One of Martin’s
poems that caught my attention was “Responding to an Explosion in Qarah
Tappah.” The structure of this poem was different than the other poems of
Martin. It was a short but fully packed with imagery. When I read the poem I
felt like I could feel the emotions, like I was really there. The part in the
poem that says, “He touches something the wrong way, a round explodes, the boy
– all over the courtyard” really shocked me because he said it so nonchalantly.
Martin’s representation of the war is very specific and detailed scenes of what
it looked like after the explosion. This poem is different than the other
authors we’ve read from because this is the first time we see an accident
caused by the war. Not only are the soldiers or enemies are involved, but also
their family. The poem “The Stick Soldiers” was a representation of the war
from the experience of the soldiers getting letters from youth groups, scout
troops, classes of school children. It was cool to read the thoughts of
soldiers when they aren’t like fighting in the war. It was time where the
soldiers kind of had a break to look at cards. Some of the things they received
were paper stick soldiers holding guns pointing at the enemy. I thought it was
interesting when Martin writes “what the children want for Christmas, or what
they just want.” Martin’s poems are very different from the other stories we
have read in the class because the Iraq war has a very different atmosphere
than World War I and II and Vietnam War.
Good ideas Sarah. That last line of “The Stick Soldiers” stood out to me, too. I had to take a moment and think about what he was saying and I am not sure if I really get it. I also was surprised to hear that the soldiers got pictures from kids of the soldiers holding bombs and such. I remember folding flags and writing little notes for the troops when I was a young little girl scout, but I remember them telling us to not write or draw stuff like that. I also agree with what you said about how “Responding to an Explosion in Qarah Tappah” is different because it shows a complete accident caused by war.
ReplyDeleteI really like Stick Soldiers also because I like the different perspectives that it offers. It not only takes the perspective of the soldiers when they weren't at combat but he also had the two contrasting children from the different sides of the war. It was interesting to see that the people from home were writing their letters about what they were asking for Christmas and also extending their prayers while the kids from Jalula just wanted peace but just simply drew pictures of the soldiers pointing their guns at the enemy which offers an interesting perspective on what the kids where being told and what was 'the norm' for them.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed reading "Responding to an Explosion in Qarah Tappah" because of the great imagery depicted. It reminded me of several of the books that we had previously read since the soldiers seem unphased by death. When he refers to the explosion and death so nonchalantly, it depicts how normal death has become for the soldiers. This relates to Slaughterhouse-Five's Billy Pilgrim's mantra "so it goes" and the mentality seen in The Things They Carried soldier's lack of responsibility associated with death. It is interesting to also compare the poems with previous war stories to see how similar soldiers experiences were no matter which war they are referring to.
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