Jarhead--thoughts before class

Hey all:

So tonight we will talk about the second half of Jarhead. Last week I thought the conversation went really well and I want to leave space for you to bring up your own ideas and thoughts about this memoir. It's interesting reading through your blogs--some of you who hated this book before tonight now seem to be enjoying it and others who liked this book seem to like it a lot less.

I would like to try something a bit new today in class. I would like to look at this memoir through the lens of film/doc/home movies of marines, filmed by marines (or with the marine's permission). While the videos are about many things, here are some of the large issues: Basic Training. Rules and regulations. Thoughts about killing. Thoughts about cursing. Training for Gas and chemical warfare. Being bored in Iraq. Soldiers thoughts about being in Iraq.

Now before we watch these films, let me give you my rationale for doing so: I do not have an agenda, nor am I trying to show the marines or the marine corp in any particular light. This being a 21st century lit class, I would like you to get a visual of some of the issues that are brought up by Swofford in his memoir. Then, after we see the clip, you will have to find a passage that relates to what you just watched. I anticipate that this might cause some good opinionated discussion while also doing close textual analysis (and as alwas you need to couch your comments within the text).

To do well or to offer good suggestions, you will need to have read the text. As a side note, I also think that this might be a good way to ask a few exam questions. I show you a clip (maybe from this list, maybe from others) and you need to specifically connect it to a passage from Jarhead.

Many of these clips are from a documentary called
Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. Rob suggested it and when reading his post, I remember watching it a few years ago and really liking it. Others I found on a search of Youtube videos.

1) "Going to the Head"

Get off my bus

Cursing in the Marines

Weak People

Dropping Bombs in Iraq

Getting Gassed

2)Bored Marines (dancing)

3)Bored Marines (wrestling)

4)Turkey Hunting in Iraq

5)Metal Detectors

6)Steak Sauce

7)"I need"

8)Buying a porn magazine

9) "Funny" Soldiers

10) Bomb Iraq

11)One Soldier's relationship to kids


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In Jarhead, there was a lot of discussion about the oil fires that were prevalent. Retreating Iraqi
soldiers "set fire to more than 600 oil wells and pools of spilled oil in Kuwait." When hearing about this at the time and also reading about it in Jarhead, I thought I was able to understand what that would look and feel like. I was wrong. I want to show to you all a good section of Werner Herzog's Lessons Of Darkness. If you like Herzog, it's certainly a film you should rent. It has received good press although many were upset that Herzog seemed to leave the politics out of the documentary. I agree. He did. But anyone who knows Herzog realizes, he's not interested in politics but interested in base questions about human nature; he's also obsessed with images that bring out beauty to horrific moments (see Aguirre if you want to know what I mean).

So in class, I want to show you these clips and then I want you to connect the scenes from the film to scenes in the book.

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Another thing that I want to do in class today is to look at some large essay questions. The reason is two fold: a)I think this will get us talking about some of the larger issues that the
book discusses and b)I want you to get ready for the type of essay questions that I will ask in your midterm and final.

Here are a few starters:
1)This memoir seems to be obsessed about Manhood and Death. How does Swofford relate these two large issues together? Using a specific passage that connects these two ideas, discuss this relationship in concrete terms.

2)Swofford's ideas about killing Iraqi soldier's change throughout this memoir. Why does he first wish he killed someone (give page number) and then why is he relieved that he didn't (give page #). Explain these ideas.

3)What is Swofford's reaction to Tom Fowler? Using a character sketch of Swofford, why does he not do what Fowler does? [or, you could argue that he does, but in a different way]

4)Swofford is part of the highly trained STA unit. Read what the sniper's do as a metaphor for what Swofford does as an author of this memoir.

5)Read pages 253-254 carefully. Why does Swofford write this memoir?

I then want to leave some space in class for you to come up with your own essay questions that we can ask each other.

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If we have time, I would also like us to read some sections together from Tim O'Brien's THE THINGS THEY CARRIED. It's such an amazing book and I think this will also help us shed light on our readings for today.

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Finally, I want to let you all know how you are doing on your blogs. I was surprised to see so many of you split from class last week without asking for help (and then consequently many of you did not post this week). Blogs are a significant part of your grade so I will meet with each of you individually for 3-5 minutes in the last 1/2 hour of class and I will give you a quick assessment (thumbs up, check or thumbs down) so you can see how you can improve as well as ask me specific questions.

Okay, that's a lot to do and due to a nasty cold, I don't have much of a voice, so we'll see how much we can get through!

Let's go!