The Effects of War on Men and Women
Students will read "Ambush," a short story by Tim O'Brien. Before reading the story the students will journal on the following question. If your nine- year- old child asked you if you had ever killed a person during war, what would you say? O'Brien's story takes the reader into this situation and flashbacks to an incident in Vietnam. W.D. Ehrhart's poem "Imagine" would go well with this story.
W.D. Ehrhart's "A Relative Thing" painfully expresses the feelings of many Vietnam veterans on returning from war. Ehrhart served as a Marine and spent thirteen months in Vietnam (Sketch). Students will be able to clearly understand the message and the emotion. The poem is poignant on its own and a great lead into the last two poems written by women. Clarifying several terms will assist in a better understanding of this poem: A known place where the Viet Cong collected to begin an assault (VC staging point); Hue (pronounced Way) City; Army of the Republic of North Vietnam (ARVN); Raids designed to burn down Vietnamese villages usually with a Zippo lighter or flame thrower as the igniter (Zippo raid).
Vietnam poets often use free verse. However, a comparison to "Base Details" can obviously be made. What was their purpose? Does Ehrhart appear too personal? There is more here than meets the eye. Students by now should be able to unlock the subtieties. The image of the "breastless woman" juxtaposed with the "pigeon-breasted fantasies" needs close examination. The juxtaposition of a woman's world as a vision of mother and child and man's world being "pigeon-breasted", full of pride and arrogance, seems to be saying something about gender roles and war. Has this changed? Further, even though men from earlier generations knew war they know nothing of this one. Why? The second to last stanza makes a point of pointing a finger. Also, study the humor, particularly the line "The cookies from the wives of Local 104 did not soften our awareness." The play on the word "soften" keeps the poem from being too preachy. Vietnam was an unpopular war. It was referred to as a conflict for most of the ten years the United States was involved. It has been likened to the Iraq War in the news. Most people support our troops because they do not want to make the mistakes made towards soldiers returning home from Vietnam. Will this attitude continue? The poem's title is similar to "Base Details." Relative has several meanings. It connotes related to by kinship, and having a connection to something else, or about; concerning. Which definition best suits the poem or do they all?
Students could now create a poem in the fashion of Ehrhart's poem often referred to as a stylistic imitation. Have students make two columns on a sheet of paper. They will put Iraq on one half and Vietnam on the other. Working with a partner reading each stanza the students will write a list all of the words and phrases that directly refer to Vietnam. We will then go over their list on the overhead. I will underline the phrases and lines they have selected. Next, the students will think about words to replace the ones we have listed with Iraq in mind. Students will then write a poem using the Iraq visions. They must start with the title because it is so fundamental to the emotion of the poem. Students could change words like "newsmen" to internet and "Hue City" to Basra. While they are creating be sure to let them change the tone if they want.
The discussion of war and patriotism will ultimately lead to students discussing their views on the current political climate, the possibility of a draft, and the future, especially theirs. Patriotism is an important part of this unit. America has rallied around the troops for the most part. For example, after 9/11 the NCAA required all its member colleges to display an American flag on the sleeve of uniforms. Bumper stickers and ribbons with "Support Our Troops" and "We will never forget" are readily available. Encourage students to find current articles or poems that embrace these issues.
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