Mid Semester Check

Dear Mrs. Cline
The biggest challenge that I have had in this class would defiantly be the papers. I have always had a hard time writing papers and generating good ideas for them. Throughout this class I feel like I have become better in some ways at writing, but I know that I still need to continue improving my creative thinking. Also this is my first online class, and staying motivated to get everything done is a little more difficult then being in a classroom environment.
My biggest success would have to be reading. I used to dread the thought of picking up a book, and now I really enjoy and look forward to reading. This class has really sparked my interest in literature. The books that we have read so far have really caught my interest and are very emotional to me. They effected me in a positive way, I realized that if I find a book that I can get into It will come to life and it wont just be just words.
I have not done any literature analysis previous to this class; it is really different from anything else that I have done. Literature analysis has been challenging for me.
My goals for the second half of this semester are to stay focused on what I need to get done and do it on time. I also hope to learn everything I can to improve in my ready and writing skills.
Sincerely,
Desiree DeBono

Sean Huze’s play, The Sand Storm, was a story that really shows the reality of the war in Iraq. The detailed stories about what each individual has had to see and do are so corrupt and depressing but yet still so interesting to hear about. While everyone here is living their normal lives, the soldiers are going through hell. The stories in this play really made me sad to think about what they do and the experience they go through every day. They don’t get a good night sleep when they need it like we do. They don’t have a daily routine, or the freedom to choose what they want to do that day. They are sent on different missions everyday and most of the time they do not know what to expect. They are given orders that they have no choice but to follow. They do not have the option of not killing.
In this play they tell you that they don’t know if they are even going to live to see the next moment, asking themselves if this is their time to go whenever something bad happens. This particular group of marines are ruthless, they do not feel sympathy for any one that they hurt or kill, it is just everyday life to them. “I looked down at the both of them sobbing and felt nothing. Not good to bad, just completely unmoved. I felt nothing.” (Huze 15) SGT Damond said about some Iraqi men he has just beaten up. I guess they feel nothing because they see what the Iraqi people do to them every day, they try taking away the lives of our soldiers and our soldiers just want to survive to see their families again. Although the marines have to experience horrible things ever day, there has not been a draft for this war, so every one of them chose to live this life.

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