Hugh Martin has a similar
writing style as Brian Turner’s. Martin’s writing style is lyrical but, all the
same, is gritty and unidealized. I really like the poem, “The War Was Good,
Thank You” because it has such vivid imagery that provokes nostalgia to the
reader. It has so much life to it that I could not help but feel something
after reading it—it left a mark on me. One of my favorite lines is “After weddings, people point rifles to the sky, and fire, / as if
wanting to put holes through heaven.” provokes a haunting feeling that cannot
be shaken.
In
“The Stick Soldiers”, there is a nostalgic tone to it—it illustrates a
juxtaposition of purity and the loss of innocence. We, as the readers, catch a
glimpse of children from back in the US writing cards to the troops in Iraq.
However, Martin does not end his poem on a happy note. He continues on and
writes how the children of Jalula send them pictures as well but written on
white chalk and, instead of wishing them good luck, their pictures are visceral
and illustrates violence. It’s melancholic but reveals how children are
affected by war and I think Martin portrays an authentic illustration of the
repercussions of war on children.
“The
Stick Soldiers” reminds me of Tim O’Brien’s approach to storytelling. It begins
in good spirits and depicts kids of America and their lightened morality, as a
result, you would think the poem will end on a fairly good note, however,
Martin pulls the rug from under your feet and does the unexpected. The ending
of this poem reveals the gritty reality of war. You might hope for a happy
ending, but the unexpected soon arrives and takes you by surprise.
Throughout Martin’s
collection of poems, readers can taste the pain in his words. It’s tangible. However,
like O’Brien, it has a detached tone to it. Martin is candid and does not leave
anything out. Although Martin and O’Brien fought
in different wars and decades, there’s a communion between them that can be
expressed through their writing.
Your comparison of O'Brien's and Martin's story-telling style is interesting. They both use comparison and contrast to highlight their point. I guess they do that so that they would not get caught in the single-story cycle. They do that so that they get the story from every angles, from every side. These stories do have an ending that no one seems to expect. They are different from other war stories that people usually hear.
ReplyDeleteI like the way Matrin writes....to me it's simple yet complex at the same time.Yeah his writing style is very similiar to that of Turner. I like how you compared the way he wrote "Stick Soliders" to O'Brien's approach in the Things They Carried. It does start out on a happy note I got a sense of appreciation at the beginning with how the children wrote cards to the Troops...then I got a sense of realness when he talked about how another group of children also send them pictures, yet it was opposite of what the kids in the US sent. It goes to show how people as a whole can be afected by a situation in different ways.
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