Project Reflection
Lacey Meek
10/30/11
What is the truth of war for a soldier? This is the question that we focused on throughout the course of this project. To find the answer, we read the books All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, and Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, both of these men were war veterans. The first book we read, All Quiet on the Western Front, was about World War One. The second, Slaughterhouse-Five, was about World War Two. We contrasted these wars and the psychological effects that the changes between these wars may have had on the soldiers. For instance, how did long-range weaponry and modern warfare affect the soldiers both physically and mentally as they were introduced in urban warfare? We decided that through the secrecy and lessened coordination that modern warfare provided, with buildings to hide in and civilians strewn among the soldiers, tension was probably heightened. The soldiers couldn’t always see who was shooting at them. Through this question and ones similar to it, we investigated these two wars. Once we were done studying about both of the World Wars, we were instructed to create projects reflecting our views of the truth of war for soldiers, all of our new knowledge aiding us in this process. I don’t believe that there is one singular truth of war, so I created a cube that could portray some of the facets of the creature that we call war. There are both good and bad views painted on this cube, and it corresponds to a poem that I wrote along with it. This is what I believe the truth of war is: That war isn’t just one thing, but many, and only on closer inspection can we begin to see some of the overshadowed facets of war.
I believe that the Habit of Heart and Mind that I used most in this project was perspective. This is because I incorporate different views on the different panels of the cube. The first picture is of the metals and glory that are often associated with war when war is viewed in an optimistic light. Next is the beauty of a father coming home to his daughter after fighting in the war. The third view that I use is the freedom that comes when a war is won, freeing a people from oppression. Fourth is the detachment that civilians have from war, how the pain of it is hidden from them. Then I turn to the details of the pain that war inflicts, portraying a soldier who has killed himself. I move to a man who feels lost and guilty for the lives that he has taken, searching for forgiveness in the words of the Bible. A woman in the next panel has cracked, and feels like she is slipping into insanity, so she drinks away that realization. Finally, I speak of the soldiers and their relentless pursuit of the Beast what we call War. In this, each time you turn the cube or open a panel, you see a new view of how war has affected someone. This is how I used perspective in the project, and why perspective is the Habit of Heart and Mind that I used most.
I made a couple of large revisions to my essay throughout the course of this project. The first was to this revision stated by Lori: “This is a beautifully written introduction, but I’m unclear right now as to what your thesis is. I think you need to sum up your argument in a really focused sentence here at the end of your paragraph, so that the reader has a better idea of where you’re headed.” This problem appeared in several other areas too; I was so caught up in crafting sentences, making them as beautiful as I could, that I sometimes forgot to state what the point of those sentences were. This made them more confusing to readers and therefore was actually hurtful to the statement that I was trying to make. The other major problem I had was that my paragraphs didn’t always tie into each other very well or to the introduction at all. This wasn’t helpful to my essay either because I wasn’t explaining my thought process, meaning that my readers would still be left in the dark, which wasn’t something that I wanted to happen. So I took two paragraphs at a time and made sure that they related to each other and to the thesis so that my essay didn’t leave readers in confusion.
If I had another week to work on my project and essay, I would go over my essay again and rewrite each paragraph to edit and make it more refined. Then, I would to go my poem and make it more reader-friendly, or aesthetically pleasing because the main thing that I wanted turn a project that people usually take the time to read and turn it into something that they could interact with. Finally, if I had another week I would want to paint some protective layer over my box’s panels and make it fit together better than it currently does. This would my project stronger and more refined, which would be good because I wish to make my project as refined as it can possibly be. The extra week would most likely enable me to do that or to add onto my project without having to rush to add details.
