Speaking of Courage

I'm on the fence about Speaking of Courage. I'm not sure if I think Bowker is courageous or cowardly. The story is about how he spent his Fourth of July alone. I think the war tainted his life because he's alone now. I'm pretty sure people don't think of him the same way or look at him the same way. No one understand what the war did to him and no one will ever understand what Vietnam is like unless they go there. So I think just going to fight in Vietnam was courageous because now he'll never be the same and it's changed his life for the worse. The whole chapter makes me sad because I hate the thought of loneliness. To me bearing loneliness is courageous. I would've probably killed myself. With the Kiowa thing I think he's both cowardly and courageous. Cowardly because I feel as though he shouldn't have let go. Maybe he could've tried a little harder or something. But I thing it was courageous because instead of giving up on himself and just throwing his life away he saved himself. His life is terrible some people would just throw in the towel. So yeah. ;) 

Death's Lesson (Memoir)

The memoir that I read was pretty good for some one the age of 14. It was titled "Death's Lesson" by Mitchell W. I liked the way he described the story to me. He was very descriptive and he made me want to keep reading. The memoir was kind of sad but I believe it's something we can all relate to. It's about how great of a person his grandpa was and how his grandpa was strong and a fighter.Sometimes the story  skipped from one scene to another without smooth transition but Mitchell got his point across. He never really tells me what "Death's Lesson" really is though so I'm guessing he wants me to interpret that on my own and I've yet to figure that out. It's not the proper way to write a memoir I guess but I feel like his story is kind of scattered. I actually like that but it did kind of leave me confused at a few points but it's random and I LOVE that. 

Vietnam War.... : )

The Vietnam War took place from 1959 to 1975! That's 15 YEARS! This war basically began because of communism. Not many people like communism because the government has control over almost everything. The US. began fighting the Vietnam War to stop the spread of communism because quite frankly no one likes it.  The US really dislikes communism and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we're "the land of the free". People have the right to their freedom, freedom of speech and all of that stuff. With communism the US definitely wouldn't be the land of the free. I'm not sure if I support the war or not. I do know that I'm happy that I don't have to deal with communism.

Let America Be...

While reading this poem I get the sense that Hughes does not find America all that amazing. I think he use to think America was a great place. He probably thought America was the land of wonders or the land of dreams like most people do. But when he got to America he realized that those dreams he had weren't accomplished by people like him because of the simple fact that all people weren't treated equally. For some people "the dream" is easily acquirable and for others it could never be achieved. "The Dream" is based on luck. It depends on who you know and your charisma but also your social status and racial background. I also think that Hughes believes America is an unjust place. He feels that the people who worked the hardest (blacks) and did all of the work to make America the place it is, are being treated terribly. The "white man" is the only one who really benefits from America. I get the sense that Hughes will MAKE America the America he wants it to be and he's not just going to bend to any rules. I agree with Langston whole heartedly about everything that he's saying. People think America is some great place. We're terribly far in debt, our people are corrupt, there's so much going on in the dark and under the table. America still isn't America to me. At least not the America people seem to dream.