Enrightisms

Here are some of my favorite "Enrightisms" from the presentations. Do you have any reactions to one of them? Maybe a paraphrase of another?

"What makes the stomach turn is the stories of the men."
"Boys take orders."
"The hope is the protection against things falling apart the next day."
"Fiction is the truth of human experience."
"War is uncerainty and ambiguity... maybe you will figure something out for yourself."

Black Humor

Were you surprised at some of the things the audience laughed at during Mr. Enriight's presentation? Were you ever uncomfortable with that or even some of the war things that morphed into jokes during the presentation?

Mr. Enright's Presentation

What are your responses/reactions to Mr. Enright's presentation? How did hearing his story add to your understanding of O'Brien's text, the experiences of soldiers, and the realities of war?

Post-Modernism

Where else do you study or encounter a post-modern style of reflecting the world? Where else have you observed life or art reflecting a somewhat chaotic reality?

Deep or blathering?

What do you think of O'Brien's post-modern style? Does it hit home with you and make you feel his narrator's observations? Or does it leave you turned-off? Why?

Favorite lines and scenes from TTTC

What are your favorite lines and/or scenes from The Things They Carried (TTTC)?

I'm glad I asked; Here's one of mine: "In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way" (71).

Don't you feel that everything that "happens" is due to our perception...?

What do you know about Mr. Enright?

Some of you may have or have had Mr. Enright in class or as an advisor for some activity. What (positive) things do you know about him? What can we expect on Thursday?