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Friday, December 15, 2006
Overall Comparison [Posted by Erin]It’s the first day of class of the fall semester. We sit almost completely silent in our seats as Professor Kizzier made his introduction. “One of the novels we will be reading this semester is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. It’s based on the Vietnam War,” he explained. “Great,” I thought. As if there wasn’t anything I was more disinterested in than war. “There’s always cliffs notes,” I assured myself.
For our first assignment, we were to read the first twenty-six pages of the book. With the semester already becoming overwhelming, I put it off until the night prior to the read-by date. By the end of the second page, I became sucked in. Before I knew it, I was at the end of the first chapter and eager to read on. The way the events, characters and emotions were depicted and developed, I found myself pausing throughout and saying, “Wow, that was put very nicely,” as I illuminated compelling lines and paragraphs with my yellow highlighter.
Despite my initial expectations, I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed The Things They Carried. To be quite honest, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy watching a war movie any more than reading a book of the same nature. My older brother was very into war movies and anything war related. He has seen all of the movies and played all of the games. I can distinctly recall him inviting me to watch movies with him, but it was never my cup of tea. Instead, I would choose to shut myself in my room and blare Britney Spears. Yeah, I was one of those girls. I just never understood what was so fascinating about camouflage uniforms, burning buildings, and people firing weapons while screaming obscenities. Perhaps I needed some background, a foundation of some kind, or something to spark my interest. The Things They Carried supplied me with that spark through the realistic experiences and personalized touches that graced its pages.
The Things They Carried equipped my mind with vivid pictures. I was able to put myself in the characters’ positions, see what they saw, and feel what they felt. Because of the first chapter in the book, I was able to picture the soldiers marching along in their uniforms with their weapons and good luck charms. I got the impression that most of the soldiers were ready and raring to fight, but that others had a hidden fear which they kept to themselves for the most part. I was able to sense the human in them, rather than see them strictly as soldiers of war, or killing machines, if you will.
For the basis of our class’s concluding assignment, I had been instructed to watch, review, and compare a war movie of our group’s choice to Tim O’Brien’s novel. We simultaneously voted and selected Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. That evening, I strolled the aisles of Blockbuster and rented the only copy sitting lonely on the shelf. I was hesitant to watch it at first. I didn’t really know what to expect. That weekend, I curled up in bed with my blanket and watched it on my laptop. I laughed through the first half, which was completely unforeseen; however, there were definitely parts in the book where I found myself slipping out a giggle or two. When it got to the actual war segments, I felt a strong sense of déjà vu. I found the images and scenes in the movie to closely replicate what I had been previously brewing in my imagination. On a few occasions, I would blurt out something like, “Hey! Just like the book!” while stumbling out of bed to obtain something to record the comparison for future reference. Initially, I had expected the book to vastly differentiate from the movie. Now I stand corrected.
All in all, I had good experiences with the works of O’Brien and Kubrick. I have gained an appreciation for these forms of entertainment revolving war. My autographed copy of The Things They Carried will remain in my possession and Full Metal Jacket has found its way into my DVD collection. This has expanded my interests and opened several doors of opportunity by means of video entertainment. Now, if only I could say the same for Ms. Spears. :o)12:47 AM 
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1 Comments:
Hey Pickle member,
I really like that you take a personal tack here -- the intro is effective and leads us in to the discussion of what stood out to you as a reader and viwer: the humanity of the soldiers. I agree that that is one of the things that stands out here and is reinforced in both works. Good job. I'd like tosee more speicifc examples of theat humanity in both texts, so that your strong point here would be even further highlighted and supported.
All right. Very good work.
CK
By
Carr Kizzier, at 7:43 AM
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