A Taste of War

The Things They Carried
Using unique narrative style, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien reveals the hardships, both internal and external, of American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War; developing the theme that the burdens of war encroach on the men’s lives and affect them forever. Rendering his fictionalized experiences, O’Brien identifies Vietnam as a continuing struggle despite the cessation of military combat. Although O’Brien is a veteran of the Vietnam War, most of his work is twisted truth: fictional characters creating emphasis of the theme that burdens of war affect the men throughout their lives. With this in mind, O’Brien displays these characters through a foundation of syntactical devices, such as ellipsis, italics, examples of anaphora, and even polysyndeton. All help project the image of a platoon in suffering because of hostility between the Vietnamese and the Americans: “You come over clean and get dirty and then afterward it’s never the same…”


Cold Mountain
Through a unique point of view and creative syntax, Charles Frazier, in Cold Mountain, portrays the two main character's struggle against the geographical and emotional barriers that separate them during the Civil War, conveying the theme that even though a world may be torn by war and hardships, knowledge and comfort are still gained. Rendering both Inman’s and Ada’s lives, Frazier constructs the journey of both as an odyssey; Inman leaves the war behind him in search for Cold Mountain and the company of Ada, while Ada finds the meaning in her life and journeys mentally out of her pampered ways her father brought her up as. These character’s journeys portray a foundation of third person narration and various syntactical devices, such as color imagery and similes, which assist in projecting how they struggle against their external and internal burdens because of the hostility between the federals and liberals during the 1860s: “You could grieve endlessly for the loss of time, [but]…your grief hasn’t changed a thing…you’re left with only [the knowledge and guidance]… to which you can use to continue forward."

The Red Badge of Courage
In The Red Badge of Courage a young isolated farm boy transitions into Private Henry Fleming and becomes in constant battle with his perception of the world versus reality. With the awareness of Henry’s conflicting thoughts, Stephen Crane possess an example of the shift from the Romanticism zeitgeist of a self-made man with meaning in the world to the Naturalism movement where individuals realize their impotence and nature becomes just an uninterested force among men. Crane portrays this Naturalistic belief through his narrator in The Red Badge of Courage when describing the transformations of Henry’s thoughts: “Yesterday, when he had imagined the universe to be against him, he had hated it, little gods and big gods; to-day he hated the army of the foe with the same great hatred…it was not well to dive men into final corners; at those moments they could all develop teeth and claws." Crane explains the fundamental Naturalistic idea of people deviating from society-based actions to their basic animalistic instincts to survive once realizing the extent of the apathetic world. Once Henry stops running from the dangerous battle his platoon is engaged in, he starts to analyze his actions and realizes society’s futile attempts at advancing humanity with badges and titles. He now knows at this point what it means to be insignificant in world: “As he gazed around him the youth felt a flash of astonishment at the blue, pure sky and the sun gleaming on the trees and field. It was surprising that Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment." With the falling action consisting of Henry rejecting his Romantic view on the world and claiming the Naturalistic truth, Crane concludes with his optimistic twist not in the Red Badge but in his brief continuation of the story in “The Veteran” a year later. With this last chapter of Henry’s life, Crane reiterates his hopeful solution of accepting personal responsibility with courage and companionship.


Shambling Towards Hiroshima
Over several chapters, Syms pieces the top secret information together and realizes he is deciding the fate of the end of WWII. He must give the performance of his life in a Gorgantis suit and destroy a miniature Shirazuka in order to end the Pacific War without the loss of more men on both sides. If he successfully convinces a group of Japanese officials that he is a real threat to Japan and therefore, have them surrender the war, President Truman will bypass unleashing fire-breathing monsters, an atomic bomb, and invading the Japanese mainland. All actions are but a command away if Syms Throley fails in his most significant performance yet—ending the war.
But as always, nothing goes “according to plan.” Several obstacles hinder Syms as he prepares to become Godzilla.

Macbeth (Oh yes, I AM bringing Shakespeare into this!)
To put it quite simply: Civil War within Scotland. Macbeth murders and replaces a rightful king and then misuses his authority.

So there you have it, 5 different War stories looked at in 5 different ways--realistically, emotionally/physically, metaphorically, satirically, and darkly!

And as always, thanks for reading!

Pretend the date was September 20, 2030. Now write a journal entry describing your day:

September 20, 2030-

I’m feeling very angry and terrified. I cannot wait to see my husband and son although I know I will never see them again. At times it has been very lonely being the moon station’s psychologist, but I fear lonely is the way I will die. My diagnosis of the 20 people stationed here, discovering the economic viability of resources on the moon, has lead to the conclusion that they are not the same people that arrived here five years earlier. Out of the 20 patients I have here, all show dramatic changes to their habits in the way they’ve lived here. These symptoms started around three weeks ago: Insanity, fear, and aggression. I’ve sadly seen all of them firsthand:

Katie, the Botanist, has destroyed all the plant life we had brought with us. It seems she has set fire to the whole unit and we were forced to close it off without promise of future rebirth of the plants.

Joe, our Mechanic and Pilot, switched all the oxygen tanks on the space suits with liquid nitrogen tanks. Six of our number died because of it. He also dismantled the radio and NASA links, insisting we are better left alone to complete our mission. So we have been out of contact with Earth for three weeks now. He then locked himself inside our only return ship and released the airlock, leaving it open so all who didn’t resign in closed room, died. He has surely perished.

John, the Cook, launched all our food into space and tried to eat a knife. He was still alive last I saw, restrained in the med lab, but with a lingering wish for suicide.

God, I am so hungry. The food has been gone for weeks now. I try not to think about it. Usually I am too scared to think about it. I wanted to consult these strange occurrences with the doctor, but Joann, or Doc. McKenna, tried to perform an autopsy on herself.
I thought these were characteristics of stress-induced trauma, but I was wrong. Dr. Chaney, our leader in the search for resources, told me a few weeks ago they apparently found something below in a crater…some form of a gas. I believe it is what has infected the people living in this dome. And…I do believe it has gotten into the oxygen tanks of the moon base. One by one, our number declines and soon I will be the only one left.
I find myself writing this on the smooth floors of my office instead of typing it into my computer. It would be easier to find on the walls, easier to be cautioned about our mission, easier to destroy if NASA finds out. I thought I was safe here. Locked in my office. But…I was supposed to be going home soon! Oh how I long to hold my little boy. A rescue ship should be on its way but it will be too late. I know what I must do. I am mainly thinking of my husband and son. I am sure Cale is becoming my average text-book case—craving attention and when he doesn’t get it, he becomes… not himself. I don’t want it to be insanity. And I don’t want one of his few memories of his mother to be her strapped to a lab table. I remember the look on my husband’s face when I told him I made the short list and had a high chance of going to the moon…that look will never be
misplaced in my memory. He knew as well as I knew that once here, I would
never be the same. I could almost laugh at the irony of it all, but the lack of oxygen has restricted my movements. The writing on the wall is starting to resemble small smears for I am steadily sinking to the floor. Remembering what my husband said, I knew he was right….


I just made the biggest decision of my life. A few days ago I stole Captain Allen’s Identification pass key from his dead body. With it I just activated the moon base’s self destruct sequence and I can hear the alarm counting down its last seconds. I tell myself that it is to save Earth and my family, but I know in my heart it is to save my own soul….

By Jess&Jesse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There you have it; my stab at writing. It was fun to be the creator for a change, but I think I like being the reader instead. Although... I might change my mind when I live in my little retirement cottage by the sea...in 40 years....

And as always, thanks for reading!

Middle Eastern themed books by Yasmina Khadra (Pen Name) and Khaled Hosseini.

The Attack: Novel
Yasmina Khadra portrays the Middle Eastern struggles that are so frequently overlooked or ignored by the media and people alike in the United States and other countries. It was once easy for me to label a suicide bomber as the “terrorist” and myself as the “victim,” but once reading The Attack, I found my fundamental lines between right and wrong and who is the “victim” wavering. Through the elegance of Khadra’s simple similes, envelope style passage, and descriptive insights into Amin’s beliefs, juxtaposed with that of the organization’s beliefs (suicide bombers), a clear message is reiterated: “there’s no happiness without dignity, and no dream is possible without freedom.” These people give up their lives (in the novel) and kill others because they believe themselves and everyone else are the walking dead—no honor, no freedom, no life.

Favorite quotes include:
*“Men invented war; woman invented resistance.”
*“You can’t water a flower with one hand and pluck it with the other. When you put a rose in a vase, you don’t restore its charm; you denature it. You think you’re beautifying your room, but, in fact, all you’re doing its disfiguring your garden.”
*“I came naked into the world, I’ll leave it naked, what I possess doesn’t belong to me, and neither do other people’s lives. All human unhappiness comes from this misunderstanding. You have to be prepared to give back what God has loaned you. No earthly thing belongs to you, not really.”

The Sirens of Baghdad: A Novel
Emotionally powerful and highly thought provoking. The reader sees many counter perspectives from the characters about the war with the U.S. and the idea behind terrorist attacks. Although the story seems to drag occasionally, the message within the plot continually builds. I feel Khadra plays with our emotions and constantly builds anticipation only to create a sense of turmoil within the reader. These parallel feelings between the reader and the characters signify Khadra's interpretation of the justifications of terrorist attacks.

Swallows of Kabul
The story started slow and didn't take off until the last few chapters, but I liked how you saw their (oppressed citizens of Kabul) struggles through both a man and a woman's perspective. And I definitely thought the ending was mind boggling in the sense that it was a mixture of disturbing and profound. Khadra's message is clearly reiterated with the dying wits of the main character. The fact that he transforms into a mentally unstable character because of the emotional and physical struggles, suggests the reader would have to dislodge his or herself from logic to understand the true depth of chaos these people are living in. To sum it up: Khadra has a talent of manipulating the reader's sense of logic and what is right in the world so much so, that at the end of her (his) stories, the reader is questioning his or her preconceived idea of right and wrong.

The Kite Runner
Because of the movie (which I saw before reading the novel), I cannot make a fair assessment of the novel itself (without blurring the film with it) but to say what a great book of honor, love, and atonement! Never before have I truly understood the Middle Eastern culture and their sense of honor. The fact that Amir goes through great links to restore his honor and that of his friend is inspiring. Also, the occasional native language coming through onto the pages was terrific!

I have yet to read: Wolf Dreams (Khadra), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hosseini), besides so many other fabulous authors with the same themed novels. If you have read these and/or the above, please drop a line with your thoughts.

Also, if you have any suggested authors I should read that write Middle Easterned- themed literature, let me know!

And as always, Thanks for reading!

Kick-butt Woman in Fantasy

You yelled; I answered! So turn up your Flyleaf/Paramore CDs and get a load of my all time favorite Kick-butt Women (in Fantasy-literature)! [Note: this excludes the obviously well-known women in LOTR, HP, and Terry Goodkind novels]

Starting out this action-packed hype for all you lovers of strong leading ladies, Sara Douglass fleshes out not one, but several amazing women in her 6 book series, The Wayfarer Redemption (the first 3 novels are also known as The Axis Trilogy).

Faraday:

Despite being ruled by the uncaring prophesy of the Destroyer, Faraday is a strong-willed, young woman coming of age for marriage at the demands of her father. Alongside the unappealing prospect of marrying the brother of the man she loves, Faraday undergoes the treatment of an overlooked martyr of Tencendor as well. But all of these dreaded features give her the status of being God-like (a woman Jesus, if you will). As powers go, Faraday is your ultimate “Mother Earth” lady that possesses the power to plant an enchanted forest (Minstrelsea) and command an entire race, called the Avar. She not only bears the king of the Avar, but is the key companion to the collection’s ending savior, DragonStar. Her unrelenting compassion and kindness strikes deep sympathy in the reader and it is her who most can relate with (the end of innocent youth with the revelation of a cruel reality).

Azhure:

Although Faraday becomes the Queen of the land in many aspects, it is Azhure who is of the 9 Circle of Star Gods of Tencendor. She displays a dark past of abuse, neglect, and entrapment, and the fact that she overcomes these universally understood sufferings to become the most alluring woman to any Icariian man has us all rooting for her. Not only does her mysterious attractive nature with a troubled past keep us turning the pages on her debut, but she portrays the most physical kick-butt fighting scenes of any woman in the series. For instance, she is on the front line of killing Gorgrael’s ghost-like monsters with the leading character, Axis. Also, she acquires a powerful bow and arrow weapon and a pack of blood-thirsty hounds within the battles to help all her action-packed adventures onto the enemy lands. Because of her ultimate relation with the dark sorcerer-like WolfStar, and thus ability to control dark magic on top of all her already gained powers, she deserves a top spot on the list of Sara Douglass’ kick-butt women!

Other women worth mentioning in the series:

Niah:

Although she is thought to play a small part in the earlier books by birthing Azhure, the fact that she comes back as an evil, body-possessing villain gives her rank among the other kick-butt women.

Zenith:

Not only does she have to deal with her body being possessed by Niah, but she is the object of many Icariian men and thus must undergo many struggles of finding herself with relation to others. Also, Zenith is the sister of Caelum StarSun and crosses him in many ways for the sake of family. Because she helps Draco the most beside Faraday, she earns her rightful place at being a kick-butt lady.

Goodwife Renkin:

She is the sole helper of Faraday throughout her sacrifices of planting the burdensome forest. Not only does she represent the powerful Mother of the Sacred Groves, but she represents the goodness of even the unmagical race that oppressed both Avar and Icarii.

The next Kick-butt woman illustrated in fantasy-literature is Talyn in the novel Talyn: A Novel of Korre by Holly Lisle.

Talyn:

She is part of the Tonk Confederacy of Korre as a “Shielder” possessing magical abilities. But Talyn is different from the typical “job on

ly” persona of soldiers because of her persistence in questioning the Eastil Republic Treaty. Once relooking at what becomes the Feegash Conquest, she uses her power to save her homeland. Sarcastic, strong-willed, exceptionally trained fighter, Talyn must overcome bizarre sexual dominance along with magical overbearing by these new people. Thus, Talyn is like a Lora Croft (Angelina Jolie) in sex appeal and fierceness, earning her a spot on fantasy’s

Kick-butt women list.

Highly popular for the open sexuality of the series, Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series ranks within my personal list of Kick-butt women characters in Fantasy.

Phe’dre Delaunay:

Phedre serves as a spy through half the novel to help uncover a conspiracy involving the houses of Terre d’A

nge but swiftly turns into an object of sexual intrigue when it is revealed of her power to sustain and even crave sexual harshness. She clearly makes it to the Kick-butt list because of her ability to exploit her sensual powers to the reader. I will make note that because Phedre undergoes an adventure centering on her sexual abilities (amongst other things), she is a powerful fantasy character in the sense that she embraces what many will blush to read. If that’s not empowering, than I’m not sure what else can possibly make my list.

Recruiting from young adult fantasy, the next Kick-butt leading lady is Lirael in Garth Nix’s The Abhorsen Trilogy.

Lirael:

Isolated by not receiving the “sight” of the Clayr, Lirael soon finds that she is the missing element in the fight

against the evil Necromancer, Hedge. What makes her a kick-butt youth is that she becomes the Abhorsen that controls a panel of bells, plunging the dead back into the afterlife. Not only are her adventures on the poisoned land of the living, but she must also climb into the man

y (Dante-like) layers of death to defeat the enemy as well. The ability to venture into Death and back again definitely earns a shy but strong-minded Lirael to the list.

The next Kick-butt leading woman character I have picked is a mix between a

female version of “ARebel without a Cause” and Odysseus in The Odyssey. The woman I’m referring to is Karigan in Green Rider by Kristen Britain.

Karigan:

An expelled student swiftly gets swindled into her destiny as a Green Rider by a promise she makes to a dying messenger. But before she realizes she has undiscovered magic within her, she is being chased by people determined to end the reign of King Zachary. Thus, she begins a journey to get to the King before the henchmen claim her as their prisoner. Young, stubborn, and extremely likeable, Karigan makes the list because she is easily identifiable in many readers as the relatable "undiscovered talent" and pure brave-at-heart woman that brings humor to the pages.

The next is a mildly popular fantasy character from Michelle Sagara’s The Chronicles of Elantra series.

Kaylin:

She is the main character and is the center of all the problems. Because she takes pride in being grimy and a good soldier of the Hawks, Kaylin wins Kick-butt appeal for her apparent ease at exploiting her foot-soldiery. Not only can she cut down an enemy with a flick of her sword, but she possess healing powers that transform this bottom-dweller of the social class into the Dragon Lord’s favorite. Also, her sarcastic and stubborn nature adds to the humor of how she ends up in the middle of most of the book drama. Not only are the readers guaranteed a good fight scene, but she is compelled to solve many mysteries within the land throughout the series, so expect a game of clue!

Alas, I have named but a scratch of all the Kick-butt women in Fantasy-literature. I hope I have inspired you as readers to pick up a few of these books by authors you haven’t heard of, and hopefully with your comments I can learn new titles and authors that portray powerful women.

*And as always, thanks for reading!