Book Club #7

Reading the novel has given me quite a headache at some points.  For example, half the time I don't know who is being discussed or what event is going on because of the numerous unfamiliar names and places presented.  Sometimes I wonder if Filkins should have focused on one person's story and experience with the war and did a longer profile piece on that person.  He still could have incorporated all of his information regarding the culture of Iraq but by focusing on a main event or person, the account may have been more comprehensive.  Filkins discusses a lot of events and uses great imagery especially when he discusses the death of Americans, Iraqis, and even infants.  I do feel that the names of people and places does distract me from the meaning of his novel even though I still believe one of the central themes/theses is that the Iraqi culture is not much different than American culture.  I'm wondering if he took too many notes and quoted too many people during his time in Iraq.  If he had followed the doctor of the hospital where infants were dying daily, that might have been a great story to see how the hospitals were before and after Saddam Hussein's reign or before/after the war.  Or he could have followed a family who had lost relatives due to the American or Iraqi soldiers.  He included a lot of information in this novel that might have been better if broken up into shorter works.  It's an easy read as far as the language but as far as the people and events go, it gets terribly confusing.

Book Club #6

Kaifesh hands out money to the people he knows is either killing Americans or Iraqis or withholding information from him about it.  He claims that the American money he is "doling out" to these insurgents and their families is buying "goodwill" until more can be done.  They file claims that Americans have killed their relatives and that they should be compensated for it.  They don't want to go to the Iraqi government for help now that they have one.  They just want the money and they don't deserve it entirely.


This reminded me about some of the people who abuse our welfare system in America.  A lot of people on welfare are stereotyped as drug addicts and low-lives who are too lazy to work or keep having kids in order to keep getting money from the government.  They know they are doing wrong things but all they care about is the money and essentially hurt our local economies because the other people are supporting the drug habits and kids that some people shouldn't have.  


This is a biased statement and I don't know that people are abusing the system this way but it is a very strong possibility.  Like the Iraqis looking for money, some people on welfare are just looking for their checks.  Some might say that people on welfare are stupid but that's not true.  They are every bit as smart as the next person however they just don't have the means to show it or the will to use their knowledge.  Asking the government for money is the easiest thing for them given their individual situations just like asking Kaifesh for money is easier than going to the Iraqi government.  

Book Club #5

Recently in another one of my classes we discussed the importance of language in business relationships and the importance of coherent communication between parties of different native tongues.  In this novel, Filkins discusses that a lot of the Iraqi's didn't know how to speak English as much as the English didn't know how to speak Arabic.  They used technology in some instances to relay messages to the Iraqi's in non-violent situations.  One Iraqi wanted permission to have water returned to his irrigation system.  The Marines used their tape recording of different phrases to express that they were there to help the Iraqis, and sure enough, they returned the water to the Iraqi.  


Communication barriers can have disastrous effects however.  For example, what if the Marines did not have that tape recording?  The Iraqi soldiers wandering into that part of the desert might have reacted violently to the Marine's gestures simply out of misunderstanding.  Would you trust a soldier who invaded your country?  I wouldn't.  Imagine feeling that way every day simply because you can't speak the same language as those around you.


Filkins obviously had a translator with him wherever he went.  It is lucky for him that he did because the translator has gotten him out of fatal and dangerous situations.  Shortly after the tape-recorder event, Filkins discusses that one man wanted to kidnap him and hold him for ransom; they could split the profits.  Thankfully his translator told him he wanted no part of that and saved Filkins from being a hostage of war.  Filkins has an advantage here that the majority of people in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war did not and still do not have.  If it weren't for the translators, Filkins may not have made it out of Iraq alive.

Book Club #4

The next section our group read over Spring Break included chapters 7-15, quite a lengthy section but we're keeping up with the reading.  In our last meeting we discussed the cultural differences as being a prominent theme in the novel.  This may turn out to be a project idea for the Book Club presentations, but we haven't discussed that in detail as of yet.  Again, one of the main themes in our book focuses on how American culture is not all that different from Iraqi culture aside from some of the extreme religious aspects illustrated in the book.  Presentation ideas involve songs regarding the war, photos from the novel and from the photographer that contributed to the novel, and getting feedback from the class.  The book is still confusing for me in some aspects which include the different names of people mentioned in the book but I don't think that extracts from the central themes of the book at all.  It would make it more comprehensible to understand the names but one can still get the main ideas of the book through comprehending the scenes presented.

Essay #3 Idea - Magazine Feature

For Essay #3 we are to write a piece for a magazine or newspaper feature.  I immediately wanted to write about the recent issues my family and I have been dealing with however I'm not sure if I can write the piece because I am related to the individual the story would be about.  My sister was in a devastating car accident last Friday night and was med-flighted to Beth Israel hospital in Boston.  She is doing well and her plastic surgery begins Wednesday.  As a young adult at age 19, Ashley, would be a great opportunity for a story in a magazine such as Seventeen, which is the publication I would model the story after.  They always have a dramatic story or story of something terrible a young adult overcomes in their lives in their publications.  These features often have messages and lessons to be learned as the magazine is geared towards young girls and women.  If I could write this story I would write it objectively and try my hardest to leave my feelings and opinions out of it.  This would obviously be a little difficult seeing as the star of the story is my younger sister.  I would still like the opportunity to write it, but if not, it is completely understandable.  I have pictures I could include just like a magazine would and I have access to quotes and people directly involved with the accident.  

Book Club #3

For the second reading assignment, our group read the next three chapters of the novel which included chapters 4-6.  This section delved into a lot of the customs, traditions, and feelings regarding American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.  I remember at a few points that some of the Iraqis expressed that they desired normalcy in their everyday lives as the Iraqis often "stood up and reached for it"(82) when it presented itself.  While reading this novel I can't shake that notion that has almost been implanted in my mind that Iraq is bad and Afghanistan is bad and that everyone who lives in those nations is bad.  Why do I feel this way?  My country has portrayed them as horrible people when the majority of them are much like our own citizens who are governed and led by the wrong people.  This happens in our own nation and has happened in the pass.  Not everyone was a member of the Ku Klux Klan but southerners got a horrible reputation because of the group's beliefs and treatments of non-Caucasian races.  At one point in our history we even held a concentration camp for Japanese people on our homeland soil after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the events that ensued.  I was also angry when one of the Islamic people expressed that "the Americans did not allow us to have a proper ceremony" (107).  What right do we have to change cultural customs such as burial ceremonies?  I understand helping to renovate government policies but not something as spiritual and religious as a burial ceremony.  Yes, Saddam Hussein created a living hell for his people however, he was a martyr and the people should have had the right to express any grief they held properly according to their belief system.  As I read further I am gaining a greater appreciation for the people in the Middle East.

Book Club #2

For our first reading assignment, our group was to read Part One, or the prologue and chapters 1 - 3 in The Forever War.  Though only about 50 pages into the novel, this book contains vital information regarding important customs of the Taliban as well as graphic details involving how they deal with crime and how they live their everyday lives.  One instance that stuck with me has been the murder of one man as revenge for murdering another.  Accoriding to the Koran, the victim's family has the right to kill their family member's murderer, in public.  Another instance involved a thief who was caught pitpocketing.  He was ultimately punished by death but beforehand, his hand was severed while he was awake.  These people "fear the past" and in order to prevent certain things to occur again in their country and culture, they take care of problems in the most severe ways.  Because this is their culture, they see their "work" as doing good to preserve order and righteousness within their country.  It's amazing how different our cultures are.  This novel has been a really easy read so far due to the informal langugae and casual tone, however, a lot of terms involving the Taliban and the many names mentioned have been confusing at sometimes.  I'm not sure who they are talking about a lot of the times but that doesn't make the story any less interesting and it does not confuse the events.  I'm sure I'll get the names down as I read further into the book.

Book Club #1

The book I chose for Book Club is The Forever War.  I chose this book because I am extremely interested in firsthand accounts of major world events and personal memoirs.  This is the type of writing I hope to work on someday so reading this book just seems like a good fit for me.  It's a little long but the topic will make it a much easier read than one would expect.  I look forward to reading it.

Possible Profile Topics

For this profile assignment, I came up with three options that might serve as interesting profile pieces.  My first choice is to profile my best friend's father, Stephen McLaughlin.  He is a former Marine, is very involved with his church, and in his spare time, works doing "ghost-hunting" and exorcism work for locals.  I am extremely interested in the paranormal and I believe some of his stories might form a really interesting piece.  My second choice is a my General Manager, Bill Smith.  Every Monday morning I work with Bill one-on-one at 4:30am as we count inventory for the entire restaurant.  I'm always laughing based on the stories he tells me but I'm not quite sure how I would turn this into a profile.  I need to come up with a solid idea that would allow me to show his extremely comic side through a profile.  My third choice would be my Honors English teacher, Donald Burke, from my senior year of High School.  He was involved in the annual blood drive at my school, prepared the students to send in their college essays, and though the topics may not have been that interesting, he was extremely enthusiastic about his work and enjoyed getting to know his students based on more than there graded assignments.  I'm leaning more towards my first option.