memoir blog

My favorite memoir from this website is called Death's Lesson.  It was written by Mitchell W. a fourteen year old from Oregon.  He wrote his memoir about his grandpa dying.  I liked this memoir for a variety of reasons.  For one thing he uses very detailed writing to describe what is going on.  Whether it is using detailed writing to describe the hospital or adding small details such as how he tucked in his shirt.  He is always pointing out the small things.  Second I like the tone of the memoir, it is very reflective and you can tell that the writer is looking back on an event.  While The Chase had a quick exciting pace this is slower and sadder.  The writer does a great job mixing the actual story with the reflection on it.  It all happens together and it really pulled me in as a reader.  The last reason I choose this memoir is that I can relate to it.  It made me think a lot about when my grandma died a few years ago.  In the end the writer talks about the lessons that he learned from the death of his grandpa.  I like this and see it as a good final reflection on the entire piece.

Vietnam blog

The Vietnam war was, in the eyes of the American government was a war against communism. The North Koreans were communists and they wanted to take over the south and make a unified communist country. On the other hand the South Koreans wanted to be a Democratic nation separate from the communist north. China and Russia backed the north and the united states backed the south. Then north Korea invaded the south. The Vietnam war is the longest war in American history. It spanned through three different prsidents.
One of the things that made the Vietnam war so difficult for the Americans to win was the environment that the war was fought in. There was a lot of disease and It was hard for the American soldiers to fight in the area. Also the North Vietnamese army used guirelle tactics. Rather then just facing the American army they used a ton of hit and run attacks. Anouther problem for us was that the North was willing to lose just about anything to win and we were not.
I have a personal involvement with the Vietnam war. My grandpa was a full colonel in the army and was an airborne ranger. He deployed twice to the war.

Two Americas

Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again” talks about two different perspectives of America.  There is the real America and theAmerica that Hughes is wanting.  He is writing from the view of the oppressed people in the real America.  Hughes says that America has never really been the free land that many people try to make it seem like.  The oppressed are the poor, the Native Americans, the Africans, and the immigrants and he says that no matter how much people oppress them their will stays strong.  Hughes wants everyone to be equal in America.  He wants people to see others for who they are not just for what they do or do not have.  In the poem Hughes sounds kind of angry.  He is almost angry that everyone else does not have the same views as he does.  In the Great Gatsby the rich all seem to look down on the less wealthy.  This is exactly what Hughes is talking about in his poem.  He thinks that regardless of status people should all be equal.  I think that the American Dream has become very hard to achieve if you are born poor.  It costs so much to go to college and an education is now essential for a successful life.  The American Dream used to be accessible with out an education.  However now education is the most important thing.  Class mobility has almost completely disappeared in the United States now.