Choose any two of the following passages and create a two-three paragraph journal response on each. Talk about what this passage reveals about Kien's character, the format of the novel or the goal and power of writing.
1. "But relentlessly, his pen disobeys him. Each page revived one story of death after another and gradually the stories swirled back deep into the primitive jungles of war, quietly restoking his horrible furnace of war memories." (57)
2. "He feels that as a son he had not sufficiently loved or respected his father. He had not understood his father's life and remembered almost nothing about his family tragedy. He still doesn't know why his parents separated and knows even less about his mother." (57)
3. "I just want you to understand me when I say that a human being's duty on eart is to live, not to kill." Then he said, "Taste all manner of life. Try everything. Be curious and inquire about yourself. Don't turn your back on life."
3. For Kien the most attractive, persistent echo of the past is the whisper of ordinary life, not the thunder of war, even though the sounds of ordinary life were washed away totally during the long storm of war." (63)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
One Page Essays for 4/08/2010
One Page Essay Ideas...
1.) "At the bottom of his heart he believes he exists on this earth to perform some unnamed heavenly duty. A task that is sacred and noble, but secret...From the time of that realization he felt that day by day his soul was gradually maturing, preparing for its task of fulfilling the sacred, heavenly duty of which the novel would become the earthly manifestation." (Ninh, 50-51).
What do you think is the duty Kien is talking about, and why is it so heavenly? What do you think this passage tells the reader about Kien? Explain the significance of this passage in the novel.
2.) "I want you to guard against all those who demand that you die just to prove something. It is not that I advise you to respect your life more than anything else, but not to die uselessly for the needs of others...you still have many years ahead of you. Many years of joy and happiness to experience. Who else but you can experience your life?" (Ninh 58-59)
What do you think is the significance of Kien's stepfather's words? What can you make out, and do you think it is good advice? Do you think Kien followed his advice? Show evidence to support your answer as to why or why not.
3.) "But when he arrived neighbors told him his stepfather had died many years earlier. Even the house had gone. It had been destroyed long ago. No one remembered the circumstances of his death, or even how the house had been destroyed." (Ninh 60)
"No one spoke of Can again. No one bothered to find out why he died, whether he was killed or had just exhausted himself in the jungle, or whether he'd committed suicide. No one accused him, either. The name, age, and image of someone who'd been every bit as brave under fire as his comrades, who had set a fine example, suddenly disappeared without trace. Except within the mind of Kien."
Throughout the novel, Kien had to experience the deaths of many of his friends as they died under fire, and now he has to deal with his stepfather's death. The amount of the dead piling up in the novel is very daunting, and yet, no one seems to care about them, despite the fact that the Vietnamese are very conscious about respecting their ancestors, the dead, burning incense for their alters, etc. Why do you think nobody shows any respect, or cares, for the dead anymore? Why do you think that they do not honor the dead as they used to? What do you think life or death means to Kien at this point in the novel? Explain your view, and the significance of what you are saying.
RA
1.) "At the bottom of his heart he believes he exists on this earth to perform some unnamed heavenly duty. A task that is sacred and noble, but secret...From the time of that realization he felt that day by day his soul was gradually maturing, preparing for its task of fulfilling the sacred, heavenly duty of which the novel would become the earthly manifestation." (Ninh, 50-51).
What do you think is the duty Kien is talking about, and why is it so heavenly? What do you think this passage tells the reader about Kien? Explain the significance of this passage in the novel.
2.) "I want you to guard against all those who demand that you die just to prove something. It is not that I advise you to respect your life more than anything else, but not to die uselessly for the needs of others...you still have many years ahead of you. Many years of joy and happiness to experience. Who else but you can experience your life?" (Ninh 58-59)
What do you think is the significance of Kien's stepfather's words? What can you make out, and do you think it is good advice? Do you think Kien followed his advice? Show evidence to support your answer as to why or why not.
3.) "But when he arrived neighbors told him his stepfather had died many years earlier. Even the house had gone. It had been destroyed long ago. No one remembered the circumstances of his death, or even how the house had been destroyed." (Ninh 60)
"No one spoke of Can again. No one bothered to find out why he died, whether he was killed or had just exhausted himself in the jungle, or whether he'd committed suicide. No one accused him, either. The name, age, and image of someone who'd been every bit as brave under fire as his comrades, who had set a fine example, suddenly disappeared without trace. Except within the mind of Kien."
Throughout the novel, Kien had to experience the deaths of many of his friends as they died under fire, and now he has to deal with his stepfather's death. The amount of the dead piling up in the novel is very daunting, and yet, no one seems to care about them, despite the fact that the Vietnamese are very conscious about respecting their ancestors, the dead, burning incense for their alters, etc. Why do you think nobody shows any respect, or cares, for the dead anymore? Why do you think that they do not honor the dead as they used to? What do you think life or death means to Kien at this point in the novel? Explain your view, and the significance of what you are saying.
RA
One Page Essays 4/08/10
Does a father have to be blood related in order to be a father figure for a child. Does it really matter if the man is biologically related to the child in order to serve as a father figure for him?
Even though a Veteran of a war has seen and experienced things that many people would never even be able to imagine, is there any excuse for living a degenerate life full of insanity and instability?
M.O.
VOCAB (SOW1)
Indoctrination
Omnipresent
Somnambulantly
Attributes
Rife
Wanton
Petulantly
Audacity
Monotony
Elated
Omnipresent
Somnambulantly
Attributes
Rife
Wanton
Petulantly
Audacity
Monotony
Elated
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