Most recent public comments by Erum Rahman https://nowcomment.com/users/16895 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408615 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408615 After reading all the vignettes the last one stood out to me, especially paragraphs 71-76. The vignette starts by talking about war movies that then twist to a real life example of what war was like for the veteran. The author of this vignette uses his father's personal story after reflecting upon the movies that came out about war. The movies were considered artificial and dramatized which is not something war should be associated with. The story about his father seemed to be something that was real because the opening starts with " So I joined the military. At fourteen. Hell yes I was ready. Ask any little boy at fourteen if they would go to war…" this line represents the mind of a child at that time before war and shows the misconception people had about war. It's like buying the product without reading the ingredients and then realizing you do not like the product overall because of certain ingredients it contains. War is the same kind of thing, one gets into it without knowing what's really in store for them and once they are enrolled, they realize that its not something they are content with, but by that time its too late and they end up being scared for life. The line " ....you kill to not be killed." shows that one is killing in order to stay alive instead of killing for revenge it like a survival game one must play and even at the end they are not happy because they have opened wounds that will never be closed. No matter how hard one tries the scars will be shown to the public and its up to one to decided whether they want to share the story behind it or keep it hidden so that others are not pained by their scar. The pictures that were painted in my head as I was reading the ending made me cringe. So imaging how one would feel about actually going through the war so something that I could not put myself going through. Sharing such stories help me realize that I'm grateful for not being a part of a war and makes me sympathizes with the individuals that did. It's a way to bring light to what people have been through and to not take anything for granted. Its important to share these kinds of stories otherwise people will not be aware of what life has in store for them then history will repeat itself. Thu, 12 Nov 2015 02:13:38 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=403192 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=403192 The essay touches upon many different aspects of what a war story means to people and how they are portrayed. In a particular part of the essay Nguyen talks about another story Close Quarters, which talks about how women were raped by American soldiers and the concept that it was not considered rape. The fact that the author did not show any pity towards the women made the reader realize the point of view of the American solider.It was presented as the plain ugly truth that nobody wanted to realize. The idea that these soldiers were still looked at as heroes because they were protecting their country as sickening because their character was being hidden by their identity as a soldier. Others were considered narrow-minded because they only wanted to see the good in the soldiers and disregard everything else that disapproved that. Another interesting point in the essay is the reflection upon the American Dream. The author states that her family of refugees was the typical proof of the American Dream because they were wealthy and stable. This idea of being able to achieve the American Dream for them is big because it shows that they were able to provide a better life for themselves and this would have not been possible if it was not for the millions of Vietnamese soldiers who fought for their rights. They still to this today are greatly appreciated. Overall, we understand that there is no one way of looking at war because everyone has their own interpretation depending on what they want to understand. Fri, 06 Nov 2015 17:45:48 -0500