Special visit

Today's class was one of the most interesting and thought provoking I've had in awhile. Being able to listen to the experiences of someone who was actually in such a controversial war was quite an experience. Listening to their points of view is always fascinating when trying to put into context what we hear when we listen to the news, read from newspapers or even from the government. Many times we do not know what it is that we should believe because we dont know how much information is being given to us. Media, government and even our own beliefs tend to sheild us from the realities that are happening. for instance today provided great inside into the issue of drug abuse during the war, i have read a few articles from the late 80's and early 90's completely denying that drug use was common among soldiers. So our guests insight along with the book have provided a more accurate picture as to what went on in reality. it is only through bits and pieces of information that one can truely gather the whole picture of an event for one must never rely completely on one source for gathering information.

Going After Cacciatto: In Pursuit of Innocence

With the finale of this book, one tends to conclude that in a way Paul needed an escape from all of the chaos that surrounded him. Sometimes, when we are not able to physically go somewhere our imaginations serve as the best refuge. Our mind can harbour us from the most disturbing and saddening situations, thus allowing us to become free even if it is for only a moment. This way of coping with such difficult situations like the Vietnam war in which Paul is in. Being such a young man, one can see that he has to grow up quickly. He is not able to experience the carefree feeling that many other people of his same age are experiencing due to them not going to war. But, having to face such situation as the war makes you grow up and change in ways that are unexpected. How many times have we met a friend of ours how is happy, carefree and content with life, but then gets to go to war and comes back a completely transformed person. Their ways of viewing life have changed dramatically. Because of this reflection of growth in Paul I conclude that this is a bildungroman book, we see transformation and a journey of somewhat going on thus enabling us to have a glimpse into a life in war.

The Violent Bear it Away II

To decide whether or not this novel is a bildungsroman was a very difficult thing to decide. We are so used to reading about characters who have happy endings or at least have things result for the best. Yet in this novel there was something so disturbing about it that personally it moved me to my very core. It could have been because it presents us with the dark side of real things. The events, characters and themes of this book are all things that maybe are not known to us and our inmediate surroundings but that inevitably are out there. Things so disturbing that our minds cannot possibly grasp the lure of such confussion and dispair as we see in all of the characters. In contrast to the characters we've seen before, many of them already had a predetermined mindset of their own and developed normally under societal standards. In the Violent Bear it away we saw a completely different young man who was immersed in something so deep that he could not overcome it on his own. Yet, characteristic of all bildungsroman is the adventure and a set journey in which the character embarks. Frankie goes on the journey to try and find himself and figure out life. thing which did not end well unfortunately. Yet the basis for this journey and wanting to grow is there, thus making is a bildungsroman.

The Violent Bear it Away: Part I

In starting to read this book I was half expecting to find some fantastic tale about far away lands as in Harry Potter. The other half was expecting to encounter something along the lines of a woman or young girl starting a journey of some sort to find herself. Yet what I came across while reading was something darker and deeper than any of the books that we have read so far. The main character in this book, in my opinion, cannot be read as easily and from time to time cannot be determined if he has made up his own mind or if he’s guided by previous suppositions. At one point during my reading I questioned whether or not the character was even a good person. Yet, when I asked myself this I ventured to try and explain why he had become the way he had. The boy in this story is named Frank even though he goes by the name Tarwater. We encounter him as a young boy of 14 who has had an isolated upbringing and was learned only in the ways his great uncle had taught him. He became comfortable in the way he was and struggled with the mission his great uncle had left him. He was caught in between trying to make his own decisions and attempting to listen to those around him. He reminded me greatly of Harry Potter because of the repression they both grew up in and the closeness in the age gap in which they discover their lives could be different.