REVISED Prompt, Essay 3: How to Tell a True War Story

English 103
Essay 3: “How to Tell a True War Story”
Mr. Tompkins
April 29, 2015

The Things They Carried is a work of fiction set during the Vietnam War. It’s a war story, one that’s so believable that a reader unconsciously reads it as a piece of non-fiction. The chapter “How To Tell a True War Story” - despite its title - is definitely not a by-the-book explanation of how to share the facts of wartime experience. Instead, it creates a company of young American soldiers who remember examine, bend, boast, invent, mourn, worry, and argue about their experiences. The stories they share are entertaining, ambiguous, heartbreaking, bitter, and bursting with life. Truth and lies and right and wrong turn out to be as elusive as the relationship between feelings and facts.

Near the end of the chapter, you’ll find the following paragraphs:

“To generalize about war is like generalizing about peace. Almost everything is true. Almost nothing is true. At its core, perhaps, war is just another name for death, and yet any soldier will tell you, if he tells the truth, that proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life…

“Mitchell Sanders was right. For the common soldier, at least, war has the feel - the spiritual texture - of a great ghostly fog, thick and permanent. There is no clarity. Everything swirls. The old rules are no longer binding, the old truths no longer true. Right spills over into wrong. Order blends into chaos, love into hate, ugliness into beauty, law into anarchy, civility into savagery. The vapors suck you in. You can't tell where you are, or why you're there, and the only certainty is the absolute ambiguity. 

In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it's safe to say that in a true war story, nothing much is ever very true.”

Write a 700-1000 word essay, using “How To Tell a True War Story” to examine the role of storytelling in The Things They Carried. Use the section quoted above as the launching pad for your paper. With those paragraphs in mind, ask yourself what we learn about war from the chapter’s stories: 

-Rat Kiley’s letter to Lemon’s sister

-Mitchell Sanders’s story - second-hand, since he wasn’t there - about the six-man patrol into the mountains

-Sanders’s additions to the story.

-The “drop dead” moral of the story: nobody’s listens (ask yourself: was there anyone in the world more isolated and insignificant than a grunt in the jungle of Vietnam) 

-The death of Curt Lemon - the narrator admits he’s told it many times with many different versions - a story about two boys playing catch in the sunlight, followed by sadistic, cruel payback. 

Use MLA formatting and citation standards.

April 29: Outline and write thesis statement

May 4: Limited discussion of rough drafts/progress

May 6: Paper due. Deliver your paper via turnitin.com

MESSAGE 4/28 to students (Tuesday night)

Message to students, Eng 103  April 28

Students, 

I said I’d have the prompt for our next essay available by dinner time tonight. I’m running a bit behind schedule, so please give me a bit more time.

When I finish, I will post it and also email it to you at the address you gave to school when you registered.

Sorry for the delay, I hope to have it finished in a couple of hours (it’s a little before 6 pm now). Thanks, I’ll see everyone tomorrow.

Mr. Tompkins

Question for Reading Presentation Book IV

The Gods are particularly meddlesome in Book IV of The Iliad. Describe how Zeus and Hera argue about the war at the start of the book. Then note what happens as things unfold, where the important and lesser gods all try to influence the fate of one side or another.

Prompt, Essay #2: Gods and Men in The Iliad

Gods and Men in Books I-IV of The Iliad.

The gods play a crucial role in The Iliad. These Olympian gods stir up trouble, they play favorites, and they sometimes scheme, trick, and lie.  They have passions, desires, and intense rivalries with each other. They often seem to regard mortals as so many chess pieces in the games Gods play. They are most predictable when considering - and being part of - the affairs of their mortal sons and daughters, but even then their powers can be thwarted and their selfish interests frustrated. Mortals regard the gods as powerful, but they rarely count on them for anything. Mortals might appeal to the gods’ sense of right and wrong or fair play, but those standards apply more to humanity than to the gods. 

Using Books I-IV in The Iliad, examine the role of the gods in the confrontation between Agamemnon and Achilles. The gods had favorites, and they played favorites. The made deals, they lied, and they changed their minds. Meanwhile, the Trojans and the Greeks had to play the hands they were dealt - even when they couldn't see all the cards. Discuss the relationship between gods and men. Examine the gods’ behavior as they argued or colluded with each other, and discuss what they did to interfere (or not) in affairs of man. Examine how mortals on both sides of the war tried to influence the gods in order to gain advantage, and how the gods responded.

Respond to this prompt in a 700-100 paper, using specific details from the text to prove your point (your citations must note the book and line number). Use MLA format standards.

Book II and III Reading Presentation Questions for April 8

Book II: Write a paragraph discussing how Agamemnon's speech in which he tells the Greek warriors to cut and run backfired. Discuss what was his intention, what happened, and why that happened.

Book III: Homer tells us that Paris was hated by the Trojans. Why was he hated? If he was indeed the cause of all their troubles, why were they fighting a war for him? (How would Homer have answered these questions?) Do you think this system of values is peculiar (or particularly well adapted) to a world of small city-states?

Agenda and notes for April 6 (if you missed class)

April 6

Agenda

Quiz

(character names)

(where is Troy)

Announcements:

  -I agree, too much reading. However, students need to be clever. What might that mean in the case of one of the most widely read poems/stories in the history of Western civilization?

(a little research please)

-tonight we’re going to tear apart chapter 1. 

General Discussion of The Iliad

HERE’S WHERE IT FITS INTO THE WORLD - PAST AND PRESENT

a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccdneMYVVVo

Today:

Here is as good a summary - background and all - as you’ll find: http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/arch/iliad/IliadGuide00.html

-compare the role of warriors in the Iliad with today’s NBA stars (team sucks? change team).

-who was P?

-what is “the judgment of Paris? 

story background: Paris the golden apple (Athena, Hera, Aphrodite) 

Agamemnon is the Greek king (Thracian), but Achilles is superstar warrior. The destroyed a Trojan town, and each got a woman for the effort. Ag - Chryseis, Achl -Briseis

Play the "K-Dot" summary: http://tompkins.websitesdepotla.com/eng103/

BOOK 1

-Achilles rage (god-like - it doesn’t really peak until Patroc dies - note that he really goes for B. but his love is reserved for P chapt 18)

  -what’s happened to provoke it (find lines)

-That rage and the course it runs is the driving force throughout the book

-Compare earthbound desires with those of the Gods. Who plays by what rules? for example examine the battle between hector and achilles (zeus - urged by athena - played a trick on hector in chapt 22)

-how do the mortals look at the gods? do they appeal to the gods ethics, their sense of right and wrong? describe how mortals might have looked at fate?

-What motivates mortals? Honor

-Hector vs. Achilles: bk. 6, lines 390-502 (Hector, Andromache, and Astyanax scene)

Book 1 questions:

Chapter 1: The Petulance of Achilles

1.1. Where did the “treasures” come from that the Greeks are squabbling over? Explain. 

1.2. What is Agamemnon’s relation to the other Greek leaders? (If he is in charge, why do people disobey him sometimes) - examine honor as the glue between leaders, sometimes it works, sometimes not

1.3. What is the relationship between the seer Kalchas and (1) the Greek forces in general and (2) Agamemnon in this instance? Why is Kalchas worried about his oracle? Should he be? 

1.4. Why is Agamemnon unwilling to settle for Achilles’ proposal that he get a girl from the next town they take to replace Chryseis? 

1.5. To what extent are women viewed by Homeric men as “property”? Are they like other “property”? How did they probably view themselves, under the circumstances? Why? How could we find out? 

1.6. Why does Hera love Agamemnon and Achilles both? 

1.7. Why do Athena and Hera, who show little affection for each other, both support the Greeks? 

1.8. What seems to be the political order that the Greeks are trying to maintain? How successful are they? Explain. 

1.9. Why is Achilles participating in the war? What arguments would be likely to persuade him that he should continue or ought to withdraw? Why?

Gods and Mortals in The Iliad.

Gods and Men in Books I-IV of The Iliad.

The gods play a crucial role in The Iliad. The Olympians stir up trouble, they play favorites, and they sometimes scheme, trick, and lie to suit their needs.  They are can be passionate and selfish, and have intense rivalries with each other. They often seem to regard mortals as so many chess pieces in the games gods play. They are most predictable when considering - and being part of - the affairs of their mortal sons and daughters, but even then their powers can be thwarted and their selfish interests frustrated. Mortals regard the gods as powerful, but they rarely count on them for anything. Mortals might appeal to their of right and wrong or fair play, but those standards apply more to humanity than to the gods. 

Using Books I-IV in The Iliad, examine the role of the gods in the confrontation between Agamemnon and Achilles. Discuss the gods’ behavior as they argued or colluded with each other, and discuss what they did to interfere (or not) in affairs of man. Discuss how mortals on both sides of the war tried to influence the gods in order to gain advantage, and how the gods responded to their entreaties.

Respond to this prompt in a 700-1000 paper, using specific details from the text to prove your point. Make sure to cite each example with a book and line number. Use MLA format standards.

Study Questions for The Iliad

Time of Action: About 3,200 years ago in recorded history's infancy, when humankind's imagination peopled the known world with great heroes and villains and nature reflected the mood of the gods inhabiting the mountaintops, the seas, the forests, and the unseen worlds above and below. Homer fashioned The Iliad, the story of the Trojan War, about 600 years after the war ended. The story is a mixture of fact, legend, and myth. 

Place of Action: The walled city of Troy and the surrounding plains in northwestern Anatolia, a region that is part of modern-day Turkey. Anatolia is west of Greece (across the Aegean Sea) and north of Egypt (across the Mediterranean Sea).

Names and Places

• Gods
  Zeus (Roman names, Jupiter and Jove): King of the gods, who prefers to remain neutral in the war but intervenes after a plea for help.
  Hera (Roman name, Juno): Queen of the gods, who favors the Greeks.
  Athena (Roman name, Minerva): Goddess of wisdom and war, who favors the Greeks.
  Hephaestus (Roman name, Vulcan): God of the forge, who favors the Greeks.
  Aphrodite (Roman name, Venus): Goddess of love and beauty, who sides with the Trojans.
  Apollo (or Phoebus Apollo): Highly revered and feared sun god, who sides with the Trojans.
  Ares (Roman name, Mars): God of war, who sides with the Trojans.
  Artemis (Roman name, Diana): Goddess of archery and hunting, who sides with the Trojans.
  Hermes (Roman Name, Mercury): Messenger god. He guides Priam to Achilles' tent to ransom the body of Hector.
  Thetis: Sea nymph who is the mother of Achilles. 
  
  
  Trojans
  Priam: King of Troy.
  Hecuba: Wife of Priam and queen of Troy.
  Hector: Bravest and most accomplished of the Trojan warriors; son of Priam. Achilles slays him. 
  Andromache: Hector's noble and dedicated wife.
  Astyanax: Son of Hector and Andromache.
  Paris: Trojan who took Helen From Menelaus. 
  
  
  Greeks
  Achilles: Temperamental Greek warrior and king of the Myrmidons, who were soldiers from Thessaly in Greece. Achilles, the protagonist, leads the Myrmidons against the Trojans. He is revered as the greatest warrior in the world; no man can stand against him. Achilles is the son of Peleus, the former king of the Myrmidons, and a sea nymph named Thetis. 
  Agamemnon: Commander-in-chief of the Greek armies and son of Atreus, the king of Mycenae. He incurs the wrath of his greatest warrior, Achilles, by taking the latter's prize of war, the beautiful Briseis. 
  Menelaus: King of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon. After his wife, Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, was taken by a Trojan named Paris, the Greeks declared war on Troy. 
  Helen: Wife of Menelaus, paramour of Paris, and the most beautiful woman in the world.
  Odysseus (Roman Name, Ulysses): King of Ithaca and brilliant strategist. He is unsurpassed in cunning.
  Patroclus: Greek warrior and beloved companion of Achilles.
  Diomedes: Greek warrior of extraordinary valor and ability.
  Calchas: Greek soothsayer who advises Agamemnon.
  Nestor: Wise old king who advises Agamemnon. 

Books 1-10

(1) Why are the Greeks and Trojans fighting?

(2) Why does Chryses come to Agamemnon?

(3) What is the cause of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles?

(4) What does Achilles ask Thetis, his mother, to do for him? Why?

(5) How does Priam (Alexandros) behave in the following situations:

____1. When the Greeks and Trojans met in battle?

____2. When Menalaos accepts his offer?

____3. When he sees Helen?

____4. When Hector shames him?

(6) What kind of person is Paris?

(7) Which gods fight for the Greeks? Which fight for Troy? Why?

(8) During the first battle Hector visits home. Why?

(9) Briefly describe Hector�s visit with his wife and child. Why is it hard for him to return to battle? Why does he go?

(10) How do the Greeks try to protect their ships? What is their fear?

(11) Why do the three envoys visit Achilles? What arguments do they present? How does Achilles respond to them?

Books 11-24

(1) Briefly describe how Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus become wounded. Who is winning at the end of this day's battle?

(2) How do the day's events affect Patroclus?

(3) Why does Patroclus want to enter the war? What is Achilles' reaction?

(4) What is Achilles' reaction after Patroclus' death?

(5) Why is it important for Achilles and Agamemnon to reconcile publicly?

(6) What hardships have resulted from Achilles' anger?

(7) How does the tide of war change after Achilles enters the war?

(8) What is to be Achilles' own future?

(9) How does Achilles honor Patroclus and dishonor Hector?

(10) Why do the gods interfere with Achilles' plans for Hector's body?

(11) What are the results of Priam's meeting with Achilles? Why?

(12) The Iliad ends without total victory for the Greeks. Why?

(13) Suppose the Greeks had come to regain Helen, but Achilles and Agamemnon had not quarreled. How would the story have changed?

(14) In what ways do the Greek gods behave differently from our own divinity?

(15) Contrast Hector and Achilles. Which do you like better? Why?

(16) In your opinion, is Achilles any different at the end of the story than he was at the beginning? Explain.

Detailed questions for chapter 1-6

Group assignments for The Iliad

The entire class is responsible for the Introduction, chapters 1-6, and chapters 23-24

Group 1 is responsible for chapters 7-10
Crystal
Georgeta
Wilson
Virginia
Cristina
Derek
Sebastian

Group 2 is responsible for chapters 11-14
Wilson
Min Suk
Pili
Cristina G
Jessica
Irubi
Xiao

Group 3 is responsible for chapters 15-18
Ashika
Edith
Albert
Deven
Sanjun
Nicolette N
Chia

Groups 4 is responsible for chapters 19-22
Irubi
Yvette
Nam
Bianca
Angelina
Axl
Nicolette K