Memoir Assignment

This one was my favorite memoir: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/readpoem.asp?id=6012&genre=Memoir&Page=3&sortBy=

 Just because it had some spunk and was really cute! I think that there were some good elements of it but there were some elements that could've been omitted. I don't think the writer develops the character well. She doesn't really develop Sam as a character. She doesn't even describe the way he looks, she basically just tells about him.   She's not really telling her story just he memory. She seems to have written it as it has been happening not looking back on it so it's kind of not a memoir really. I think she does do a good job by picking a subject that many readers can relate to. The title she picked made me choose this blog to read. There is really no tension or suspense building in her memoir. The only conflict is the conflict that many girls can relate to, not knowing if Sam feels the same way. Their also it little to know character development, this is a weird composition but I enjoy it. She does a good job of focusing on a particular subject though, but this is not the best memoir. This composition is more like a diary entry than a memoir but like I said before I enjoyed it. I really wish she would've described his personality and his physical characteristics more. This composition in my eyes wouldn't be called a memoir but a diary.  

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by the US. The war lasted 15 years, from 1959 to 1975. Many people say this was the first war that the US "lost". They started fighting in Vietnam because they wanted to stop the spread of communism. Communism is to many, a depraved way of living because the government has a lot of control. The Americans tried to glean as much information from Vietnam about converting to communism. The US did not want communism to spread in Southeast Asia. They believed that the communist forces would gain control of Vietnam. The US strongly opposes Communism because they feel it is not right. Before this "Vietnam had been split in half in 1954, after fighting a war to gain independence from France. When French forces withdrew, Vietnamese Communists gained control of North Vietnam" (Wiki answers, 2012). The southern part of Vietnam was weak and so that's where we Americans came in. In the beginning we were only giving them military and money support but then that grew into something more. We never did declare war on Northern Vietnam but we did bomb them more then we bombed people in World War 2. We went in also to stop the domino theory.  The domino theory is “which held that if one country fell under communist influence or control, its neighboring countries would soon follow" (Cold war, containment, 2012). In the end we lost the war basically and Vietnam became a communist country. The climate was very murky and hard for the soldiers who fought. Almost 60,000 US soldiers died. Also, Many American's did not support the war for various reasons. 

cited: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_US_become_involved_in_Vietnam and http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1965.html 

Let America Be American Again

This poem depicts the two sides of America. Which are the rich and the poor, I believe. He evinces these two sides by his tone and the side he "takes" in the poem. The writer seems to take the role of the poor man in America, and it’s his view that we are told. The America that we have now is that America is said to have ideals of equality, liberty, and land of the free which is not what we have. The America that Hughes calls for is an actual America full of equality and the land of the free. The writer substantiates his view through his tone; the poem seems kind of angry and resentful. He is criticizing all aspects of the American dream besides love kind of.... He is criticizing the fact that in America you are said to have the pursuit of happiness. Also you are said to have money and in this poem and the criticisms of the author of the Great Gatsby kind of argued that as well. You are said to have all of this in America but you really don't. Many believe the American dream is now feckless. I do agree that these criticisms are real, but really is anything ever promised? I don't think things are just given you have to earn them. A prime example of this is the character Gatsby, he had to earn everything he had nothing was given. The American Dream is still reachable today actually, and we can get it and many still want it. It just takes hard work and dedication nothing is just given nowadays you have to work for it. That in my opinion is the coherent payoff of actually achieving the American dream. I believe the dream is still tenable.