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.