1. Today you will post 1 thought (interesting, original, etc...) about the story "Speaking of Courage." Use references/ quotes to/from the story for support.
2. Then, you will post a question to your classmates about the story.
3. Lastly, you will read through your classmate's posts and comment on one or more of your classmates posts.
1. Thought
ReplyDelete2. Question
Mindy B. Per 1
Comment on a classmate's question
ReplyDeleteMindy B. Per 1
1. I thought that this story was much more descriptive than the others. Most parts in it were describing things. "the lake lay flat and silvery.."
ReplyDelete2. Why was it called speaking of courage
Thought:
ReplyDelete“Speaking of Courage” gives us an idea of what soldiers went through when they were in Vietnam. War stories like this, would be the reason why a lot of soldiers came back with PTSD; dealing with all the stress of being away from home and not knowing if you’ll live the next day is a lot of handle and to add the stress of a friend dying and thinking it’s your fault makes it even harder.
Question:
What do you think the significance of the lake is?
Brianna C. Period 1
1. Thought:
ReplyDeleteI think that it is an honor for anybody like Norman Bower to get an award during the war. Not only did he get just one award, but “…then have listed the seven medals he did win” (141). These awards really show how hard and dedicated the people worked to get these awards. Also, these awards show how much pride you had in your country, and how well you protected it for the others.
2. Question:
Do you think that Norman Bowker’s life would have been any different if he really did win the Silver Star?
Eric K.---Period 1
1.I think that this chapter , “Speaking of Courage,” was the best at giving the reader background information about the character. It gave us an idea of how hard it is to live a normal life once you have seen and experienced tragedy.
ReplyDelete2.I wondered what the significance between the bigger houses on one side of the road and the smaller ones on the other meant.
Deirdre M. Per. 1
In this story, it was interesting how the town seemed to be unfriendly. A good example of this is on page 139-140 in the quote, “He honked going by, but neither boy looked up.”
ReplyDeleteWhy did he drive around the lake so many times?
Mike G. Per 1
I think that the story "Speaking of Courage" really gives us an idea of how soldiers may have felt after coming home from the war. Norman Bowker drives around the lake for so long just because it gave him a safe feeling. Also he feels that he has nobosy to talk to about his stories from the war. It just shows how much trouble the soldiers have after they get home from war.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why did driving around the lake make Norman feel safe?
Jake p. Per 1
1. I think that Normans father would be proud of him even if he told him the silver star story. I feel that there wasn't much Norman could of done for Kiowa, when he sunk into the mud. Norman was lucky he made it out of the Song Tra Bong river.
ReplyDelete2.Why does Norman care about what his father thinks, so much?
Conor d. per 1
3. Comment on other question:
ReplyDeleteI think that this story is called this because of all of the courage and bravery Norman Bowker had to have in order to win all of these awards.
Eric K.---Period 1
It must have been hard for soldiers to return home from Vietnam and not be supported. After so many years of being away, it would be difficult to adjust to regular life again.
ReplyDeleteI am unsure the symbolism of the lake, or what it means in general.
Aleem Ahmed
Per 1
Why does he keep driving around the lake so many times?
ReplyDeleteNicole P
Period 2
1. The chapter "Speaking of Courage" shows how war is always on a soldiers mind. Even after the war, you still can't forget about how bad it was. Norman drove around the lake numerous times, thinking about how his frind Kiowa died. He drove for hours imagainng how he would explain the story to his father, "On his eleleventh revolution..." (153)
ReplyDelete2. What does drving around the lake symbolize?
Rosalie D. Per 2.
In the story “Speaking of Courage” I thought what was interesting was that when Norman kept talking about the “S*** Field” which made me think that he was just referring to the whole country. I think that a lot of a lot of American soldiers didn’t like it there, so maybe there wasn’t such a field, but just calling the whole country one. One of the questions in the back of my mind are “Why would Norman think that his father wouldn’t like him a whole lot if he didn’t get more medals while he was in the army?”
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter Norman Bowker is fighting another war, PTSD. He drives around his lake at home over and over again for no reason. He had earned quite a few medals for bravery and courage however, he was disappointed that he could not get more. Mostly due to the fact that he wanted to make his father happy.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Norman not want to impress his ex-girlfriend with his medals?
Justin B.
I thought the story “speaking of courage” was in many ways scary. I think this way because Norman was a normal human before he left for the war, and when he came back he would just drive around his lake. He did this because he felt safe. I think it’s a little weird how someone would do that just because it was a safe thing to do.
ReplyDeleteAlex Altermatt
I think speaking of courage really showed how depressed the soldiers got during their time in the war. It shows how the soldiers also felt when they returned home. After they returned home from the war the soldiers didn't really have to do much. For example then said " The war is over and there is no place in particular to go." (137
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why is the lake so significant to Norman Bowker?
Erica M.
Why is this chapter called “Speaking of Courage”?
ReplyDeleteI thought the story; “Speaking of courage” was boring and pointless. I couldn’t understand why Norman Bowker came back from war and drove around his lake twelve times. Maybe because he felt safe there, or the lake symbolized something in his pasted before the war.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the Norman drove around the lake 12 times?
What did the lake symbolized?
Ryan P.
Period 2
Thoughts: The story "Speaking of Courage," you can tell that Norman has a lot of extra baggage that he doesn't know how to deal with. All he can do is drive around the lake and watch everyone else going along with their everyday life. When he goes to the A&W everything has changed, "'Punch the button and place your order. All I do is carry the dumb trays'" He can't even order a burger the way he used too. I think this is what catches up to him and that's why he hung himself.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:Do you think something, besides Kiowa death, happened to Norman at war that pushed him over the edge?
Chandlar F. P.2
"speaking of courage" shows us what the soliders feel like when they come home from war and durning the war. Many dont know if they will live to see the next day. When they do come home msny feel like they are good enough, like Norman Bowker he feels like his father will never be proud of him. he tries his hardest to impress his father but he feels its not good enough.
ReplyDeleteKaili F. period 2
Anyone wonder why the writer intentionally makes the reader bored? There must be a reason for this.
ReplyDelete"Speaking of Courage" was a very interesting chapter. It told us alot about the character and his background and also showed us how hard it is to go back to "the normal life" after living the crappy vietnam one for so long.
ReplyDeletewhat was up with him and that lake?!
Ryan C. per 2
I think that the lake symbolizes his return mentally from vietnam. He wants to be home and live his life again. Him driving around the lake could be showing how he wants to be back to normal, but cant quiote do it
ReplyDeleteJustin B. Period 2
Norman was remembering about driving around this lake and reminiscing on old high school times. It was a pretty boring passage in the story where useless facts fill the pages of the chapter “Speaking of Courage.” I like every other chapter in this book beside this one just because it really bored me out and it’s hard for me to read a book or anything that bores me. I need to stay interested to grab my attention so I was a bit confused what happened this chapter.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Tim O’Brien put this boring chapter into this interesting war story?
Erik T-Period 2
Comment:
ReplyDeleteI think Norman's life would be different if he had won the silver star. He wouldnt have the guilt of lettig go of Kiowa and he would have no problem telling his dad that he saved his friend.
Rosalie D. Per 2.
1.7 - I think this story shows how hard it is for soldiers coming back from war to adjust to daily life. I still think it would be way cooler if Godzilla showed up and ate Norman Bowker's car though.
ReplyDelete2.7 - Anybody else think the way the author described the day ending was weird?
Chris B.
Comment on Jake P:
ReplyDeleteI think the he felt so safe in the car because it was something he coulkd control. Everything else around him was moving with or without him. The car needed him and he needed it.
Chandlar F. P. 2
The story "Speaking of Courage" was one of the harder stories to understand. It was one that you really had to think a lot about to get the meaning behind it. Norman talks a lot about what he could have done and what he would say to everyone about the in the field the night Kiowa died. That was the meaning, Norman speaking of the courage he showed that night trying to save Kiowa and the courage Norman thought he should have shown that night. Norman kept mentioning that night over and over again in his mind and he wanted to save Kiowa and, he believed, didnt show enough courage
ReplyDelete2. Did the lake have any symbolism to it?
N.Vass Per 2
I think thing that in "Speaking of courage," Norman wanted so bad to make his father proud of him and get every medal he could. He won seven medals and had a chance to win another. I think he really wanted to impress his father and not getting every medal he could may have made him think that his father wasn't proud of him.
ReplyDelete2. Why doesn't he think his father is proud of him?
Alexa
Period 2
I thought that this chapter was very interestinig becuase it shined light on the fact that when some of the soldiers returned from Vietnam, they didn't receive the welcome wagon when they returned. "A tour bus feeling,in a way,except the town he was touring was seemed dead." (page 143)It's like Norman Bowker couldn't really recognize his own home town when drove around the lake.
ReplyDeleteNickel & Dimed: Serving in Florida
ReplyDelete*Interesting Quote: "But as the days go by, my old life is beginning to look exceedingly strange. The emails and phone messages addressed to my former self come from a distant race of people with exotic concerns and far too much time on their hands. And when I sit down one morning in my real home to pay bills, I am dazzled by the two and three figure sums I owed to Club Body Tech and Amazon.com," (34).
---> I found this quote to be interesting because it seems to me like low class workers have more depth. I feel like people with high paying jobs don't do as much labor as the lower class and get paid so much more. Why is it that jobs like waiters or maids have to do hard work for low wages? It really doesn't make sense to me. This quote pops out at me because it really shows how different the upper and lower are from each other.
*Connection to GOW: I can relate this to GOW in the way that these hard working farmers make so much less than the bankers who drove them off their land. I just have trouble understanding how hard work gets so much less than jobs that don't require as much physical labor. As I said earlier in my post, it seemed as though the people Barbara originally worked with had so much time on their hands compared to the people working for the maid service, etc.
*Discussion Question: Do you think that higher paying jobs are sometimes less work than lower paying jobs? If so/if not, Why?
Kelly L, P5
I thought it was interesting that he could tell the time by just looking at the position of the sun and that he described it as one of those things you just pick up.
ReplyDeleteWhy does he wade into the water at the end of the story?
Sarah W. per. 7
1. I actually liked this story a little more than some of the others because it was more relaxed than the rest. It was a nice change from all the violence and death in the past several chapters.
ReplyDelete2. Why would he choose to just drive around the lake?
Tim O. Per 7
I think this chapter shows how hard it is for soldiers to deal with coming back from a war. It was hard for Norman to adjust to life. He had no one to talk to about the war so he just drove around all day.
ReplyDeleteWhy couldn't he talk to his father?
-Jon Roos
I think that Norman felt guilty for not winning the medal because he wanted to make his father proud and he didn't get to do that. I also think that he felt guilty for kiowa's death because he wasn't able to save his bff. i also think that this chapter shows how the soldiers have to deal with the things they see everyday in war for the rest of his life, and that must be a hard thing to deal with the rest of your life.
ReplyDeleteCarelllyyyy Rojassssss<3 . Period 7
&& I<3BACON2 YOOO :)
Norman's depression seemed to increase the story went on. He could find nothing to be happy about when he returned home from war. He would repeat to everyone how he won seven metals and each time he said it he grew more and more glum.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Norman was happy about recieving seven metals?
Comment on Erik K.
ReplyDeleteI don't think his life would have been any different.
-Jon Roos
I think this story was sad because it was the all about how he is just getting back from war and he likes to drive around the lake because he feels in control of the car. this it the first thing he could controle since he got back from the war. It also tells us about what the men in war went through while at vietnam
ReplyDeletewhy did he feel safe around the lake?
To Nicole P:
ReplyDeleteI believe he drives around the lake a lot to keep a grip on his depression.
This story basically reflected Norman Bowkers time in the war and how his life stinks. For example, it talked about how his father doesn't care, and no one would even care to listen about the war. Also, all the hard times he went through in the war.
ReplyDelete"Sometimes the bravest thing on earth was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones," (147)This quote is an example on how the tone and mood of this story is throughout.
Question: Why didn't Norman try his hardest to save Kiowa?
Julie S. p.7
Norman drove around town because it made him feel like he was watching out for himself. The war had made him more aware of what was going on in the world around him.
ReplyDeleteMichael E.
Comment on Nick V.: The lake symbolised Norman's past life and how is life is different now.
ReplyDeleteJulie S
"Speaking of Courage" was unlike any other chapter in TTTC since it really opens up to Normans thoughts. This chapter shows that someone who has been in war will always reminisce on past thoughts. He not only had sorrow from it but a piece of him that was permanently damaged.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why was he driving around the lake?
Gianna Montz
Thought: I think the idea of the lake was that it was just one of those places where you can escape and just think about the things that have happened in your life. Being at war you're away from everything, for you nothing changes, but for the people at home everything changes. People move and and things change. So i think he was thinking about everything & everyone that has changed and moved on while he was at war.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Why didn't he talk to his father about the medals?
Kelly D.
Why was Norman Bowker so interested in what his father thought about him not winning the medals?
ReplyDeleteMany of my classmates' posts zero in on the true meaning of the lake and this is something that I wondered about this chapter as well.
ReplyDeletethe story speaking of courage gives us an idea of what soldiers go through during war. it also talks about how it is hard to go through normal day life after the war dealing with ptsd.
ReplyDelete@ aleem. i had wondered the same thing
ReplyDelete1.) My thoughts about the story 'Speaking of Courage' are that Norman, who is driving around the lake, is depressed that he was not bold enough to win the silver star for valor. He believes that he would've won the star if he was just a stronger man, and that it was his own fault that his comrade was lost in the heat of the war.
ReplyDelete2.)Why does Norman drive around the lake? is the lake symbolic in nature? What does it mean?
3.)Comment on Julie S: He didn't try because he was paralyzed with fear; i assume the feeling was like standing in the road with a truck on it's way.
Jim P.
Answer to Conor's Question-
ReplyDeleteI think that Norman cares about what his father thinks beacause, his father is his biggest role model. He wanted to get the award so that he could live up to his dads expectations
Jake P. Per 1
ReplyDeletecomment on Aleems......
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism of the lake, is that the story revolves around it. The lake is like the nucleus of the story. Its the only place that comforts Norman.
conor d. p1
"Notes" was a really eye opening story. It shows how even though the war was over and the soldiers are now back to their normal lives, they cannot scape the problems from war. Norman could not find ways to keep himself content which ended up with him taking his own life.
ReplyDeleteQuestion- Why do these soldiers have such a hard time returning to their normal lives?
I feel that "Notes" was a great way to clarify the story "Speaking of Courage". Its so interesting how some people when they get back from the war, cant just let go what happened. I feel that Norman needed more people to listen to him and he wouldn't kill himself.
ReplyDeleteconor d. p1
I agree to what brianna c. said about the chapter " speaking of courage" It is so true what the soldiers had went through during war.
ReplyDeleteErica M.
Now that the war is over Norman Bowker is seeming more and more depress. Now that his good friend Kiowa is dead, all of the men are effected, but mainly Norman. He assumes that he betrayed his good friend and will no longer forgive himself even though he was not guilty his actions.
ReplyDeleteWhat did he mean when he said, “I'm saying it's possible as an idea, even necessary as an idea, a final cause in the whole structure of causation.”
I agree with you Eric K. The honor for anybody like Norman Bower to get an award during the war was very meaningful to him cause he did get more awards and he showed much dedication to his country. I think it was a very good thought about Norman and the accomplishments he had undertaken.
ReplyDeleteErica M.