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Dan MetzgerDr. Alex Mueller ENGL 611Curriculum Unit Project14 March 2013

“Exploring Literary Forms with the Literature of the Vietnam War:”

Being the Second Curriculum Unit of ENGL 3xx: American War Literature

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

In contextualizing the curriculum unit for my final project, my intention is to teach these

lessons to an upper-level, post-secondary English course centered on American War Literature of

the 20th and 21st Century. I envision the course as a 300-level course that would consist of a

majority of English majors with the anticipated exception of non-majors interested in the topic

and seeking to fulfill a humanities elective. The course seeks to explore the evolution in

portrayals of and reactions to American military conflicts in literature. The conflicts studied will

span from the World War II through the current conflicts in the Persian Gulf. The course will be

titled “American War Literature.” The syllabus and reading list will present a variety of

perspectives of the nation’s involvement war from the perspective of active participants in these

conflicts (i.e. soldiers and veterans), journalists, and non-participatory citizens. The literature

examined in the course will include short stories, novels, poetry, song lyrics, journalistic

nonfiction, memoir, and film.

The curriculum unit I have developed is the second unit for the course, focusing on

literature from the Vietnam War and an exploration of literary forms used and, in some cases,

pioneered by writers who were involved in the war. This introductory statement will serve to

explain my choice of texts, provide a rationale for the unit as a whole, and state the broad

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objectives that the unit seeks to address. Each lesson plan contains a brief list of objectives and in

some cases the explanation for specific teaching methods.

Why these texts? Why these students?

Not only does the literature of the Vietnam War represent the tumultuous political

atmosphere of America in the late 1960s, but the nature of the literature itself is likely to interest

college-aged readers. The Vietnam War was the first American conflict where the average recruit

was under 20 years old (Johannessen 122). Johannessen claims that college-aged students are

particularly responsive to the literature of the war because it tends to focus on themes of the

bildungsroman and the “adolescence experience” (122-3). The age of the students in the

classroom will likely align with the ages of those young men they are reading about in the

literature. I consider the structure of the bildungsroman and how this “genre” of the coming-of-

age narrative is at the heart of most of the narratives, mainly because the “characters” fighting in

the war were just on the cusp of adulthood while creating this unit.

While there are many reasons to teach the literature of the Vietnam War, this unit seeks

to focus on examining the effect the war had on the human psyche in considering the

retrospective nature of memory and narrative when addressing the retelling of the traumatic

events from the war. I begin the unit with a selection of three stories or vignettes by Tim

O’Brien, an accessible and canonical Vietnam veteran writer. The selections are “The Things

They Carried,” “Speaking of Courage,” and “How to Tell a True War Story.” These texts speak

to the unit’s focus on the psychological exploration of narrative, and provide a literary form

(short story; metafiction) that students should find to be a comfortable starting-point for the texts

of this unit.

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The focus of form then shift into an exploration of bridging traditional journalistic

methods with elements of literary narrative by focusing on pieces from Michael Herr’s

Dispatches. There is a lesson plan in the unit that exposes students to a broadcast journalism

piece by CBS News in 1967, which provides context for the journalism that sought to report the

experiences of the men fighting. This is meant to aid in juxtaposing Herr’s experimental

journalism, which I present in a way that asks students to consider what sort of literature Herr’s

texts are, or what the different forms he draws on in forming a new hybrid form. Framing the

discussion in this manner allows for students to consider the way that the Vietnam War was

influential on the landscape of American literary expression.

The final text for the unit is not a print text, but a film made in the mid-1980s and

released in 1987. This film is Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, which fits with the previous

texts in its focus on the psychological effects war has on the young soldier in Vietnam as well as

an exploration of the methods of journalism in Vietnam. The film was co-written by Michael

Herr, which provides many opportunities for connection between texts. The film’s narrative

splits between Marine basic training on Parris Island, North Carolina, subsequently contrasted by

central character’s time in Vietnam, which is a glimpse into soldier life that has not been

presented yet in this unit. The training scenes are intensified and result in the murder/suicide of

one of the central characters of this first part of the film. I believe that these aspects of the film

will highlight the ways in which the soldier is stripped of identity and made to think as one part

of a unit, through psychological tactics, in his training before ever setting foot on foreign soil.

This all hearkens back to the idea that the individual is broken of their known identity, rebuilt in

the eyes of the Corps (here represented by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman), and then sent out to fight

in the jungles and cities of Vietnam.

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In defending film itself in a literature course, I believe that students will, having read the

materials presented read thus far in the unit, not only appreciate the change in form, but will be

keyed into the themes and narrative techniques that we have been discussing throughout the unit.

I believe they should be able to notice elements of bildungsroman, see the importance of music

with the soundtrack of the film, notice the ironic themes of brotherhood in the face of chaos and

death, and see ponder how the film includes elements of the grunt, the journalist, etc. in its cast

of characters.

The Big-Picture Objectives of the Unit

One the broadest level, this unit has two main objectives. The first is that the unit seeks to

have students encounter and engage with a variety of literary forms, exploring how each can be

used to explore the nature of narrative and dissemination of memory or experience though its

literary elements.

Students’ exposure to multiple literary forms, which each focus on the Vietnam War, will

allow them engage with what each form can offer a writer in terms of expressing ideas,

recording memories or events, and establishing theme.

o The forms focused on in this unit are:

fiction, or more specifically metafiction (short stories/vignettes)

journalism

“new journalism”

memoir

film

poetry (in the form of song lyrics)

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Students’ exploration of forms will extend to consideration of the basic literary elements in

Vietnam War literature, especially setting, theme, and character.

The second objective for the unit is to develop students’ critical reading and writing

skills. The texts for the unit and my methods of for instruction and student interaction with these

texts will encourage “…the kind [of reading] that can help us communicate with other

perspectives and ideas we have never before encountered, the kind of reading that literature

requires of us and most deeply rewards ” (Smith and Wilhelm 153). The in-class activities and

homework assignments are all designed to instill several different skillsets in students, including,

but not limited to:

Supporting claims with textual evidence

Close reading activities

Free-writing that works to generate original ideas and interpretations of

texts1

“Low-stakes” activities and short essays that will give students experience

with reading for critical analysis

Working with small groups (in-class) to brainstorm ideas and develop

interpretations of texts

These areas of student development build into the two main projects for the unit. First, there is a

formal group presentation that focuses on a scene analysis from Full Metal Jacket and requires

students to work in groups to formally present their analyses and how they situate the scene

within the film, the film within the unit, and the unit within the course. The second assignment is

1 This speaks to the concept from Smith and Wilhelm that “[T]he point here is to work fairly quickly to get at underlying principles of setting, and to create a compost heap of ideas for future writing, not to create anything polished” (85).

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a formal essay that will allow students to use their skills of close reading, claim building, and

methods of argumentation, skills that the unit encourages from its earliest lessons.

The assessment of these projects (each guided by a rubric) will provide instructional

closure. For example, I will be able to gain a sense of the effectiveness of my close reading

activity by focusing on students’ ability to perform close readings in their unit essays. The

rubrics have been designed to signal to my students the areas I will focus my attention on during

assessment. The goal here is that they will use the rubric to produce insightful, well-developed

presentations and essays that reflect the skills of literary analysis and the thematic discussions

addressed throughout the unit. I have designed the unit to assess also students both by having

them provide evidence of engagement with texts outside of class and by periodically collecting

in-class work. This will aid in monitoring the effectiveness of my lessons and it will give me a

sense of the students’ reactions and scholarly interactions with the texts I have assigned.

Essentially, my approach to this unit is to provide the students with a series of texts

related by topic, but not necessarily by form, and encourage them to notice connections,

differences, variations between the texts and their relationship to the portrayal of the Vietnam

War. My approach is non-prescriptive; the lesson plans call for a great deal of diligence on the

students, both individually and in groups, making their interactions and experiences with the

texts the driving force of instruction.

LESSON PLANS FOR CURRICULUM UNIT

Lesson 1: Physical and Psychological “Baggage” in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Duration: One 50-minute class session.

Objectives:

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Students will be introduced to the historical context that led to the beginning of the

Vietnam War.

This lesson seeks to introduce students to some the lingo used by the soldiers and writers

in Vietnam. While some of this vocabulary will be repetitious of literature encountered

previously in the course, there will be a fair amount of slang and acronyms that are

specific to the participants of the Vietnam War. The list of terms and slang (Artifact #1)

will help students understand this new terminology. This will aid not only in their reading

of this story, but in the texts for the remainder of the unit.

Secondly, because O’Brien’s story “The Things They Carried” deals with the

psychological “things” that the soldiers carry in addition to the physical, this lesson seeks

to develop in students an awareness of the psychological/social and physical setting of

Vietnam War literature.

Materials:

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien

Vietnam Jargon Handout (Artifact #1 only the first two pages of the PDF)

Methodology:

Students will come to class having read “The Things They Carried” and will have been

provided with the handout of military jargon (Artifact #1) in the class prior. I will have

explained that this handout will serve as a useful reference for the readings in this unit.

The class will begin with a brief conversation/lecture about the beginning of the Vietnam

War and a mini-biography about Tim O’Brien as a Vietnam veteran and canonical author of

Vietnam War literature (10 minutes).

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I will then break the students into four small groups and pose one of the following

questions to each group, explaining that their objective is to come up with two ways of

answering their question, both supported by textual evidence from “They Things They Carried.”

I will instruct each group to choose two spokespeople to present the two answers. (These

questions will also be provided as a handout, artifact not included in this project):

Group 1: What does Martha signify for Jimmy Cross? Explain ways that he “carries” her

physically and psychologically.

Group 2: In the scene about the thumb that Norman Bowker carries, is there or is there

not a “moral” in the situation? (I will explain to this group that they are allowed to have

both answers be affirmative or negative, as long as they include textual support. I will

also urge them to look outside this scene and at other places in the story to find their

support.)

Group 3: What do the characters’ reactions to Ted Lavender’s death tell us about their

attitudes toward their own danger? Describe the different ways that their jokes about the

situation may be read and how the men changed after his death.

Group 4: The narrator refers to the group collectively (“they”) and on an individual level.

What do the men all carry as opposed to what different individuals carry and what does

this tell us about the individual versus collective experience of military life?

The groups will discuss these questions for 20-25 minutes. I will listen in on each group,

fielding questions when necessary, and asking questions of the groups if I feel they can probe the

issues deeper than they are.

After the allotted time, the class will hear from Group 1’s spokespeople, which I will

open to a brief discussion to follow. This will follow in for each group. I will orient the

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discussion around the binary of physical and psychological “baggage” carried by the men

throughout the story. This discussion will last 10-15 minutes or until the class session is over.

Homework:

Read “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien

Class will wrap with the distribution of Artifact #3 to the class, which is a list of

discussion questions and instructions for a short essay due in the following class session.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 2: Dimensions of Setting in “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

The primary objective of this lesson is for students to engage with the literary element of

setting within the second O’Brien short story of the unit. The lesson is developed in a

manner that challenges the students to facilitate discussion about physical, temporal, and

psychological dimensions of setting2 by examining Tim O’Brien’s “Speaking of

Courage.”

A secondary objective for the lesson is for students to hone their skills as critical readers

and writers.

o In addition to preparing a short essay for the class session, they will share their

essays with their peers in small groups, which will encourage them to move

beyond a comfort zone they may be used to in which their instructor is the sole

audience for their critical writing.

2 Smith and Wilhelm, pg. 70-1

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o I have designed a “low-stakes” assignment that allows a student to focus on one

aspect of the story with the goal of honing their ability to develop a claim and

defend it with textual evidence.

Materials:

“Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien

Discussion prompt handout (Artifact #3)

Student response essays for the short paper assignment

Methodology:

Students will come to class having read “Speaking of Courage” and preparing a short

essay response about the vignette (as per the instructions/prompts on Artifact #3). As the

instructions on the assignment handout state, they should bring two copies of their essay with

them at the beginning of the class.

Class begins by collecting one copy of each student’s short response essay. This serves to

ensure that I receive the assignment for assessment from each student and for my own reference

during class. The students each hold on to the second copies of their essays to refer to during the

remainder of the lesson.

Using the assignment sheet and the questions for discussion, I will poll the class as to

what topics they wrote about for their responses, with the goal of breaking the class up into

smaller groups according to similar topics. I anticipate some overlap in topics addressed in the

responses and in case there is an uneven distribution of topics, I will have two or more groups of

the same topic or ask groups who focused on similar themes to consider variations of their

topics. The aim is to have groups of three-four students each. I will ask one group member to be

the scribe/recorder and another to serve as the spokesperson of the group.

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Once the groups are decided, the class will break up and begin by sharing their papers

with each other. I will encourage groups to read their papers verbatim, but they can choose to

share their thesis and a short excerpt instead or the textual evidence they used in defending their

position. The scribe will write down the general argument or striking elements from each essay.

Groups will be given approximately 25-30 minutes for sharing.

While the groups are sharing, I will peruse the essays that were handed in to get a

general sense of what students wrote about for the story.

The spokesperson from each group will then share the ideas and responses from their

group members, referencing the scribe’s notes. The discussion that follows will be driven by

responses from the groups other than that who has presented informally. I have designed the

assignment sheet for the short essay to serve as a way to facilitate further discussion with the

class. For example, if none of the students chose prompt #2, I will ask the class to find textual

evidence that supports a reading of what the lake in the story might represents for Norman

Bowker. (Prompt #2 states: “Think about the lake and what it might represent. What is the

relationship between Norman Bowker and the lake throughout the story? What can you infer

about their relationship?”)

The discussion is intended to cover the remainder of the class session.

Assessment:

Short response papers will be assessed based on the student’s claim and support.

Homework:

Read “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 3: Love, Beauty, and Aesthetic in War; O’Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” Part I

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Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

With this lesson, we move to the third and final O’Brien story in the unit, gradually

exposing the students to his style and commentary on the residual psychological effects

of his experience in Vietnam.

This story will illustrate ways that O’Brien presents the contradictory nature of his

recollections of the war and this lesson especially seeks to have students identify how his

descriptions and discussion about beauty and love change their experience as readers

when engaging with the topic of war.

Materials:

“How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien

Whiteboard

Methodology:

Students will come to class having read the story.

Class will begin with a free-writing exercise. As their prompt, I will ask the students to

begin by listing themes that “How to Tell a True War Story” addresses. Additionally, I will ask

them to reflect on their readings of the first two O’Brien stories and if and how the reading “How

to Tell a True War Story” has altered their interpretations of “They Things They Carried” and

“Speaking of Courage.” Students will be given 5-10 minutes for this exercise.

After this activity, the class will be broken up into groups of 4-5 students and assigned the

following moments in the story to consider the idea of aesthetic or beauty in war3:

3 Some of the content from this lesson plan is inspired by Ellen Greenblatt’s lesson titled “Love of War in Tim O’Brien’s ‘How to Tell a True War Story’”

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Group 1: Close read the description of the location where Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon play

catch with the smoke grenades.

Group 2: Close read the passage which first describes Lemon’s death (i.e. “when he died

it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and

sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and blossoms” (O’Brien 70))

Group 3: Close read the passage description of Lemon’s death at the end of the story

(O’Brien 84)

Group 4: Close read the passage of the story that begins by asking “How do you

generalize?” and further asserts that “war is grotesque” but “war is also beauty” (O’Brien

80)

The groups will be given 15-20 minutes to close read their assigned passages together and

prepare a small presentation of what they find for the class as a whole.

Using a whiteboard, I will keep track of the major points each groups’ close readings

have raised. After the groups have presented their findings, I will open the floor to a discussion

about what these points say about the nature of war memory or what the story says about a

veteran’s experience while recalling the events they lived through. I will prompt the students to

consider why O’Brien suggests that his war stories are really love stories, unless this point is

made during the initial discussion. This discussion will last approximately 15 minutes.

In closing the class session, I will ask students to share their responses from the free-write

at the beginning of class. I will also ask if their responses had changed after the ideas they

discussed in groups and as a class. This will last 5-10 minutes or until the end of the class

session.

Homework:

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I will assign my students to REREAD “How to Tell a True War Story,” taking notes on

the instances where O’Brien directly speaks to story-telling and the way that telling war

stories are different than other types of stories. They will each be responsible for

recording at least *two* aspects of a “true war story” to add to discussion for the

following class meeting.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 4: Metafiction and War Stories; O’Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” Part II

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

The primary objective of this lesson is to further the unit’s discussion of O’Brien and

retrospective narrative by considering “How to Tell a True War Story” as a metafictional

piece of literature.

Students will learn how to define and identify metafictional literature.

My aim with this lesson is to have students find the ways in which O’Brien suggests war

is ultimately indefinable in general terms by looking at the contradictory nature of war

stories.

This lesson will also be a way to have students interact with a canonical piece of

metafiction, therefore the lesson is designed to expose students to the theoretical design

of this literary mode. The selected text serves as an invaluable example of metafiction

and war literature.

Materials:

“How To Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien

Whiteboard

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A series of Power Point slides defining metafiction. These slides include a definition and

etymology of the word/concept, novels or stories that serve as examples of metafiction,

and one or two passages from seminal novels/stories that highlight a text as a metafiction.

The texts chosen will deliberately not take up the topic of war, in order to show students

that the form is by no means limited to the topics of this course. (Artifact #2 represents

the first of this series of slides, highlighting the definition and etymology of

metafiction)

Methodology:

Keeping in mind that this class session is the second of two lessons that ask students to

engage with “How to Tell a True War Story,” the first order of business will be to ask the class if

there were any questions or thoughts that had come to them from the end of the last class until

the present moment regarding the story. This should account for no more than 5 minutes of the

class session.

Students will come to class prepared with at least two moments in “How to Tell a True

War Story” where O’Brien directly addresses story-telling (their homework from the previous

lesson). I will ask for volunteers to offer up their observations and direct the class to the specific

line(s) in the text, cataloguing these moments on the whiteboard. This should take

approximately 10 minutes.

Once there is a sense that we have recorded all of the instances the class has noticed, I

will move into a brief lecture on metafictional texts. As a mode of instruction, I will use a series

of Power Point slides as a supplemental visual and aid for students to take notes and follow the

presentation. Artifact #2 represents a sample of these slides. There will be five total for the brief

lecture and the demonstration should take approximately 10 minutes.

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After this introduction, I will ask students to split themselves into pairs. I will assign each

pair of students one of the moments from the story we compiled prior to the lecture. Each pair

will be asked to describe what kind of effect this method has for the themes of the story.

While the groups are working, I will listen in on their discussions, making myself

available to answer questions, offer direction, or merely play “Devil’s Advocate.” My presence

will serve to encourage the students to think about the multiple levels this mode of fiction

operates on and how it either is or is not an effective approach to use in a story about

remembering/retelling the story of a traumatic event such as witnessing the death of a young

man during war. I will give the class approximately 10 minutes for their group work.

The class will reconvene and have a brief discussion about the ideas they came up with

while working with their partners. (5-10 minutes)

Assessment:

The reading notes listing at least two observations from “How to Tell a True War Story”

will be assessed as a completion grade that counts as participation.

Housekeeping:

I will distribute Artifact #6 (Full Metal Jacket presentation guidelines) and Artifact #7

(FMJ presentation rubric) to the class so they can begin to prepare for their group

presentations on the film for the unit. I will have formed the groups at random and will also

inform the class of their groups at this time. I will also take this time to announce screening times

for the film and encourage groups to either come to these screenings or to view the film as a

group. (This announcement should take 5 minutes or the remainder of the class session)

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 5: Building a Bridge between Fiction and Memoir via Broadcast Journalism

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Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

Students will engage in different forms of war literature, namely New Journalism.

This lesson serves to introduce students to the second set of texts for the unit (excerpts

from Michael Herr’s Dispatches) by showing them something they are familiar with in

the form of broadcast journalism, covering a particular conflict of the Vietnam War.

Students also consider the relationship between fiction and news reporting.

Materials:

The three O’Brien stories from previous lessons in the unit

“Vietnam Special (1967)” video, accessed via YouTube

Computer and projector/screen

CBS News Special handout (Artifact #4)

Methodology:

The class will begin with a free-write prompted by the following question: Imagine one

of the O’Brien stories we have read written by a journalist for an American newspaper. In what

ways would the form be different? What information would remain from the original story to the

news story? What would be omitted? Write a segment of the news article. The students will

spend approximately 5 minutes on their free write.

Afterwards, we will have a discussion about the difference between fiction and

journalism, which will be prompted by the questions for the free-write. (5-10 minutes)

After this discussion, we will view the 25 minute long “Vietnam Special (1967)” via

YouTube. Prior to beginning the video, students will be given a handout (Artifact #4) that will

provide information about how to find the video on their own and suggested topics to consider

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while taking notes. I will announce that this worksheet will be collected and assessed for

participation points at the end of class. Once the video is over, we will have a discussion of the

students’ responses to the broadcast, shaped by the questions and topics on the handout. (10-15

minutes or the remainder of the class session)

Assessment:

Students will hand in their video notes worksheets at the end of class. They will be

assessed in terms of completion and evidence of engagement with the video. This will count

towards participation. The handout will be returned to the students during the following class

session.

Homework:

Read “Breathing In” from Dispatches by Michael Herr.

Housekeeping:

I will hand out the assignment sheet for the final unit (Artifact #8) essay and rubric

(Artifacts #9) and explain the guidelines, deadlines, peer-workshop session, and

emphasize that if any student needs to consult with me for anything for the essay I would

be more than happy to correspond via email or meet in-person.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 6: Correspondent Journalism: Dispatches by Michael Herr

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

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Students take what they have been reading thus far in the unit (O’Brien) and the previous

“bridging” lesson of broadcast journalism coverage in Vietnam to engage with the form

of New Journalism in Herr’s Dispatches.

Differing literary modes are introduced to show how there can be an overlap between

literary devices often times associated with fiction (i.e. figurative language) when writing

nonfictional accounts, specifically seen in the civilian correspondent journalistic pieces

from the Vietnam War.

Materials:

“Breathing In,” from Michael Herr’s Dispatches

Introductory materials on Michael Herr written by Ann Charters, photocopied from The

Portable Sixties Reader, page 168 (as a handout, artifact not included)

Methodology:

Class will begin with the distribution of the handout providing introductory materials

about Michael Herr, the writer who is the focus of this and the subsequent class lesson. This

handout will aid in a discussion about the presence of civilian journalists, or correspondents, who

traveled to Vietnam and the Indochina Peninsula on commission from news magazines and other

periodicals to cover the war. This brief lecture will center on Michael Herr, but will also mention

other correspondents, his contemporaries and colleagues, namely Sean Flynn (son of actor Errol

Flynn) whose mysterious disappearance in Cambodia in 1970 shocked the nation. Flynn is

mentioned numerous times in Dispatches and this intriguing bit of information will aid in

contextualizing Herr and other correspondent’s role in contributing to Vietnam War literature.

This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Next, the students will be asked to perform a quick-write using the following prompt:

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How would you classify the literary mode used by Michael Herr in the

selection you have read from Dispatches? For example, does it resemble

fiction, journalism, memoir, or any combination?

The class will have 5 minutes to write their responses.

After the quick-write, I will break the class into small groups of approximately four

students each. The students will use what they have written in the opening exercise to share with

their groups. The goal for the groups is to discuss how to classify the literary mode Herr uses and

to gather textual evidence to defend their claims. I will ask the class to think about their

comparisons with O’Brien and news journalism from the previous lesson while examining the

text. Groups will work for 15-20 minutes.

One spokesperson from each group will then share their group’s findings. It is my aim

that the students begin to see Herr’s unique utilization of figurative language, characterization,

and narrative development and recognize that he experiments with the traditional mode of

journalism to create a literature that shares traits with O’Brien’s fiction. If the students are not

coming up with these connections, I will indirectly ask them to consider the specific literary

elements that Herr uses and how his prose differs from traditional news reporting. This

discussion will wrap up the lesson and there are still points to be made, it can overflow into

the beginning of the following class session.

Homework:

Read “Illumination Rounds” from Dispatches, Michael Herr

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 7: Memoir and New Journalism: Close Reading Herr’s Dispatches

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

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Objectives:

To engage students with the method of close reading with the aim of honing their skills as

critical readers.

To train students to be attentive to how a writer makes specific choices in their selection

of language and how these choices allow for interpretation.

Engagement with close reading in the classroom is also a “low-stakes” way to have

students sharpen their skills for writing analytical essays. The central lesson of this

activity will allow the students to practice close readings, which will be a device I will

strongly encourage they employ when writing the unit essay.

Materials:

Excerpts from Michael Herr’s Dispatches, including “Breathing In” and “Illumination

Rounds”

Dispatches close reading handout (Artifact #5)

Methodology:

Students will now have read both pieces from Dispatches, which include “Breathing In”

and “Illumination Rounds.”

The first order of business for this lesson will be to discuss any points that were left to

touch upon from the previous lesson plan on Herr’s use of literary devices. This should take less

than 5 minutes.

This lesson is focused on an in-class close reading activity using selected passages from

Herr. I will begin the lesson with a brief discussion about close reading, asking the class if they

can tell me what their definition of the process is and what its importance is in performing

literary analyses. I will emphasize the importance of close reading in academic writing and that it

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is a valuable skill in determining the narrative and rhetorical devices in literature. This discussion

should take 5 minutes.

Next, I will hand out the close reading assignment (Artifact #5). I will ask the students to

read the instructions carefully along with me while I verbally review the activity. I will also let

the class know that this activity will be collected and graded as an in-class writing activity.

While the instructions are included on the artifact, I will reproduce them here for a reference:

The following passages are taken from your assigned readings of Michael Herr’s

Dispatches. This activity will get you familiar with close reading. Read through each

passage before diving into the close readings and pick the two that strike you most. Focus

your close readings on these passages and work on the third for the remainder of the time.

Mark-up the passages by making note of any striking words or phrases and on a separate

sheet write 5-7 sentences about the effectiveness of the prose. Consider the relevance of

the passage in the larger piece it is pulled from. You will have 20-25 minutes for this

activity and you are encouraged to use refer to your copy of the text and any notes you

took while reading.

During this activity, I will be available to field any questions that arise and will intermittently

walk among the students to monitor their progress.

After the allotted time, I will ask the class to wrap up their thoughts from the close

reading activity and I we will have a discussion about their experience. Instead of asking for

specific results they noted and wrote about, I will ask the class to assess their individual

performances during the activity. This will be an informal, discussion-based assessment where I

will ask the class to reflect on the task they have just completed. I will prompt the reflections

with questions such as:

Metzger 23

What was your process or methodology for this activity?

Was it successful? Why or why not?

How comfortable are you with performing close reading?

What hesitations do you have about this type of textual engagement?

This discussion will serve to finish the lesson.

Assessment:

Close reading worksheets and their writing will be collected to informally assess the

level of engagement with the activity.

The final discussion of the lesson serves as a way students are also able to do a personal

assessment of their skills as critical reader and writers.

Homework:

Have group presentations on Full Metal Jacket ready for the following two class sessions.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 8: Full Metal Jacket Group Presentations Part I

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

For this and the following class, the objectives are to allow the students to display their

skills as close readers and analyzers of their selected scenes from Full Metal Jacket.

The presentation assignment will also meet the aims for group work, public

speaking/presentation, synthesizing the unit texts and exploring the relationships between

the forms of fiction, journalism, memoir, and film as representative of Vietnam War

literature.

Metzger 24

This lesson encourages a thematic exploration of the film and the previous texts in the

unit.

Materials:

Full Metal Jacket (on DVD)

Full Metal Jacket Presentation Guidelines (Artifact #6)

Full Metal Jacket Presentation Rubrics (Artifact #7)

Computer or DVD player and projector/screen

Methodology:

This and the following class sessions will be heavily student-driven. I have designed the

group presentations to be the force behind Lessons 8 & 9 of this unit (the two lessons that deal

with the film Full Metal Jacket).

Without much interference from me other than housekeeping matters, Group 1 will take

the stage for their presentation, which includes a brief screening of the scene they analyze, the

main points of their analysis, and how they have applied the previous unit readings to the themes

they have focused on in the film. The presentation should last for no longer than 20 minutes.

The final part of the presentation is for the group to field questions or suggestions from the class

and myself for 5-10 minutes.

Group 2 will follow suit with their presentation in a similar fashion. I envision this to

consume the majority of the class session.

Assessment:

Using the rubric for the group presentation (Artifact #7) I will assess each group and

student for their part of the presentation. The rubric outlines the various aspects of assessment.

______________________________________________________________________________

Metzger 25

Lesson 9: Full Metal Jacket Group Presentations, Part II

Note: This class session will look very similar to Lesson 8, but with Groups 3&4.

Homework:

All students must bring 4-5 pages of their unit essay to the following class for a

workshopping session.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 10: Full Metal Jacket Recap and Unit Essay Workshop

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

Provide and account for closure from group presentations

Allow students a chance to respond to connections between the film, Herr and O’Brien

(especially the elements of Dispatches in the film, which was co-written by Michael

Herr)

Explore the literary value in film as a medium

To perform a peer-editing workshop for the unit essay and provide the students a chance

to informally chat with me about their topics, theses, arguments, or secondary sources for

their assignments.

Give students an opportunity to speak with me and their peers informally about their

essays

Materials:

Full Metal Jacket (DVD)

DVD player/computer and projector/screen

Student drafts (4-5 pages)

Metzger 26

Methodology:

Class will begin with the screening of a clip from the film. The groups will have already

shown a few for their presentations, so I will provide a few to choose from here:

Duality of Man/”Born to Kill” and Peace Symbol (explicitly mentioned/inspired by Herr

Opening sequence – haircuts (stripped individuality)

“This is my Rifle” (Marine creed, making a killer)

“Bird is the Word” (Video journalists interviews of the Lusthog Squad)

I will open the floor to discussion asking “what did you notice?”4 in the scene. If they need some

prompting, I will ask that they consider how this scene relates either to other aspects of the film,

the group presentations, or the previous texts in the unit. I will also ask about Kubrick’s politics

of style, the tone of the film and what it says about the Vietnam War, and, if it has not yet come

up in the group presentations, I will ask the class if they noticed Herr’s co-writing credits for

FMJ. I will discuss Herr’s contribution to the screenplay and ask where we see evidence of

Dispatches in the film. (This first half of class will cover 25 minutes)

The second half of class (25 minutes) of class will be devoted to sharing the topics and

materials each student will be writing their unit paper on. This will serve as a brief workshopping

exercise, where students can give their instantaneous feedback to one another or each other

clarifying questions about the direction they see their papers going. Students will bring a 4-5

draft along with them to class and I will randomly pair them up to read each other’s essays.

The writer of the paper will ask at least two questions or concerns they would like their

reader to address on the back of the drafts.

Students will exchange their papers, refer to the questions asked of the writer, and then

read through the draft. Peer reviewers will have two jobs:

4 Essentially Blau’s concept of “notice what you notice” (38)

Metzger 27

Summarize the thesis of the essay

Create a reverse outline of you peer’s essay. In other words, read the draft

and write an outline from the essay itself, reversing the order of how an

outline is normally written.

Before they begin, I will announce, “These exercises will help to show if

your essay is clear, concise, and organized. If your reviewer is unable to

summarize your thesis or write a reverse outline, confer with them about

what parts of your essay are unclear and make notes for revision based on

their readings.”

I will be listening in on groups and available to field and questions that arise during this

exercise. This activity will continue for the duration of the class session.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 11: Music from the States: Song Lyrics, Protest, Elegy, Literature?

Duration: One 50 minute class session.

Objectives:

The objective of this class is to give the students a chance to reflect on the sentiment of

civilian Americans whose distance from the war gave them a much different perspective

than those of O’Brien and Herr as we have been reading.

To present song lyrics as capable of voicing political or social sentiment.

To allow students to consider song lyrics as a form of poetry and contextualize their

significance with the other texts studies in this unit.

Materials:

List of protest songs or songs inspired by the Vietnam War (artifact not included)

Metzger 28

Lyric Sheets for “Trouble Comin’ Everyday” and “Sean Flynn” (Artifact #10)

CD/mp3 player or digital versions various songs from the list, but especially The Mothers

of Invention’s “Trouble Comin’ Everyday,” The Clash’s “Sean Flynn,” Country Joe and

the Fish’s “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag,” and “Hello Vietnam” written by Tom T.

Hall and performed by Johnny Wright (song played in the opening credits of Full Metal

Jacket)

Excerpt from Dispatches: from “Colleagues,” pg. 203-5

Methodology:

I will begin by handing out copies of the excerpt from Dispatches (listed above) that

mentions The Mothers of Invention’s “Trouble Comin’ Every Day” and as a class we will

perform a “jump-in” reading of the text.5 (10 minutes)

I will then hand out the lyric sheets (Artifact #10) for “Trouble Comin’ Everyday” as

well as The Clash’s “Sean Flynn,” a musical elegy for the reporter who went missing and the list

of other songs inspired by the Vietnam War.

Students will be asked to read along with the song lyrics while both songs are played,

underlining any words, phrases, or moments that stand out to them or where they can see a

connection to Dispatches or the other texts we have engaged with for the unit. (10 minutes)

I will then play the songs through a second time, but this time students are asked to make

a list of the message or argument of the songs and how the songs relate to the themes we have

explored throughout the unit and respond to the following prompts in a free-write:

For “Trouble Everyday,” especially, consider why this song appealed to

Herr and the other correspondents?

5 Blau (128)

Metzger 29

What are your reactions to “Sean Flynn,” both the story of the

photographer’s disappearance and the song written for him?

Throughout the unit, the setting of each text has been either the jungles or

cities of Vietnam. What can we infer from the music that was being

written, recorded, and performed in the United States while the war was

on?

What elements of poetry or other modes of literature are involved in these

songs?

(This should take approximately 15 minutes.)

Two more songs (“Fixin’-to-Die-Rag” and “Hello Vietnam”) will be played for the class

while they consider the effectiveness of using song to convey this sort of social protest and we

discuss what they have written for their free-writes. (This discussion will continue until the

end of the class session)

Homework:

Read pgs. 1-41 of Jarhead by Anthony Swofford (first text of the next curriculum unit)

Metzger 30

ARTIFACTS FOR CURRICULUM UNIT*ARTIFACTS 1&2 can be found on my wiki page, as they are not a compatible format

ARTIFACT #3

ENGL 3XX: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

Discussion questions: “Speaking of Courage,” due 4/1

In an essay of no fewer than 500 words, provide a response to one of the questions listed below. All essays must be typed, double spaced, and use a simple, 12-point font. On the day that the essays are due, bring two copies to class – one to hand in and one to reference for discussion that day in class. Use as many of these questions as you would like to compose a concise analysis and argument about the how the literary elements of the story convey meaning. Be sure to support your claim with textual evidence.

1. Why does O’Brien choose to set the story where he does? Think about the relation between the physical, temporal, and psychological settings of the story. How do these settings communicate meaning independently as well as in relation with each other?

2. Think about the lake and what it might represent. What is the relationship between Norman Bowker and the lake throughout the story? What can you infer about their relationship?

3. What other natural features are present within the story? What can you read into these features, either as symbolic, doubling, setting tone, or suggestive of other themes in this story?

4. What does this story seem to say about cowardice, courage, and/or the actions of soldiers in warfare? Does it commend or condemn military valor? Does it do both? Or does it have something else to say?

5. Close read the scene where Kiowa sinks in the field. Why is it described in this manner and is it effective in this story? Why or why not?

6. What is the relationship between past and present in this piece and how does O’Brien mediate the two? How many versions of Norman Bowker are presented in the story?

Metzger 31

ARTIFACT #4

ENGL 3xx: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

“Vietnam Special (1967)” can be found on YouTube.com at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oePgz_ocEc0

The news spot is 25 minutes 40 seconds in length and will be viewed during the class that will serve as a transition from O’Brien and metafiction into Herr and new journalism.

Please consider about the following while taking notes on and/or re-watching this news broadcast:

Characteristics of the journalists in the studio

Characteristics of the field journalists

The attitudes of the soldiers interviewed

Footage of landscapes, barracks, towns, etc.

Striking images/responses/emotions depicted in the special

What, if any, is the message that is being reported about the war in this special?

Metzger 32

ARTIFACT #5

ENGL 3xx: American War Literature Prof. Dan Metzger

Dispatches in-class close reading exercise

The following passages are taken from your assigned readings of Michael Herr’s Dispatches. This activity will get you familiar with close reading. Read through each passage before diving into the close readings and pick the two that strike you most. Focus your close readings on these passages and work on the third for the remainder of the time. Mark-up the passages by making note of any striking words or phrases and on a separate sheet write 5-7 sentences about the effectiveness of the prose. Consider the relevance of the passage in the larger piece it is pulled from. You will have 20-25 minutes for this activity and you are encouraged to use refer to your copy of the text and any notes you took while reading.

From “Breathing In,” pp. 60: Between what combat did to you and how tired you got, between the farout things you saw

or heard and what you personally lost out of all that got blown away, the war made a place for

you that was all yours. Finding it was like listening to esoteric music, you didn’t hear it in any

essential way through all the repetitions until your own breath had entered it and become

another instrument, and by then it wasn’t just music anymore, it was experience. Life-as-movie,

war-as-(war) movie, war-as-life; a complete process if you got to complete it, a distinct path to

travel, but the dark and hard, not yourself, deliberately and–most roughly speaking–

consciously. Some people took a few steps along it and turned back, wised up, with and without

regrets. Many walked on and just got blown off it. A lot went farther than they probably should

have and then lay down, falling into a bad sleep of pain and rage, waiting for release, for peace,

and any kind of peace that wasn’t just the absence of war. And some kept going until they

reached a place where an inversion of the expected order happened, a fabulous warp where

you took the journey first and then you made your departure.

From “Illumination Rounds,” pp. 173: He was twenty-nine, young in rank, and this was his second tour. The time before, he had

been a captain commanding a regular Marine company. He knew all about grunts and patrols,

arms caches and the value of most Intelligence.

Metzger 33

It was cold, even in the tent, and the enlisted Marines seemed uncomfortable about lying

around with a stranger, a correspondent there. The major was a cool head, they knew that;

there wasn’t going to be any kind of hassle until the rain stopped. They talked quietly among

themselves at the far end of the tent, away from the light of the lantern. Reports kept coming

in: reports from the Vietnamese, from recon, from Division, situation reports, casualty reports,

three casualty reports in twenty minutes. The major looked them all over.

“Did you know that a dead Marine costs eighteen thousand dollars?” he said. The grunts all

turned around and looked at us. They knew how the major had meant that because they knew

the major. They were just seeing about me…

….We could see the rain falling in a sheet about a kilometer away. Judging by the wind, the

major gave it three minutes before it reached us.

“After the first tour, I’d have the goddamndest nightmares. You know, the works. Bloody

stuff, bad fights, guys dying, me dying…I thought they were the worst,” he said. “But I sort of

miss them now.”

From “Breathing In” pp. 54: One afternoon at Khe Sanh a Marine opened the door of a latrine and was killed by a

grenade that had been rigged on the door. The Command tried to blame it on a North

Vietnamese infiltrator, but the grunts knew what had happened: “Like a gook is really gonna

tunnel all the way in here to booby-trap a shithouse, right? Some guy just flipped out is all.”

And it became another one of those stories that moved across the DMZ, making people laugh

and shake their heads and look knowingly at each other, but shocking no one. They’d talk about

their physical wounds in one way and psychic wounds in another, each man in a squad would

tell you how crazy everyone else in the squad was, everyone knew grunts who’d gone crazy in

the middle of a firefight, gone crazy on patrol, gone crazy back at camp, gone crazy on R&R,

gone crazy during their first month home. Going crazy was built into the tour, the best you

could hope for was that it didn’t happen around you, the kinds of crazy that made men empty

clips into strangers or fix grenades on latrine doors. That was really crazy; anything less was

almost standard, as standard as the vague prolonged stares and involuntary smiles, common as

Metzger 34

ponchos or 16’s or any other piece of war issue. If you wanted someone to know you’d gone

insane you really had to sound off like you had a pair, “Scream a lot, and all the time.”

Metzger 35

ARTIFACT #6

ENGL 3xx: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

Full Metal Jacket Group Presentation Assignment Sheet and Guidelines

The discussion of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket will be introduced by presentations led by you and your peers in class. The class will be divided into four groups and each group will be assigned an aspect of the film to prepare a presentation around. This sheet outlines the part of the film and focus for ALL the group presentations. It also outlines what must be included in the formal presentations. Each presentation should be between 15-20 minutes long, which includes the time you will screen a clip from the film. Divide the work and presentation time among the group! As you will see on the rubric, you are being assessed both individually and as a group. Use your time wisely and be sure to present clear, concise, and unified materials that speak to your assigned topic. Be sure to consult the rubric for specific aspects of assessment.

Presentation Expectations Scene Selection and Clip Screening: Choose and screen a clip from a scene in your

assigned half of the film. This scene will serve as the focal point of your presentation. Note: Try to keep the clip between 2-3 minutes. Consider it a refresher for the class, who will have seen the film by this point.

Scene Analysis: Present for the class an analysis of your selected scene. In other words do a close reading of the scene, pointing out striking images, dialogue, sound, costume, shot composition, etc. Be sure to offer an interpretation of these elements.

Contextualization, part 1: Discuss how this scene is situated within the film as a whole. How do the themes addressed in the scene relate to O’Brien? Herr?

Contextualization, part 2: How do the issues and elements of your selected scene relate to the overall themes of the course? Point out similarities or differences and make inferences about what this might tell us about the American literature that focuses on the Vietnam War.

Group 1: Parris Island - Senior Drill Instructor Sergeant Hartman and Basic Training

Group 2: Parris Island - The relationship between Private Joker and Private Pyle

Group 3: The role of journalists and journalism in the film (with scene from on the second half of the film)

Group 4: Individuality, Masculinity, Brotherhood (with a scene focusing on the second half of the film)

Metzger 36

ARTIFACT #7

ENGL 3xx: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

Rubric for Group Presentations on Full Metal Jacket

The following rubric provides a detailed breakdown for the point values of the various aspects for group presentation. The points you earn on this presentation will accrue towards your final course grade. Notice that you are being assessed for both your individual contribution to the presentation as well as the overall presentation. Please retain this rubric for your records and use it as a guide when planning and drafting your final essay for the course.

{Student’s Name}

Group PortionYour scene analysis engages with the topic you have been assigned. It offers an analysis of several elements of film (i.e. costume, setting, dialogue, position of character, sound) to reflect the themes and ideas you have focused upon.

__/ 20 points

There is evidence the group has explored the relationship and/or contextualization between the film and the other texts assigned for the unit.

__/ 20 points

The group has contextualized the film within the greater issues of the course. The themes or interpretations of their scene have been extended to apply to the issues of the course.

__/ 10 points

The structure of the presentation is engaging and original. There is a level of clarity that allows the audience to follow the main points throughout the different parts of the presentation. The presentation time requirements are fulfilled.

__/ 15 points

Individual Portion

Your Name:__________________________________

Presentation Contribution:______________________

__/ 15 points

Total: __/80 points

Metzger 37

ARTIFACT #8

ENGL 3xx: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

Suggested Topics and Guidelines for Formal Essay 2, due 5/3

For your second formal paper of this course, you will be required to engage with at least one of the primary texts we have discussed in this unit (i.e. any or all of O’Brien’s vignettes, the excerpts from Herr, or Full Metal Jacket). Feel free to consider your primary text within the context of the other course readings and/or the historical moment of the Vietnam War.

This essay must be 8-10 pages in length. As stated on the syllabus, essays must be typed, double-spaced, and in a simple, 12-point font. Be sure to show how you have engaged with scholarly criticism on the texts or historical documents about the war. All essays must follow current MLA format.

The following prompts are intended as suggestions to get you thinking about your essay’s topic. You are encouraged to alter, extend, or compress them as needed.

1. Discuss the differences that are presented in war reporting through the military journalist characters of Joker and Rafterman in Full Metal Jacket and the civilian correspondent journalism described by Herr in Dispatches. How are these roles similar to one another and what are the major contrasts? How is the role of journalism portrayed in both texts and what is at stake for the journalist (military or civilian) in a combat zone? How does Herr’s journalistic approach differ from that of the CBS News coverage we viewed earlier in the unit? What is the literary value of his pieces being published as a memoir as we see in Dispatches?

2. Consider the form of O’Brien’s vignettes, especially as metafictional literature. Perform literary analyses of his works that engage with his development of character, narrative techniques, etc. and discuss to what degree his techniques serve to take up the his subject matter of being a soldier in Vietnam. How does O’Brien’s approach to narrative differ from the literature we have studied in the course about World War I & II? In what ways are the stories in The Things They Carried fictional? In what ways are they nonfiction?

3. Choose one theme that has been apparent in the texts for this unit (i.e. fraternity, psychological stability, the presentation of reality, suppression of the self, etc.) and explore how each text handles the representation of that theme. How are there differences or similarities between these modes of literature? Present readings of passages/scenes from each text to defend their literary mode’s importance when considering the literature of the Vietnam War.

Metzger 38

4. Chose a character from one of the texts we have read in this unit whose creation or depiction makes a statement about the Vietnam War. Define your claim and perform an analysis of the following aspects and others that you see as valuable for your analysis: internal/external conflicts, relationship to other characters, epiphanies, character arc, unique traits, actions, language6, etc. Do not feel limited to these suggestions nor obligated to explore them all. You are not limited to fictional characters, as any text we have read for this unit may be used.

5. A topic you have crafted that will meet the criteria for the assignment. You must email or meet with me about your topic if you plan on writing on taking the essay in a direction much different than the suggested topics above, which should not sway you from coming up with your own topic. I highly encourage original topics.

6 Some elements of character borrow from Smith and Wilhelm (40-41)

Metzger 39

ARTIFACT #9

ENGL 3xx: American War LiteratureProf. Dan Metzger

Grading Rubric for Paper 27

The following rubric provides a detailed breakdown for the point values of the various aspects for the essay. The points you earn on this essay will accrue towards your final course grade. Please retain this rubric for your records and use it as a guide when planning and drafting your final essay for the course.

{Student’s Name}

The essay makes a principal claim or thesis that pertains to its stated topic; that claim is original and clearly articulated or otherwise presented to the reader in an apprehensible manner.

__/10 points

The essay successfully substantiates its principal claim. Additionally, the literary and/or cultural value of that claim and its relevance to the course material are made clear in the essay’s analyses.

__/30 points

The specific analyses of source materials are relevant to the essay’s thesis or principal claim. The evidence and/or evidentiary materials have been selected from the course materials and have been seamlessly integrated into the writer’s prose. Adequate citations have been included according to MLA standards.

__/30 points

The essay is structured logically, with a clear and well-considered sequence of analytical points. The overall argument is coherent.

__/20 points

The essay is free of grammatical errors, consists of stylistically precise prose, and meets minimum page length requirement.

__/10 points

Total: __/100 points7 Some of the categories of this rubric were inspired by a former professor, Dr. Jonathan I. Shaw from his course ENG 348: Postmodern American Fiction

Metzger 40

ARTIFACT #10

Music from the States: Song Lyrics, Protest, Elegy, Literature?

Think about the following songs and how they relate to the themes of Dispatches. The first, “Trouble Comin’ Everyday” by The Mothers of Invention is mentioned by Herr as being listened to by the correspondents covering the Vietnam War. “Sean Flynn” by The Clash is a musical elegy for the photographer-correspondent who went missing near the border of Cambodia in 1970. Flynn was a friend of Herr’s and is mentioned many times throughout the body of Dispatches.

“Trouble Comin’ Everyday” written by Frank Zappa, recorded by The Mothers of Invention:Well I'm about to get UPSETWatchin' my TVBeen checkin' out the newsUntil my eyeballs fail to seeI mean every dayIs just another rotten messAnd when it's gonna change, my friendsIs anybody's guess

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'Hopin' for the bestAnd if you think I'll go to prayin'Every time I hear folks sayin'That there's no way to delayThere's trouble comin' every dayNo way to delayThere's trouble comin' every day

Wednesday I watched the riot...Saw the cops out on the streetWatched 'em throwin' rocks and stuffAnd chokin' in the heatListened to reportsAbout the whisky passin' 'roundSeen the smoke & fireAnd the markets burnin' downWatched while everybodyOn his street would take a turnTo stomp and smash and bash and crashAnd slash and bust and burn

And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'

Metzger 41

Hopin' for the bestAnd if you think I'll go to prayin'Every time I hear folks sayin'That there's no way to delayThere's trouble comin' every dayNo way to delayThere's trouble comin' every day

Well you can cool it,You can heat it...'Cause, baby, I don't need it...Take your TV tube and eat it'N all that phony stuff on sports'N all THOSE unconfirmed reportsYou know I watched that rotten boxUntil my head began to hurtFrom checkin' out the wayThe newsmen say they get the dirtBefore the guys on channel so-and-soAnd further they assertThat any show they'll interruptTo bring you news if it comes upThey say that if the place blows upThey'll be the first to tellBecause the boys they got downtownAre workin' hard and doin' swell,And if anybody gets the newsBefore it hits the street,They say that no one blabs it fasterTheir coverage can't be beat

And if another woman driverGets machine-gunned from her seat They'll send some joker with a brownieAnd you'll see it all complete

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'Hopin' for the bestEven think I'll go to prayin'Every time I hear 'em sayin'That there's no way to delayThat trouble comin' every dayNo way to delayThat trouble comin' every day

Hey you know something people

Metzger 42

I'm not blackBut there's a whole lots a timesI wish I could say I'm not white

Well, I seen the fires burnin'And the local people turnin'On the merchants and the shopsWho used to sell their brooms and mopsAnd every other household itemWatched the mob just turn and bite 'emAnd they say it served 'em rightBecause a few of them are white,And it's the same across the nationBlack & white discriminationThey're yellin' "You can'tunderstand me!"And all the other crap they hand meIn the papers and TV'N all that mass stupidityThat seems to grow more every dayEach time you hear some nitwit sayHe wants to go and do you inBecause the color of your skinJust don't appeal to him(No matter if it's black or white)Because he's out for blood tonightYou know we gotta sit around at homeAnd watch this thing beginBut I bet there won't be many leftTo see it really end'Cause the fire in the streetAin't like the fire in my heartAnd in the eyes of all these peopleDon't you know that this could startOn any street in any townIn any state if any clownDecides that now's the time to fightFor some ideal he thinks is rightAnd if a million more agreeThere ain't no great societyAs it applies to you and meOur country isn't freeAnd the law refuses to seeIf all that you can ever beIs just a lousy janitorUnless your uncle owns a store

Metzger 43

You know that five in every fourWON'T amount TO nothin' moreTHAN watch the rats go across the floorAnd make up songs about being poorBlow you harmonica son!

Lyrics found at: http://www.mp3lyrics.org/t/the-mothers-of-invention/trouble/

“Sean Flynn” by The Clash

Songwriters: STRUMMER, JOE / JONES, MICK / SIMONON, PAUL / HEADON, TOPPER

You know he just heardThe drums of warWhen the pastWas a closing doorThe drums beat into the jungle floorCHORUSClosing doorClosing doorRain on the leavesSoldier singYou never hear anythingThey filled the sky with a tropical storm.CHORUSYou know he head the drums of warEach man knows what he's looking for

Lyrics found at: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/clash/sean_flynn.html

Works Cited

Metzger 44

Blau, Sheridan D. The Literature Workshop, Teaching Texts and Their Readers. Portsmouth,

Heinemann: 2003. Print.

Charters, Ann, ed. The Portable Sixties Reader. New York, Penguin: 2003. Print.

Full Metal Jacket. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros. Entertainment, 1987. DVD.

Greenblatt, Ellen. “Love of War in Tim O’Brien’s ‘How to Tell a True War Story.’”

ReadWriteThink.org. National Council of Teachers of English, n.d. Web. 16 April 2013.

Johannessen, Larry R. “Making History Come Alive with the Nonfiction Literature of the

Vietnam War.” The Clearing House 76.3 (Jan. – Feb. 200): 120-6. JSTOR. PDF file.

Herr, Michael. “Breathing In.” Dispatches. New York, Random House: 2009. 3-64. Print.

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