Handmaiden's Tale topic proposal

            My topic proposal of ‘The Handmaiden’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood is the short and long term effects of women being kept in slavery without amenities or freedoms and being forced into childbirth and subservience.  I want to better understand the inner turmoil that these handmaidens would face and deal with daily. I am hoping to better understand why they did it and what kept them from going crazy and rebelling or if there was some sort of therapy in the rebellion that they did commit.

            I plan on researching the psychological effects on women in the holocaust and also the effects on women in sex trafficking. The holocaust victims should be able to paint a picture of how the women reacted to being enslaved and treated as just another number. Sex trafficking effects should help me understand the abuse of being used and held without freedoms. I am hoping that by better understanding the effects that were caused we would better understand the reasons for underground reliefs and the simplicity of deciding to commit suicide.  

            I chose this topic not only to better help me understand what a women in this position would go through but also because it applies to the degree I am seeking. Although this is a fictional book there are many similarities to oppressed women and the subservient acts that take place.

picture: http://livesinlit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/handmaids-tale.jpg
link: http://books.google.com/books?id=z0aiWVfPiakC&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=PTSD+in+trafficked+women&source=bl&ots=iXosSBYzsC&sig=InTlR4aO9pRCeksaQl6QbyPJXE&hl=en&ei=O4_gTOqsMJO8sAPPlP2CCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=PTSD%20in%20trafficked%20women&f=false
This link is to a book on the trafficking of women and the effects that are caused.

Operation Homecoming

           Soldiers go into war with illusions of grandeur. We are taught growing up that war is all about serving your country, doing your patriotic duty. As an average American, one doesn’t realize what actually goes on inside a warzone. We depend on the newscasters to inform us, to give us the watered down version. The National Endowment for the Arts created a program called Operation Homecoming. This program teaches soldiers to write about their experiences in the wars. These stories allow the soldiers to explain the realities and emotions that are experienced in war.

            A soldier named Gyokeres talks about war becoming black and white. It becomes “Kill or be killed”, and goes on to say that “war has nothing to do with what you believe” (Operation Homecoming). I think he means that what it boils down to is doing your job and trying to make home every day.   It goes with the essay I wrote about Sean Huze and Tim O’Brien’s work. I tried to explain how religion has little place in war and that the loss of oneself has little to do with what one is taught to believe and follow. When the solider enters a warzone they spend more time following orders they may not understand and trying to stay alive. Sometimes the right and wrongs you were taught just never come into play. This contradiction between what is ordered and what was taught seemed to have caused some inner pain to the soldiers.

            Soldier John McCary had a quote that I feel showed the importance of what the soldiers are actually fighting for. He said “Breath is sweet, sleep is sweeter, friends are priceless. And you cry. There’s no point, no gain, no benefit but you are human and you must mourn…you will live though you’re not ever again sure why” (Operation Homecoming). This quote moved me a lot because you realize that the people that they are over there with become more than just their friends, they are brothers and sisters. The war becomes fighting for the people next to you instead of the governmental agenda. Questions arise in the survivors, things like “Why him and not me?” McCary talked about going on in the war to respect his fallen comrades. If they would have stopped just because their friends were killed then they would have died for nothing.

            It upset me to hear about the inconsistencies that the American public is told. To know that all we hear is a watered down version shows that there are ulterior motives pushing our soldiers into dying. If the public knew what actually went on inside those countries that we invaded I’m sure that there would be an outrage. Yet on the flip side if the American public actually wanted to know, they would. We live blind so we don’t have to feel anything about it, we can claim innocence. It’s a way of protecting ourselves from the truth so we don’t question the real motives behind the war.

            Watching this helped me better understand why Huze and O’Brien had to write what they did. They didn’t write about the war because they wanted to as much as they needed to. They needed to write about it, to tell someone, so they didn’t go crazy. Holding all those experiences inside would hinder someone’s ability to function. It helped me understand that they needed someone to hear them and understand what they went through. They hoped that by telling their stories people may not be so naïve and think that it’s all about killing and being a hero. Even though O’Brien embellished his stories, he tried to draw on the reader, to show them that what you hear isn’t what is actually being said. He, like Operation Homecoming, was trying to tell you that the impact goes deeper than what is just on the surface; that these soldiers see and do things that they have to live with and that they are not proud of.

            I hope that by these soldier’s testimonies people with become enlightened and informed. I hope that it causes people to question closer the reasons behind our soldiers dying. Unfortunately people take the blame out on the soldier’s instead of the people ordering them. If things like this video were more forced on people maybe they would understand. Earnest Hemmingway said “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime” (Operation Homecoming). It’s a crime to put our soldiers through the stress they endure for any reason other than protecting our country instead of someone’s agenda. I am grateful for what they do and I don’t blame them for the orders that they are given. They do what they are told and do their job proudly, boldly and to the fullest extent of their lives.

Works Cited:

Operation Homecoming. Richard E. Robbins. ITVS.The Documentary Group. 2007. Film

Picture from: http://www.filmforum.org/films/operation/OperationHomecoming_Art2_02.jpg

Mid Session Letter

Dear Mrs. Cline,

            Since I tested into Honors English, I was apprehensive about whether or not I would be bored in taking English 101 and 102. I have to say I was impressed and glad that I decided to take the lower level classes instead. Your class, so far, has helped me in better developing my different writing techniques. I have always had a problem knowing where to start when I begin to write a paper. Once I have it, it comes easily but the starting process is difficult. I think that my biggest success in this class is being able to not worry about posting my assignments for everyone to see. I am really not sure why in this class is does not seem to bother me. It could be because everyone has to do it, so I’m not being singled out.

            The readings in this class have been eye-opening for me. To be able to see the extent of the stress that war causes is disconcerting. My career goal probably has a lot to do with my interest in reading these texts. My goal is to be a trauma management therapist, which deals with PTSD, among other things. Huze and O’Brien’s texts have created a better understanding of the depths of stress that is caused. To know that someone can completely lose themselves internally only adds to the fact that they could lose their lives at anytime.

            Literary analysis is different for me because in previous papers you were either summarizing or writing about opinions. Literary Analysis shows you how to argue while being able to back up your arguments with the texts you have read. The reason that I like this is because I can formulate my own opinion about what I think the writer is trying to portray as long as I can back it up with citations from the texts.

            I can’t say that I actually have goals for what I want to learn in this class. I would like to improve my writing skills and know what I do well and what still needs work. I would like to see more informative peer reviews if we continue doing them. Again I am glad that I chose to take your recommended class and I hope that the rest of the semester is as enlightening as the first half.

Thank you,

Theresa Murray

On Rainy River

In the short story “On Rainy River”, O’Brien writes about the consequences of one soldier’s actions. The story is about a young man who was drafted and was struggling with the decision of fight or flight. On one hand he could live his life and run to Canada, on the other he could do what was expected of him and follow his draft orders. This short story goes deeper than just this one soldier’s actions; it’s about having to make a life changing decision that affects everyone around you.

            O’Brien was upset that he was drafted and was afraid of going to war. He got into his car and drove towards Canada. In his stop at an inn along the way, he met a man named Elroy Berdahl. In the end Berdahl helped indirectly make O’Brien’s life changing decision. These two developed a strange sort of relationship the few days that O’Brien was there. Berdahl never asked questions about his tenant, never judged. O’Brien claims that “-the man saved me. He offered me exactly what I needed, without questions, without any words at all” (pg 46). I believe that the man’s silence showed that he already knew why O’Brien was there and knew that he needed to make this decision on his own.

            By Berdahl taking him out on the river towards Canada, he almost forces O’Brien to make his decision. The entire time though he stays near him silently showing support. I think that he understood that O’Brien needed to face reality and choose his path silently, yet not alone. When he chooses to go to war he is terrified. He knows that, “It has nothing to do with morality. Embarrassment, that’s all it was” (page 57). He’s embarrassed of not being able to do what is expected of him from everyone. I think that we all harbor this embarrassment from time to time. We all have to make decisions that may not be what we want, yet we do it because we are saving face from others. We do it because we don’t want to seem like a coward or a traitor. In the last line O’Brien says, “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to war” (pg 58).  Either option that O’Brien would have chosen would have made him a coward to someone. He thinks that it was cowardice to go to war, yet everyone else at the time would have seen him as a coward for not going to war.

            This is sad reality for anyone in that situation. They are forced to make decisions that they themselves regret all throughout their lives. I don’t feel that it was right to enforce drafts, forcing someone to choose their paths by government hands. It is a proud thing to serve your country if it is your choice to do so, but not as much if it someone forcing your hand.

Works cited from:

O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. 1990. Paperback. 20 Sept 2010

Link: http://www.sss.gov/lotter1.htm

Draft Picture: http://usmilitary.about.com/library/weekly/nl082499.htm

Vietnam Wall: http://vietnamw.wikispaces.com/file/view/vietnam.jpg/34859005/vietnam.jpg

The Sand Storm Reaction

           In the play “The Sand Storm” by Sean Huze the writer recalls the thoughts, feelings and emotions of eight different Marines. He allows the characters to open up to the audience and recall the events that happened in the war after September 11^th. This play was very enlightening and emotional. It moves the audience to better understand the trials and tribulations that the men in the military are faced with.

            The Sand Storm was an eye opener for me. It showed how real the Marines are. That they, unlike the image portrayed of them, have feelings and emotions that need to be expressed and explored. When you see the commercials or the posters for the Marines, they are portrayed as hard cases, where nothing seems to break their resolve. However, they are human, they do break. By knowing what they went through over there, emotionally and physically, we are better able to understand that war affects everyone; that it causes severe stress disorders.

            Corporal Rodriguez makes a valid argument in his statement of

                    “Have you ever faced your own mortality?

                    I don’t mean in some general sense like we all know one day we’re

                    going to die. I’m talking about feeling like it was imminent.

                    Like within the hour or at most the day. Knowingly placing yourself in

                    harm’s way. It’s not a natural act. I don’t know if it’s courage either, but

                    it’s something.” (1)

This shows that they as humans are concerned with their own lives, yet they willing place themselves in the middle of chaos for their country. I couldn’t imagine waking up everyday wondering if today was the day you were going to die. If your number would happen to pop up in fate’s box, and knowing that you may never see the ones you love and fight for again.

            It enrages me that people think that they have the right to protest the soldiers and see them as the cause of the war. They curse them, spit on them, and call them names. How can these people be so naïve and not realize that without these soldiers, they wouldn’t have the freedom of speech they are so fond of invoking? I think that it’s worse for the soldiers to not only hear these ignorant outbursts, but to also have to come back to ignorant questions, like how many people they killed and such. These soldiers shouldn’t have to come back and relive these horrors over and over again for the sake of cheap entertainment. I hope that by producing this play they opened at least one person’s eye to the darker side of war for our soldiers and showed someone what it means to follow orders.

1.      Huze, Sean. The Sand Storm. Page 15 lines 10, 15-20. Play. 2004

Link to: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/ 

photo: http://www.brittanysimon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mil_marines_few_proud_lg.jpg

photo: http://media.photobucket.com/image/support%20our%20troops/badboi_305/support_our_troops.jpg

Compendium of Lost Objects and The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor

There were only two poems in this section that elicited any emotional response from me. Both of these poems were emotional in the sense that they were about the loss of something that couldn’t be returned. The loss of self or material possessions can be equally devastating depending on the person. One was written to show that they saw what others had gone through and tried to show their understanding of the situation. The other was written with the hope that someone would see their inner turmoil and understand what they were going through.

Nicole Cooley

In the poem titled “Compendium of Lost Objects”, Nicole Cooley tries to show that she understands what the people of the natural disaster went through and what was left behind. She writes this poem with just simple words of items that were seen. It’s not an in-depth story telling you what she saw; it was a collection of words that let you decipher the meaning. It allows you to place these items into your life and apply them appropriately. She states that all of these things left behind couldn’t have “fit in a dark wood cabinet for safekeeping” (1. line 21 and 22). I think that means that your smaller material possessions don’t seem to add up to the bigger things that get forgotten in the rush. That you can keep the materials in your life you think you can’t live without, safe and hidden from the world’s eyes, yet the things you work so hard to show people disappear. People spend their time with material objects showing everyone in the world their status and ranks, yet when everything goes bad they get left behind to wither away, just like everyone else.

Joy Harjo

My favorite poem in this selection was “The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window” by Joy Harjo. It’s about a woman going through serious inner turmoil. She is questioning everything in her life and its purpose. She tries to place herself with the other women around her when she says, “She is all the women of the apartment building who stand watching her, watching themselves” (2. line 14 and 15). She talks about all her different roles in her life and how they are all just pieces of a whole. As a mother myself I understand her when she feels torn against all her different “personalities”. I think that she passed the breaking point in her life and is looking for some sort of direction, some sign that she’s doing something right or what she needs to change.

Which way will you go?

Joy Harjo moved me incredibly with this poem. She puts in words what I have felt time and time again. I have had the feeling that I have listened to my own life break loose. She shows the world that although we women may put up a strong front, we can, and most eventually will, break. We all come to a cross road in our lives where we have to make decisions that affect everyone around us. And all of us hope that we too will be set free.



1. “Compendium of Lost Objects” Nicole Cooley. 2010. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21526>


2. “Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window” Joy Harjo. 2006 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=180960

pictures from:
crossroads: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkiQPUPrEgwy17iPq6miEb3qQ2OLkfdkCJhew4bax_qh_nq6XNQ8pL0BZPw8bYLN087yFTEkSee4rab68jlebJKBKnEpUz-ncWhfRB4EbPbVUNIDm7hEzQV5QSwaErrRrZdL0gtdf5hI/s400/cross-roads.jpg
Nicole Cooley:http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v6n1/images/contributors/cooley_nicole.jpg
Joy Harjo: http://www.nativewiki.org/images/b/b3/Joypress3.jpg

natural disaster link: http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/

Sam Hammil Response

In Sam Hammil’s essay “The Necessity to Speak”, he talks about the need every person has to speak and write their thoughts and ideas and how being silent is like being inside a personal prison. The way he applied his thoughts to domestic violence and child abuse was very powerful and emotional. He makes you look at something that is a very big problem in a new light, almost explaining why things get out of hand. I don’t agree however with his “explanation” of domestic violence and the reasoning behind the abuser. There is NOTHING that should permit or condone violence of any kind in a relationship. Just because a child was abused does not mean that he himself will or should become abusive nor should it be a reasonable explanation if he does. I realize that Hammil may not have meant that way, however that is the meaning that I took from it being that he chose to reiterate that explanation several times.

Hammil hit a precise mark when he states that “We can’t bear very much reality”. People in every society chose not to speak up about intolerable incidents and chose to close their eyes and walk away. I think that this has all ways been a problem in society, people “minding their own business”. I think Hammil was right when he said “Knowledge is the loss of innocence” and that this applies to the not wanting to bear reality. If people don’t know about something then they can play innocent and safe.

Poetry or writing of any kind opens a door for people to express themselves; especially people who otherwise may not have a way to do so. Coming from someone who internalizes all her feelings and tries very hard to be a sensible peacekeeper, journaling or writing is the only way to open up and be yourself, preserving your sanity and self image. When you write you can become whatever you want to be. You can be the strong, outgoing type who always says what they feel without the repercussions of the thoughts of others. Writing lowers anxiety and gives the writer a place where they can feel safe and more importantly, heard.

The following abuse poem was very emotional and moving and shows how people can be detered from wanting to speak out.

Picture from http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/see_hear_speak_1.jpg

poem from : http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/sad/poetry.asp?poem=18656