not only the soldiers, but the civilians as well. It is none the less about life in Iraq and Afghanistan through the eyes of an individual who experienced it first hand, both living and working in the fore front. Filkins did many interviews during his time in Iraq and he shares those in this book as well. This article and book are going to help me piece my paper together well. I am looking deeper into the civilian’s lives because I feel like that was a major focus in Huze’s play. He did not only emphasize on the soldiers experiences but also in the aftermath of war on the civilians in Iraq and the things they had to cope and deal with. I plan to dig deeper to understand Huze’s feelings of the troops being in Iraq according to his monologues as well.

           

Among The War: Seeing The Iraq War through Three Journalistic Vantage Points

Andrew M. Lindner

Social Problems
Vol. 56, No. 1 (Feb., 2009), pp. 21-48
(article consists of 28 pages)

Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40264270

This article talks about the journalists who have been “embedded” in Iraq in order to report straight from the military units. It is about their failure to adequately report upon the effects of the war on Iraqi civilians. Instead the reporters spent much of their time over emphasizing the lives of the troops. This article has relevance for my paper because I believe I enjoyed Sean Huze’s monologues so much due to the fact that he not only shared how the troops were dealing but also how the civilians were living. He talked a lot about the loss of family members for many of them, the willingness to help the troops by giving food and water, and the welcoming arms they offered during war times. I plan to use this article to look deeper into the reasons behind such little emphasis on the civilians in this war, and why exactly that is being promoted.   

October 12, 2010

Dear Mrs. Cline,

I can’t even believe we are already half way through this semester; it’s gone by so fast. I am really enjoying English 102, more then any previous English course I have taken, in fact. Your style of online teaching is really easy to understand and I love that we are able to receive extra credit, that doesn’t happen often. I also love all the blogging we have done thus far. Writing a blog is something I had never become familiar with before this course, and I think it is a really good way to show our creative and individual sides.

My Biggest challenge in the class thus far has probably been the essay writing. I am familiar with writing essays but there is always improvement and growth to be made. I have never analyzed a piece of writing before, and although it seems like an easy thing to do, I have been assured it is not. Literary analysis is so different from any other writing that I have done before; you are required to look at every piece of literature that you read with a new deeper perspective. There is always a deeper message then the obvious one, and through literary analysis I have learned how to find that message, or even create it, whether it is right or wrong. I am not exactly sure what to expect when we research, analyze, and contrast a piece of work, but I am ready to find out what it’s all about! My biggest success thus far has probably been all of the growth I’ve seen in my writing. I have found a good outlet to make writing not seem as rough through my blog, and have enjoyed that very much. I have also been very motivated to do well in this course, and am seeing ample success so far, hoping to finish strong!

The readings in this class so far are unlike those in my English 101 course or any other course for that matter. They are relevant and current. They are relatable and give such deep messages. I never expected that I would read a story like “The Sandstorm” in a college course. Much to my surprise I LOVED it! With all of the harsh pictures it provides, I couldn’t have picked a better and more interesting read, to both write and analyze on. I am really enjoying the reading. Before this class I knew slim to none about Vietnam and in reading “The Things They Carried,” I have been exposed to some history. It feels good to gain so much knowledge out of an English course, something I have never done previously.

My Goals for the second half of this semester are simple. I hope to finish strong. I plan on doing nothing more then improving. My writing has grown immensely and can only grow more. I plan on expanding my pallet and trying new ways to interpret and analyze. I hope to accomplish an A for my final grade. I want to become more familiar with literary analysis because it is still such a foreign thing for me. I can’t wait to see what the remainder of the semester brings but I am ready to conquer it all. J

Sincerely,

Irma Jarovic 

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Summary Vs. Analysis

“On the Rainy River”

            This is a story that was never told before, until now. It was June of 1968, the 17^th to be exact, when Tim O’Brien’s world would change. He was a normal 21-year-old boy, working for a meat packing plant in Worthington, Minnesota at the time. Although he was politically naïve, fighting an American war in Vietnam seemed all-wrong to him. So when he received his draft notice he could not help but become scared, worried, uncertain, and any other feeling that might come across a young man who had never seen the harsh reality of war before. The first thought that came across to him was to run, run far, and fast, and never look back. This is precisely why he was ashamed to tell this story till now.

            Canada was his first thought. The border lay a few hundred miles north, and it would only be hours before he would reach his destination. He set off north, and just drove. O’Brien reached an old fishing lodge called the “Tip Top Lodge,” where his life changed for good. He would spend the next six days here with only one friend by his side, Elroy Berdahl, who was the proud owner of the lodge. Although Elroy didn’t say much, he is responsible for changing Tim’s life. He offered a helping hand, a warm meal, and a shoulder to lean on, knowing deep down the situation that Tim was facing was a difficult one to understand, or perhaps it was one he knew himself. Elroy asked no questions and expected no answers. He sheltered the young and scared O’Brien and they built a strong bond that Tim would never forget. O’Brien spent those six days hiking, playing scrabble, fishing, boating, and helping Elroy prepare the lodge for winter. After his stay at the lodge was through Tim would return home, and then to Vietnam, where he became a soldier. Tim states at the end of this story, “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war” (61).   

            O’Brien believes he is a coward for going to war. Isn’t fighting for our country something one should be proud of? In this case going against your morals becomes a question of whether or not your willing to fight for what you believe, or shy away and do what everyone else thinks is morally correct. O’Brien ran for those six days because he felt better then this war. He felt that “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (40). Elroy becomes a significant part of the story because at no time did he question O’Brien’s morals or reasons for being at the lodge. Possibly because he is a symbol of a soldier who did what everyone else wanted and regretted it at one point in his life, knowing deep down what Tim was running from, hoping that he would be a man that would fight for what he believed, stepping outside of what everyone else expected. It could have been possible that if O’Brien would have not chosen to conform and go to war he would gain more respect and gratitude than taking the approach everyone wanted for him. The question is not what makes you a man but more of what makes you an individual in this story. As Tim O’Brien looks back he does feel as though he is a good man, I am sure of that, but does he view himself as being an individual who believes in himself enough to be willing to fight for his freedoms and judgments. We are all capable of doing what is expected of us, but are we all capable of doing the unexpected? I believe Elroy was hoping that Tim would do the unexpected and that is why he gave him so many opportunities to better throughout the story. So much of our day to day is based on conformations and pleasing others. We are judged to no end when we step outside of the box and do what we feel is right or what we choose to stand by, this is something that is so hard to grasp. Individuality is so much more respected. Doing the unexpected is so widely respected. The main message of this story is that no matter who the person encouraging you is, if there is something you stand against or do not believe in, do not, under any circumstances, conform to please them, because in the long run, even though you pleased them, you did not please yourself. Although O’Brien pleased everyone for his time served in Vietnam, he returned home and is still disappointed in his decision because he knows it was not one that stood by his morals and beliefs.

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Here I have inserted a link to Vietnam was stories. It was a pretty harsh and unreal war, and the stories are a good outlet to better understand these times and these men: http://www.3rdmarines.net/Vietnam_War_stories.htm

   

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.