August 29th Poem- 1943

The first thing that stood out to me with Donald Hall's Poem "1943" was the structure. He keeps all the lines within the same length and has them spaced with two lines in each stanza. The structure gives me a matter of fact felling about his poem; like there is no distraction with how it is all set up. On the website poets.org-a site that gives backgrounds and bios on numerous poets- said that, "Hall has long been placed in the Frostian tradition of the plainspoken rural poet. His reliance on simple, concrete diction and the no-nonsense sequence of the declarative sentence gives his poems steadiness and imbues them with a tone of sincere authority. It is a kind of simplicity that succeeds in engaging the reader in the first few lines." The fact that Hall gives such "simplicity" makes his poems stand out all the more.

This poem is also a kind of tribute to Hall's life. Hall was born in 1928 in New Haven, Connecticut. This means that Hall was already 15 at the time of America entering World War II-prime age for a prospective solider. Hall had to experience the pressures of being a teenage boy at the time of war. As Hall said himself,
"They toughened us for war. In the high-school auditorium
Ed Monahan knocked out Dominick Esposito in the first round

of the heavyweight finals..."

The Heart of Darkness

About a week ago, my church ended a series called "Heroes...broken not made." The series consisted of heroes throughout the Bible that were called upon by God to lead. Some of these people included Jonah, and Joseph. In every story, God's chosen people didn't want to be chosen. They denied God time and time again. By doing this, Jonah, and Joseph were broken down to nothing. Jonah was eaten by a giant fish and Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Through all the hurt, disappointment, and betrayal that the men went through, they became heroes. Heroes are broken, not made.



This is exactly how I viewed Marlow throughout the story. Marlow in the end seem like the hero that saved the day for everyone. He got Kurtz, he restored the ship and he was there for Kurtz during his death. Being the hero didn't come with the glitz and glam that it's made out to be. Marlow was broken. Broken just like Jonah and Joseph. It might not have been in the same spiritual way, but still broken. Marlow felt that the world wasn't what it was supposed to be. He was also a huge cynic of his surroundings. In the end, the only way for Marlow to be the hero was to be broken. He had to feel the trials and tribulations of the world in order to make it feel right. Without this view of the world, Marlow would've just been another narrator.

The Kite Runner

My favorite part of this book would have to be the constant reference to Hassan (Hazara servant to the narrator) from begging to end.

Hassan stood out to me the second he was introduced. His loyalty, unconditional care, and venerability toward Amir (narrator) made him an unforgettable aspect to life. A character like Hassan is once in a lifetime. And Amir knew it. Amir had to live with the fact that he would never be the character Hassan was; he wasn't loyal, he wasn't caring, and he defiantly never made himself venerable. Amir had to live with the fact that his own father showed more love to the Hazara servant than him. Amir had to live with the fact that he hated one of the best things that would happen to him. Amir lived with the agony of Hassan. His best friend.

I really hate when my favorite people in a book are killed. That's what this summer has been filled with from reading these books. All the good guys getting killed. Personally I felt such sorrow when Rahim Khan told of Hassan's death to Amir. The betrayal and wrong doings that had fallen upon Hassan brought his story together all the more.

The twists and turns that took place throughout "The Kite Runner" were unlike anything I have ever read before. Just when I thought things would get better, Amir didn't step in between Assef and Hassan, Amir framed Hassan for stealing, Amir and Baba fled to America, Baba died, Amir and Soraya couldn't have a child, Rahim Khan was dying, Hassan had been killed, Sohrab had been taken by the Taliban, Assef had Sohrab, Amir almost got killed by Assef, Sohrab couldn't be adopted, Sohrab felt life wasn't worth living anymore. Although there were tiny victories throughout, the defeats were overwhelming.

In the end, through all my disappointment, the tiny victory for Amir-Sohrab's slight smile while flying a kite-was good enough for him. All of the irony that came with Amir's life left him happy and content with himself at last.