Huge Martin is the author of Stick Soldiers, and throughout his writing he provides us with new
representation of war. The two poems I read were titled “M-16A2 Assault Rifle”
and “The Stick Soldiers”. In Assault Rifle, Martin talks about how he cleans
his weapon to almost perfection. He does such a good job that he wants to put
it up on his mantel. This cleanliness that the rifle now has, should be honored
instead of being used to bring death and destruction. The cleanness of this
rifle should not be tarnished by firing it. The other poem that I examined was
“The Stick Soldiers”. My favorite part of this poem is how similar all children
are. In this poem, both the children in America and the children in Iraq draw
pictures for the soldiers. Both groups of children want love and war. The Iraqi
children depict heart shaped humvees with stick soldiers friendly waving at one
another. The American children promise prays and draw Christmas things for
them. I thought that the way he portrayed the innocence’s of children during
times of war on the battlefront and home front was brilliant. You can tell that
the drawings he gets from both side mean a lot to him. The difference I saw
between the two poems I read and the authors we read this semester is he seems
like an average joe that is just trying to do his job. He isn’t a ruthless
killers, he just wants to do his job. Also, I think by writing in poem he
provides a more unique outlook of war then say a novel. In conclusion, Martin’s
writing is very cool and provides us insight to the Iraq War that most people
do not have.
I can agree with you that all the children want love but I don't think they want war. I can see how you might think that from the poem "The Stick Soldiers." However, I think the children draw those pictures because of what they have seen, either on media or in real life. Children are inherently innocent, and impressionable. They tend to portray what they see through their paintings with crayons and pencils. The American children draw one soldier which might be an American soldier who is about to throw a bomb at three Iraqi soldiers. I guess that's how American media portray what their soldiers are doing in Iraq. Oh, the Iraqi children draw "box shape" humvees not "heart shape" humvees. These Iraqi children seem to not be afraid of the American soldiers but rather friendly with them. On the other hand, these Iraqi children also recognize that their Iraqi soldiers are aiming at the American soldiers ready to shoot at any moment. This poem is pretty interesting. It's Christmas time, some children draw nice pictures of Christmas trees, presents, and snowmen. All of the children are supposed to draw happy and warm pictures but some of them draw soldiers killing each other instead. I think this shows how wars not only affect the adults but also affect the children in a less obvious way. It's not a good idea to introduce the idea of killing people to such young, impressionable kids. Though these pictures might sadden the soldiers, these soldiers still feel warm because there are people thinking about them at Christmas time while they have to be so far away from home and their family. These soldiers could have sit around a Christmas tree, telling Christmas stories, drink hot coco, and open their presents but instead they're in Iraq killing people...
ReplyDeleteDylan, great analyzation. We picked up on a lot of the same themes because I read M-16A2 also. I can see why you were drawn to that poem. Martin is writing about a gun and it is short and sweet. He speaks about the purity of his weapon and keeps the poem straight forward and to the point. There is no sugarcoating or unnecessary hogwash to drag on some faint meaning. Martin's writing is certainly new and refreshing, especially because he is writing in poem form and not a novel/book, thanks for pointing that out. Awesome post Mr. Davis, looking forward to the next one.
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