Mid-Session Check in Blog
Dear Ms. Cline,

I have thoroughly enjoyed this English class this year. I realize now that i was a bit rusty in writing and composing an essay, but I feel quite comfortable about it now. My biggest challenge in this class so far has been using a computer to do my class on line. I learned many things about this you taught me how to use the rich text format, how to submit URL's, how to copy and paste and most of all how to make a blog and post things to it. I can say i learned quite a bit in just one class of how to do a class on line. This was my first experience to do a class on line and even though I stressed it a bit, I was able to talk to you and refocus and get the assignments presented the way you wanted them. Thank you for the wealth of knowledge you gave me in this one class.

How have the readings in the class affected me? Well, I really enjoyed O'Brien's stories and did not realize that I liked reading war stories. I am reading the Handmaids tale now and I just can't seem to get into it yet, but as you taught me to hang in there and not make a preconceived idea of the book until it is completely read so as i complete this book i will form an opinion on it. The poetry i read in this class i enjoyed and tried my self to write poetry.

How has literary analysis different from other types of writing i have done in college? This literary analysis helped teach me to analyze the meaning behind the poem or story instead of just summarizing what i read. This i thought was pretty cool it made me think deeper about what i was reading.

What are my goals for the second half of the session? My goals are to be a better reader and contemplate what i write and what i read and think about it in a different perspective like analysis. My ultimate goal for this class is to do very well so that my reading and writing skills are at their best for other classes. I thank you for all the teaching you have given me and the things i learned in this class i will carry with me forever. Thanks again. Dottie Kee
I chose this blog because it explains the things I have learned in this class.  Things that I will take with me on my journey through school.




Swirl In Their Head

 Marines, the memories that swirl in their head.

Memories of friends alive, fallen heros, and now dead

The chaos, the noise the fear and the smell,
The heat and the sand this sure must be hell.

Marines the memories that swirl in their head

Wake up to morning or wake up to night,
The fear that they feel it just cant be right.

Why don't the politicians or anyone understand,
Are we fighting for freedom or just for some sand?

Marines the memories that swirl in their head.

The images they see the after math of war,
Body parts and pieces all over the ground,
Casualties of war strewn all around.

When will it end this bloodshed they see?
They pray to God, just don't let it be me.

Will they go home and be the same or is all
of this going to declare them insane?

The swirls of these memories are burnt in their brain.

By Dottie Kee
I chose the poem I wrote because it is like a breath of fresh air to me.  It is something I would not normally do and I enjoyed writing it.

These are some of the things they carried

Tim O'brien, The things they carried
It was a moral split. I couldn't make up my mind. I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile. I was afraid of walking away from my own life, my friends and my family, my whole history, everything that mattered to me. I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure. My hometown was a conservative little spot on the prairie, a place where tradition counted, and it was easy to imagine people sitting around a table down at the old Gobbler Cafe' on Main street, coffee cups poised, the conversation slowly zeroing in on the young O'Brien kid, how the damned sissy had taken off for Canada. At night, when I couldn't sleep, i'd be screaming at them, telling them how much I detested their blind thoughtless automatic acquiescence to it all, their simpleminded patriotism, their prideful ignorance, their love-it-or-leave-it platitudes, how they were sending me off to a fight a war they didn't understand and didn't want to understand. I held them responsible. (page 42-43) Book The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien.


All three of these stories have this same type of situation going on, besides the Vietnam War there is a battle raging on in the young men's minds, hearts, and soul. In all the stories none of the young men wanted to die, they all felt psychologically and emotionally sick. They all try to be tough and not cry or look scared, but they all are. They all fear being embarrassed, ashamed, blushing, or hearing the scoffers calling them names like sissy or pussy. The true reality of losing their life in a split second is always on their mind first and foremost.


In the mind it is a battle between good and evil, right and wrong. The norm of what's wrong does not stand true in war. For instance killing is wrong, but when it comes down to kill or be killed it's not wrong any more. We try to raise our children to have a sense of right and wrong, but when they go off to war it all changes and it's like they've just entered the twilight zone.


It affects their heart, not just physically by beating faster because of fear, but when they see one of their guys die right in front of them it is a heart break, a terrible gut wrenching heartbreak. They want to just scream out and cry at the top of their lungs, but the fear of being called names is so strong. They hold all their emotions in as best they can tolerate, but some still cry in silence. Then as soon as the chaos is over they all have to regain their composure and find the nerve to keep humping it and go on.


It even goes as far as to bother ones soul. The traumatic impact and stress this puts on these young men alter their lives forever. They will never be the same young men they were before they went off to war. This awful scar will impact them off and on for the rest of their lives. I wish with all my heart that war would never have to exist. That we could all live peaceably, but if this were true we would all live at Walgreens, (the perfect world). By Dorothy Kee


Works cited; Tim O'Brien, The things they carried, book

Lastly, I chose this blog.  This was probably one of my favorite blogs I've written. I really enjoyed reading Tim O'Brien's Book.  It shed a glimmer of light on just how bad some things in war really are.