Topic Proposal

In the story the handmaid’s tale, it is confusing to me how if it is so difficult to become pregnant then why cant they sleep with whom they want to sleep with instead of the commander. Also I do not understand why the women can not be tested to see if they can become pregnant, instead of sleeping with a different commander every two years for a total of six years. These women can hardly have their own thoughts let alone be able to do their own thing.

The topic that I chose related to The Handmaid’s Tale is Polygamy in Islam. I think that this topic would be interesting because the way that the handmaids are treated is very similar to the Polygamy in Islam. The women are also under complete control. The men force them to cover there face and wear outfits that so not show any part of there body as well.

http://www.medindia.net/afp/images/Malaysia-Islam-polygamy-181883.jpg

Link...http://polygamy411.com/

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.

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20101026/shamseddin20101026070212293.jpg

The Things They Carried blog

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Poetry of Witness

The poem Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting by Kevin Powers was a very deep poem. The poem shows the intensity of war and how hard it is to be in that situation. The author is obviously exhausted from war and needs sleep so bad that he compares just ten minutes of needed rest to how much he loves someone. I can’t imagine killing numerous people and the emotional Impact that it would it would have on me. I can’t imagine being so exhausted but not being able to let my guard down, always being worried about what or who is going to attack next. My best friends’ husband is in the Mid–East right now, and even though he is not my husband when I hear his stories and see them talk to each other I can feel the sadness in his voice and I can tell that he has changed. It is heart breaking to me to think about what he has to go through every day. Even though they make their own decisions to be in the military and serve our country it is still a terrible thing that anyone has to face.

http://deepconfusion.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

http://alanpetersnewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html

The second poem that impacted me was  Wislawa Szymborskas’ Photograph from September. This poem was impacting to me because I was alive to see it happen. That morning I remember it all over the TV and that is all everyone was talking about, parents, teachers and classmates. It was like everyone around had paused for that moment, it was a silence of sorrow and fear for everyone. To make that decision to either jump or burn alive would be terrifying because either way they knew they were going to die. It was the choice of which death would be less painful. The impact of this event was worldwide and will never be forgotten.

Link for video of September 11  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcC6bTHosx0

"The Necessity to Speak" Sam Hamill

Sam Hamill’s  poem “The Necessity to Speak” was vey enlightening to me. It showed me how much a problem domestic abuse is in our country and how it can change people lives forever. Abuse can almost be a tradition for a family from father to son from son to grandson. To them it is a normal way of life. The author has very strong feelings about what he talks about throughout the poem and he tries to help the people in trouble with his own experiences. Sam is able to help others with the same issues that he had when he was younger because he knows what it is like to be abused. Being gang raped at 14 is a very terrifying and horrible thing that no child should ever have to go through. Like he said in his poem “I remember It like yesterday at noon”, no person should have to live that down and remember the horrible experience day after day feeling so disgusted with your self. It blows my mind how many women are beaten and even die each year from abuse from their lover. I don’t see how someone could sit there and brutally abuse someone and not fell bad watching them try to get away, crying and screaming for them to stop. I do not think that the people who rape and abuse deserve freedom they deserve their life being taken away in a jail cell, like they take away the women and child’s freedom that they could have had. It makes me feel sad that the abused sometimes can not find a way out especially the children if they have to live with an abusive mother or father. Sam made another very good point about people not knowing or not wanting to know about the abuse and the effects of it going on around us. I feel like there should more helpful places that the abused can go to find a way out.

 http://www.fresnosuperiorcourt.org/family/domestic_violence_issues.php


Here are some domestic violence facts.