O'Brien's War Story So Far

This week reading, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien has shed some light on the war stories told by the veterans who have fought for us. As O'Brien has written this book as a fictional price it still seems as the stories told in this book are similar if not the stories of actual events. As these events are played out in his perspective it makes one think of how this may look from the outside or to the enemy, or even from another troop members point of view. Compared to old or even new war movies, O'Brien's book gives a mu have more realistic point of view on the lives and the time spent in enemy territory. In saying this I mean that Tim O'Brien spells out the way these war events happened without "sugar coating it" as the movies do. In the book he describes the way many troop members die and compared to the way these deaths are compacted in films and the ideas of many others it was very cold and sudden. The drama in his book puts and emphasis on the effects of the war on the soldiers fighting in it. In such a way it effects them mentally and physically but more so mentally, this is shown more of in the book. The soldier who fight in wars not only fight the enemy at bay but the enemy inset themselves as well. Tim O'Brien's book is a strait forward truely told fiction novel of a war fought many years ago.

TSIT chapter 10 thoughts & comments

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkentstein's book They Say I Say is a good guide for developing good academic papers. Each chapter brings about and reflects on a new point in the writing process or procedure. In which case chapter 10 is titled "'But Don't Get Me Wrong' The art of Metacommentary," where this section discusses the use and benefits of using metacommentaries. Here one may find that they are used to clarify and elaborate on a point the writer has already made or is going to make, thus ensuring the reader is in the same mindset as the writer. It also explains the many ways metacommentaries can be used, such as; in the text to refer to a point or quote, as a title, to entertain an objection, adding transitions, or other ways stated in this chapter. Also a good source in this book at the readers disposal is the templates they give you to use in introducing these ideas to ones text. Graff and Birkentstein's book can be very useful for an academic writer in the many explanations given, and the examples and templates throughout the book and in chapter 10. In writing papers for a class or project one may find the use of metacommentaries very convenient and may even use them without realizing it. Where after reading and reviewing this chapter helps to realize the importance and the use of metacommentaries and allows one to put more thought behind the text. In chapter 10 one may also find the use of these in an example given such as this one, "With that in view, my task in this chapter ahead is strait forward. I must first demonstrate how, ..." (132). The example here is, "With that in view, my task in this chapter ahead is strait forward" which is a twisted form of their templates given. In many cases it is beneficial for one to read and see how a Metacommentary is properly used making this example given a good source and tool. Chapter 10 of this book is a good source for academic writers to use when considering ideas for metacommentaries.