The Things They Carried: Response to On the Rainy River

It is easy to say that I would flee to Canada if I were drafted for a war, especially a war myself and most of America didn’t support. However, thinking about all of the memories and people I would be giving up would stop me, just like Tim O’Brien. I think he is accurate in saying it is cowardly to not flee; the thought of leaving behind everyone and everything you have ever known is terrifying. I tried to put myself in Tim O’Brien’s shoes; I pictured myself sitting on a boat so close to Canada, and tried to imagine what memories would come to mind.

I first pictured my childhood, and slowly more and more memories came to me throughout my life; my sisters and I playing hopscotch in the summer; all three of us sleeping in the same bed whispering secrets all night; my little sister asking me what I was going to have for breakfast every night; watching Snow White every day; waking up at 4am Christmas morning; playing with American Girl dolls; Backstreet Boys Millenium album; crazy hair day in elementary school; starting the Harry Potter series; violin lessons; my grandparents; Luke’s funeral; choir retreat in the fall; bonfires and s’mores; Camp Honeyrock; my first 6^th grade dance; standing on the Great Wall; my first day of high school; my six best friends backpacking trip; Lollapallooza; white outs for the football games; standing on the cliffs in Knysna, South Africa; senior prom; training to Chicago; graduation on the football field; college music auditions; my parents dropping me off at college; the list goes on and on.

These memories would stop me, as they did Tim O’Brien, from fleeing to Canada. I would be unable to leave all of the memories of people and places and things that have affected me and made me who I am today. It is very ironic that O’Brien sees his decision as going to war cowardly; many people believe that is the brave thing to do. However, it takes a lot of courage to run away from everything you have ever known and completely start over. All of these memories would force me to make the same decision that O’Brien made; I would be a coward and I would go to war.

America by Allen Ginsberg

When I first read Ginsberg’s “America” to myself, it seemed like a serious poem with a few satirical lines in it. However, when listening to the recording, I realized it was much funnier than just the words let on. This is because of how Ginsberg reads the poem; the rhythm of the words often switches, but Ginsberg highlights the humor in his tone of voice.

Allan Ginsberg is a poet of the Beat generation. The rhythm of “America,” is very similar to his poem “Sunflower Sultra,” which we listened to in class. The Beat generation valued improvisation and was influenced by jazz. This is very obvious in his writing; the writing seems almost like a stream of consciousness and all of the words and lines flow together. In Ginsberg’s reading of the poem, he takes dramatic pauses that start a new thought, or sometimes to stress a humorous line.  Also, the reading includes extra thoughts not in the written poem and gets rid of certain lines. This further shows that the idea of the poem is spontaneous and improvised. To really understand the structure of “America,” I think the poem is supposed to be heard rather than read.

The poem has very irregular meter. There is really no consistent number of stressed and unstressed syllables per line, mainly because each line is dramatically different in length. The rhythms seem to be mainly falling, but in many instances, Ginsberg will stress many syllables in a row to make a point. For example, in line 29, Ginsberg states, “America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry.” When he reads the three words “I’m not sorry,” all three words are stressed in a row. This gives off a very humorous interpretation of the line to the listeners, but also inflects that he is maybe purposely going against certain ideals about American society.

“America” has a hard rhythm and meter to discern, because it is written to be heard rather than read. The poem is very influenced by jazz and improvisation, and comes off more as a flowing stream of consciousness. 

Habitation by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s poem, Habitation, talks about the challenges of marriage. The poem is basically stating that the idea of marriage is still almost primitive; something humans cannot quite understand and need to work at. It is not natural to humans. Atwood is also saying that marriage is work, and needs to be built from the ground up. Furthermore, Habitation describes the core of a marriage. Atwood is saying that marriage is based only on love, not physical trappings. The idea of a home and white picket fence is not what binds a couple for a lifetime.

Atwood uses many analytical shapes in Habitation. Firstly, the way the poem is written is almost backwards. It starts speaking of a home, and then moves to the edge of a desert, to glaciers, to making fire. I think this further illustrates the idea that a marriage is written from the ground up. On a page, the last line of the poem about making fire is the most primitive idea, and it moves all the way up to “A marriage/is not a house or even a tent” (line 1-2). This aesthetic device shows the reader that marriage takes a long time and needs to have a solid foundation to grow on. The innovation of fire has been the basis of so much growth and progress in society today. In the poem, building fire represents the idea that relationships need to be built off of something strong that can sustain a couple, like love. Fire represents passion, which is needed to fuel a relationship and keep a couple strong through marriage.

Another aesthetic device Atwood uses in Habitation is repetition of the word edge. She uses the word three times, first the edge of a forest, then the edge of a desert, and finally the edge of a receding glacier. The three different places could be where a relationship is headed. I think Atwood is stating that couples may not know what they are getting themselves into when they agree to marry. At the edge of a desert, couples could be heading into a life-threatening situation, and Atwood is saying that the basis marriage is very difficult to keep alive. The edge of a receding glacier could mean that couples might feel like they are trapped with no where to go but down, and will drown themselves trying so hard to make a relationship work. Also, the repetition of the word edge may mean that happiness in a marriage is always on the edge; arguments are constantly on the verge and can happen over the most miniscule problems.

The last analytical shape Atwood uses is the way she breaks up the poem. The first section basically introduces where the poem is heading. Each section is broken up by idea. The last section is just one line, “we are learning to make fire” which stands alone because the only thing that will really create a strong marriage is passion and love, symbolized by fire. Atwood’s poem uses many aesthetic devices and shows that marriage needs to be built from the ground up, the basis being love.