The Truth of War
Art Project
Artist Statement
Interview:
https://storycorps.me/interviews/ahs-truth-of-war-project-2015-interview-with-calixto-cabrera/
Challenge Extension Interview
https://storycorps.me/interviews/ahs-truth-of-war-project-2015-interview-with-ned-krutsky-2/
Gulf of Tonkin Essay
Project Reflection
In this project, we read the book The Things They Carried, and interviewed a veteran who had been involved in the Vietnam war. We started the project with reading The Things They Carried and answering questions about the book. Then, a little later on in the project we interviewed veterans. I interviewed a veteran with my group, and then interviewed my grandfather about his alternative service as part of a challenge extension.
During the interview process, each person had a different role, logistics, technology, and interviewer. Different tasks were divided up between between each person depending on their roles. The most exciting part of conducting the interview was to be able to hear Mr. Cabrera’s story. Some parts of the story that I especially admired were the parts when he talked about how he was feeling during his experiences. It can be really hard to talk about that, but he did, and a really admire that. I really appreciated him for coming and agreeing to be interviewed, it was a very valuable experience that will stay with me for a very long time. The main thing that I learned from Mr. Cabrera about the truth of war was that war affects people for the rest of their lives. He was talking about how he will never forget what he saw, and that his experiences will stay with him forever. I am so happy that I got the chance to be part of this interview, it gave me a different perspective of people who have been in a war, and I really appreciate it.
Our socratic seminar was on the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien; we discussed the deeper meanings of the chapters, and what O’Brien was trying to show in the book. Something I did well in the seminar was that I feel like I made some good points during the discussion, and I listened well. Next time I would like to talk more, I didn’t talk very much, and I think it would definitely benefit me if I spoke up more. For example, I only talked four times, and I had more than four ideas, so it would have been better if I had said my ideas. From The Things They Carried I learned that the truth in war is that it affects people forever. If someone has been in a war, they are affected, and have to live with their experiences for the rest of their life. In the chapter Speaking of Courage, O’Brien talks about Norman Bowker, and how he couldn’t figure out how to live in his town once he came back from the war. “The war was over and there was no place in particular to go. Norman Bowker followed the tar road on its seven-mile loop around the lake, then he started all over again, driving slowly feeling safe inside his father’s big Chevy, now and then looking out on the lake to watch the boats and water-skiers and scenery.” (O’Brien 131). In this quote, O’Brien talks about how Bowker can’t figure out what to do, he just drives around the lake, not knowing what to do. The connections I have made between The Things They Carried and other aspects of the project are that everybody is affected by war. I found a lot of similarities between my interview, and the stories in The Things They Carried because even if people’s experiences were different, their reactions were very similar.
For the essay, we wrote about what we thought the true history of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was. We read a packet of primary sources during the time of the incident, and then wrote our essay based on the conclusion we came to about what actually happened in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. The historical thinking skill that I used best was sourcing. I feel like I am pretty good at using sourcing because in my essay I was able to think about who wrote source I was reading and think about if they were a trustworthy source or not. The skill I found most challenging was using background knowledge because I don’t know a lot about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and so it was hard for me to use background knowledge because I didn’t have any. I learned that the nature of truth in war is not black and white, it is a very complicated issue with no definitive answer. I learned from looking at the primary source documents that everyone has their own opinion about the truth of war, and that no opinions are either right or wrong. The Gulf of Tonkin essay helped me develop a deeper understanding of what people do in war, and it showed me that a lot of the time the government is so disconnected from what the citizens of their country are going through.
The conclusions I have drawn about the truth of war from this project is that war affects people no matter how close they are to it. The person I interviewed had some very traumatic experiences during the war, and those experiences will stay with him forever. Unfortunately, he was in the war, and it took a long time for him to be able to live with that in a healthy way. When I interviewed my grandfather, even though he wasn't in the war, his alternative service had an affect on him as well. Even though he wasn't in the war, he still saw violence in the place where he worked, which affected him.
During the interview process, each person had a different role, logistics, technology, and interviewer. Different tasks were divided up between between each person depending on their roles. The most exciting part of conducting the interview was to be able to hear Mr. Cabrera’s story. Some parts of the story that I especially admired were the parts when he talked about how he was feeling during his experiences. It can be really hard to talk about that, but he did, and a really admire that. I really appreciated him for coming and agreeing to be interviewed, it was a very valuable experience that will stay with me for a very long time. The main thing that I learned from Mr. Cabrera about the truth of war was that war affects people for the rest of their lives. He was talking about how he will never forget what he saw, and that his experiences will stay with him forever. I am so happy that I got the chance to be part of this interview, it gave me a different perspective of people who have been in a war, and I really appreciate it.
Our socratic seminar was on the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien; we discussed the deeper meanings of the chapters, and what O’Brien was trying to show in the book. Something I did well in the seminar was that I feel like I made some good points during the discussion, and I listened well. Next time I would like to talk more, I didn’t talk very much, and I think it would definitely benefit me if I spoke up more. For example, I only talked four times, and I had more than four ideas, so it would have been better if I had said my ideas. From The Things They Carried I learned that the truth in war is that it affects people forever. If someone has been in a war, they are affected, and have to live with their experiences for the rest of their life. In the chapter Speaking of Courage, O’Brien talks about Norman Bowker, and how he couldn’t figure out how to live in his town once he came back from the war. “The war was over and there was no place in particular to go. Norman Bowker followed the tar road on its seven-mile loop around the lake, then he started all over again, driving slowly feeling safe inside his father’s big Chevy, now and then looking out on the lake to watch the boats and water-skiers and scenery.” (O’Brien 131). In this quote, O’Brien talks about how Bowker can’t figure out what to do, he just drives around the lake, not knowing what to do. The connections I have made between The Things They Carried and other aspects of the project are that everybody is affected by war. I found a lot of similarities between my interview, and the stories in The Things They Carried because even if people’s experiences were different, their reactions were very similar.
For the essay, we wrote about what we thought the true history of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was. We read a packet of primary sources during the time of the incident, and then wrote our essay based on the conclusion we came to about what actually happened in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. The historical thinking skill that I used best was sourcing. I feel like I am pretty good at using sourcing because in my essay I was able to think about who wrote source I was reading and think about if they were a trustworthy source or not. The skill I found most challenging was using background knowledge because I don’t know a lot about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and so it was hard for me to use background knowledge because I didn’t have any. I learned that the nature of truth in war is not black and white, it is a very complicated issue with no definitive answer. I learned from looking at the primary source documents that everyone has their own opinion about the truth of war, and that no opinions are either right or wrong. The Gulf of Tonkin essay helped me develop a deeper understanding of what people do in war, and it showed me that a lot of the time the government is so disconnected from what the citizens of their country are going through.
The conclusions I have drawn about the truth of war from this project is that war affects people no matter how close they are to it. The person I interviewed had some very traumatic experiences during the war, and those experiences will stay with him forever. Unfortunately, he was in the war, and it took a long time for him to be able to live with that in a healthy way. When I interviewed my grandfather, even though he wasn't in the war, his alternative service had an affect on him as well. Even though he wasn't in the war, he still saw violence in the place where he worked, which affected him.