The Things They Carried

I really enjoyed this story. I suppose it might partly be because I really like stories about the World Wars, but I think it was written pretty well too.

What is so good about this story, though, is that it gives you a REAL look into the minds of the soldiers. It doesnt show you all that crap on the military commercials of the guys doing all this crazy stuff like hang gliding out of a helicopter, pinpointing their target on a satellite, and giving hand signals to their squad, all while talking to their mom on the phone. No, it gives you a real look at the fear that the soldiers have that they have to cover up or risk embarrassment. It shows what goes on inside their heads and how that differs from their actions, all because of the pressure to be tough soldiers.

I really like how the story brings out the soldiers' emotions and backgrounds by focusing on the physical things they carried. You read about the physical things, and this causes you to think about why they carry those things. Then that leads you to think about the intangible things they carry, like missing a loved one back home or the fear of death. It's an interesting way to convey what each individual is thinking.

Tunnel of Oppression

Soooo this is a little late because I forgot to write it...but hey better late than never right?

I really thought the Tunnel of Oppression was interesting. Going into it I didnt have a very good attitude because I figured it would just be the normal, cliche stuff that you always see at those kinds of events. However, the way it was presented and the information given really was more interesting than I thought it would be.

One of the two rooms I liked the most was the first one about African oppression. It was just crazy to listen to those people's stories about how they themselves and their loved ones had been tortured, raped, and killed. Even their innocent children were hurt in unimaginable ways.

I also really enjoyed the schizophrenia room. I thought that room was really creative, because most of the time when you think of oppression you dont think about schizophrenics. But that's kind of what this whole Tunnel was about; yea, there is always the typical oppression like that of the Africans, but there is oppression in other ways too, like the way society treats schizophrenics.

Overall, I found the Tunnel of Oppression a very interesting and enlightening experience, and I am glad I visited it.

Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Well, I cant say I dont expect these stories to be weird now that we've read so many weird ones. This story was really pretty intense, the whole time I was wondering whether Connie would give in to Arnold Friend, or whether she'd figure out some way to escape. It really bugged me that he was able to get into her head like that, how just by talking to her he was able to basically control her. It really kind of made me sick to read.

One thing that I really couldnt figure out in the story was what the heck that Ellie guy was doing in it. He just sat there listening to the music the entire time, I'm not quite sure what he was supposed to represent.

I did find it interesting that music seemed to be a theme throughout the story. It was almost like the music was controlling just like Arnold Friend was, and they both seemed to mesh into the same thing at the end of the story when Connie went off the deep end.

I just dont really understand how Connie did go nuts like that though. I mean if I ran to call the cops and I knew he was coming in after me, I would be locking that door and running to the phone and gettin that done, because I knew he'd be coming in after me. The fact that she doesnt know what to do with the phone is just kind of weird, I feel like I'd be so focused on staying in that house, and hell, staying alive, that I'd be able to use the phone without even thinking. Maybe it's just because she's young and scared that she doesnt know what to do.

In the end, I thought this story was pretty creepy. The way she just gave up and went with him in a sort of daze was just messed up. To think that this kind of stuff happens in real life is pretty sickening.

The Red Convertible

I liked this story. It's depressing, but I enjoyed it more than some of the other ones we've read recently.

I've always found the whole post-war depression syndrome thing to be pretty interesting. Not interesting in a good way, but interesting in a bad way. If that makes sense. I have a connection to it through my cousin, who is on his second deployment to Iraq as a helicopter pilot. I talked to him when he was back from his first deployment, and he was having a little bit of trouble; not anything close to what Henry goes through in The Red Convertible, but he said it was a little hard to get used to every day life again. I just can't imagine it personally, being over at war and having to constantly be on edge and watching your back and then coming back home to safety and trying to relax. It would just be weird.

The story also reminded me a lot of the movie The Hurt Locker. In the movie the main character comes back to America after being in Iraq, and there is one scene that really sticks out to show the trouble he has. He is in a grocery store, and he can't decide what cereal to pick out. It sounds meaningless, but he's been so used to taking orders all the time while he was at war and so used to making life or death decisions in the blink of an eye, and then he comes back and can't even make the simple decision on what kind of cereal to buy, because it all seems so useless.

This story was interesting because it really showed the problems that people go through when they get back from war and try to lead a normal life. I enjoyed it.

The Hermit's Story

Yea so this story was boring. The fact that it was mostly description, while it was really good description, just kind of hurt it a little. I thought it was cool when they went under the ice and there was no water (if that happens in real life I definitely want to see it), and some of the stuff with the dogs was cool, but overall it was pretty boring. I found myself unconsciously skipping over sentences looking for the good stuff, but unfortunately not finding it. I dont really know what else to say. Good try though dude who wrote the Hermit's Story.