After reading "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien and discussing war memorials, I thought that maybe I could have a mini flashback to an event that specifically reminds me of both of these-the Washington D.C. trip. I think that the majority of us went on the trip when we were in eighth grade, so I think the majority of us can agree that the trip was spent more focused on what t-shirt to buy and less what we were actually supposed to be learning about. Basically every monument that the group was taken to was more of an opportunity to take jumping pictures and to see our friends from the other buses because the trip was more of a social event and less of a learning event. In case you're wondering, here's a picture of what I got out of my trip.
"To go into it{the story}, I've always thought, would only cause embarrassment for all of us" (O'Brien 39)
This blog post is not about how dorky I was as an eighth grader or how I can't jump. This is about how people do not know enough about the memorials. Anyone can tell that the Vietnam War Memorial is about the Vietnam War but the average person does not know the difference between a cenotaph(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cenotaph)
and a catafalque(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catafalque)
. All these people see is either:
A.) an empty hall with nice little statues and reflective black marble with names carved into it
or B.) a physical cemetery
with lots of tombstones.
I'd personally like to go back to D.C., just so I could understand and see things in a different way than I did when I was thirteen.
My memory of seeing the Vietnam Memorial was a picture of a name on the wall. Apparently I found it amusing that someone's name on the wall was named "Orange."
Seeing this picture reminds me that everyone mentioned in "The Things They Carried" had different traits that made them different. I simply wonder if Orange was like anyone in the book or if he was just a teenager like myself.
In "The Things They Carried", in addition to how everyone has different traits, I think that everyone had different perspectives of the war.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not attend the D.C. trip, I did visit the city on another account. Viewing the various memorials was overwhelming for me, and I didn't fully understand war and its aspects in general. I remember an essence of unity as I observed these memorials, and cherished the fact that each person who died had a life worth living, just like all of us. Sadly enough, war is a direct initiator of unity in our country.
ReplyDeleteThis post is so true. I agree with you on the fact that people do not understand and appreciate memorials as much as they should.
ReplyDeletep.s. maybe the guy named Orange was related to Curt Lemon...get it? hahahahahha
I can really relate to this, having gone on the trip myself. I remember spending most of the time tuning out the people explaining the memorials and being more focused on talking to and taking selfies with my friends. I too wish that I could go back and appreciate the memorials the way they deserve to be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteReally love how you related the post to your own experiences and how you now have a deeper meaning of the memorials. I also would like to go back and witness not only the structure of the memorials but the real meaning behind them.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with how during this trip it's more about social interaction rather than learning. It's a shame that this trip isn't done later when we could appreciate it better.
ReplyDelete