Nostalgic Memories In 'Facing It'
Just as farmers brand their livestock in order to claim them as their own, humans do the same when it comes to important events. There are certain moments in one's life when an incident is so powerful, emotionally or physically, that it leaves a mark on a person forever. The branded symbol that is left could be positive or negative, but there is no doubt that it has caused a wave of all-encompassing feeling. And although when looking back at the past the majority of our memories tend to be viewed with a black and white perception, it is these rare occurrences when a certain event can be so distinct that it is like experiencing it once more. This experience that was once felt with the body and the mind is now felt forever in the heart and soul. The nostalgic memories are not always seen as the positive memories that one wishes to. However, sometimes those are the only ones that you can remember.
Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It," written about the flooding of vibrant flashbacks of war when a veteran visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site, is a poem which fully incorporates an underlying theme of nostalgia. Equally, in "Ghost of a Ghost," written by Brad Leithauser, a man is distraught over the fact that despite the remembrance of his accident, his family has totally forgotten him and moved on. These poems, which apparently both deal with the issues of death and remembrance, portray a sense of nostalgic value in that one character wants to return to what he once knew, while the other is desperately trying to flee from any memory of his past experience. Mutually, the poems "Facing It" and "Ghost of a Ghost," respectively, deal with the reflection of the past as well as...
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...thing of his wife snoring those random nights he is nostalgic for. After time it was even comforting to him. The father is nostalgic for the comfort of the happiness that he received from his family.
Using Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It" and "Ghost of a Ghost," Brad Leithauser's one can see that there are certain moments in life when an incident is so powerful, emotionally or physically. Some of these moments when we look back tend to be viewed in a black and white perception. In Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It," this sense of nostalgia is shown through traumatizing flashbacks of war when visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site. In "Ghost of a Ghost," a man is upset that his family has moved on since his death. In these poems, one character wishes they could go back to the days he once knew and the other wants to leave behind any memory of his past experience.
Every story, every book, every legend, every belief and every poem have a reason and a background that creates them. Some might be based on historical events, some might be based on every culture´s beliefs, and some others might be based on personal experiences of the authors. When a person writes a literary piece, that person is looking for a way to express her opinion or her feelings about a certain situation. A good example is the poem “Southern Mansion” by Arna Bonptems. The main intention of “Southern Mansion” could have been to complain, or to stand against the discrimination and exploitation of black people throughout history. However, as one starts to read, to avoid thinking about unnatural beings wandering around the scene that is depicted is impossible. The poem “Southern Mansion” represents a vivid image of a typical ghost story which includes the traditional element of the haunted house. This image is recreated by the two prominent and contradictory elements constantly presented through the poem: sound and silence. The elements are used in two leading ways, each one separate to represent sound or silence, and together to represent sound and silence at the same time. The poem mixes the two elements in order to create the spooky environment.
An Analysis of Facing It Yusef Komanuyakaa's poem "Facing It" is a brutal examination of the affects that war leaves upon men. The reader can assume that Komanuyakaa drew upon his own experiences in Vietnam, thereby making the poem a personal statement. However, the poem is also a universal and real description of the pain that comes about for a soldier when remembering the horror of war. He creates the poem's persona by using flashbacks to the war, thereby informing the reader as to why the speaker is behaving and feeling the way he is. The thirty-one lines that make up "Facing It" journey back and forth between present and past to tell the story of one man's life.
The memories of an individual will give shape to their own identity and how they are able to perceive the world around them; memories allow an individual to look back at where they were and where they are now and to see the contrast of their current life. In the text “Ru”, Kim Thúy, the narrator, finds herself looking back at her memories of her life and dreaming for more. When she arrives at Mirabel airport in Quebec, she is awestruck by the peace and beauty of it compared to her past in in the refugee camps of Malaysia and war torn Vietnam. Throughout her visit, she is able to dream of her future outside of her bleak memories of her past, and imagine a future without the constant strife of living in a post war life. Kim is able to use her memories to shape who she wants to be and allows her to truly admire where she is and where she wants to go, setting a path for her to follow throughout life. In the text, “Ru”, Kim Thúy uses her own past and memories to demonstrate the idea that an individual's memories will shape who they are and show them a life they want to live, whether it is a memory they want to revisit or a memory in which they wish to leave behind. Kim’s present is influenced greatly by her past and allows her to appreciate the little things all that much
Many people look back on memories with a pleasant slant. A backpacker may love to go to the mountains, but every time that person ventures out he encounters a blizzard. The weather is not always conducive to the backpacker and can cause great discomfort. However, when the hiker returns to his normal routine he usually forgets about the bad experience so that he can continue loving the mountains and happily plan his next adventure. Similarly, Theodore Roethke's, "My Papa's Waltz" is a poem about a man who tries to make a horrible event into something much more pleasant to think about. The speaker seems to be remembering back to his childhood and finally uncovers dark memories about his father. The child in the poem finally realizes that childhood was full of scary nights in which he sometimes feared for his life. The speaker has tried for years to believe that he loved his father, but he finally understands what really happened in his boyhood home.
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
Setting is expressed, in this poem, through the narrator’s perspective. The narrator helps create a sense of alertness, because he starts to notices planes flying, and red birds. He even watches the names reflect off a woman’s blouse. The narrator’s reactions characterize, “the contradictory feelings veterans may experience visiting the site [Vietnam Veterans Memorial]: wondering why they are alive while their comrades are dead.”(Peck) These emotions are expressed throughout the poem, and are a crucial part in shaping the environment around the narrator. In addition, the aloof nature of the other visitors shapes the overall environment the narrator steps into, “No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.”(Komunyakaa 63) The author’s character enhanced the setting, by allowing the reader insight into the narrator’s mind. The character’s voice enhanced the setting, by comparing his skin color to the black granite memorial, “My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite.”(Komunyakaa
amnesia. It is through the theme of forgetfulness that a connection between the writer an...
As I have been reading memoirs about memory for this class, each essay made me recall or even examine my past memory closely. However, the more minutely I tried to recall what happened in the past, the more confused I got because I could not see the clear image and believe I get lost in my own memory, which I thought, I have preserved perfectly in my brain. The loss of the details in each memory has made me a little bit sentimental, feeling like losing something important in my life. But, upon reading those essays, I came to realize that remembering correct the past is not as important as growing up within memory. However, the feelings that were acquired from the past experience tend to linger distinctly. The essay that is related to my experience
Ruth Stone writes a poem that captures how memories even though they may not be yours but someone else’s can impact a person’s life. Her poem called “The Latest Hotel Guest Walks Over Particles That Revolve in Seven Other Dimensions Controlling Latticed Space” is about a woman who goes to a hotel room, a room that many soldiers who have fought in wars long ago, have also resided in. The poem continues to talk about how the men that have stayed in the room before her are still in the room with her. The remains of their skin and hair follicles are buried deep down in the carpet and mattress. The woman wonders who the soldiers were and what war they could have possibly fought in. Stone says, “Its feet are bandaged with the lint of old sheets. It is the rubbish of all the bodies who sweated here. She composes all of these thoughts of who could have been in the room before her and thinks that if she took little pieces of each soldier she could make a new droid composed of all the men combined. Memories combined or alone make up something
In addition to sorrow and sympathy, with memories one can also obtain an immense amount of knowledge and wisdom. With certain memories of loss and fail, one can prevent the mishaps that might occur in the future. For example, when the ...
The poem “Alzheimer’s” by Kelly Cherry explains how glorious a man’s life was before a brain harming disease became a factor within it. Alzheimer’s is a disease that slowly causes one’s brain to deteriorate, to slowly forget about the past, and can even cause people to forget how to breathe or walk. The setting of the poem takes place at a house in which a man, the main character, is returning home after suffering problems caused by Alzheimer’s. According to the poem “Alzheimer’s”, the man’s memory was becoming cloudy but fragments of the past stayed within his mind because he “remembers the walkway he built between the front room and the garage.” Cherry utilizes words describing the man’s life, making strong comparisons between the present
Occasions of grief, loss, death and trauma are profoundly life altering. In memoirs of grief and bereavement, we see this again and again. Often memoirs of grief do little to paint an intimate portrait of the person who has died rather, the focus is generally centred on the perspective of the narrator. Invariably memoirs provide an account of the profound way grief alters their perception and experience of life after. They capture the psychosocial transition and identity crisis of grief, the disequilibrium triggered by incomprehensible and senseless loss of life and the immense change that ultimately comes to pass when navigating unchartered waters of bereavement.
Throughout the times war has effected people immensely both physically and mentally. All people deal with their circumstances differently to help cope with what they dealing with. Whether it’s a fatality in the family, or post traumatic stress disorder most people find a way to heal from injury or emotional damage. In Brian Turners poem, “Phantom Noise,” he writes about the constant ringing he hears from the war he served in. The poem expresses that Turner seems to deal with his emotional damage by writing poetry about what he feels, hears, and sees during the time he spent in war and in civilian life. Even though Turner is no longer in war it still effects him greatly each day. The overall tone of the poem is very solemn and makes the reader
Essentially, memories are compositions of fiction, crafted from selected representations of experiences, both authentic and invented. Even further, they serve to provide a sort of framework for creating meaning, value and purpose in one’s life. However, in Beloved, memory is represented as a dangerous and debilitating facility of the sensitive and penetrable human consciousness. The main
I suppose there is something to be said about these fun and great memories as a force that allows us to feel less alone in this world. There is truly a benefit to reminiscing and basking in our memories. I also think that there is a certain bleakness to the realization that no two people can truly share the same thoughts and emotions, our shared memories are proof that there are an infinite number of things that connect us to millions of strangers. Yet, this sentiment, beautiful as it