ZacharyMirsky

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In the poem "Face it" by Yusef Komanyakaa, a man of Vietnamese decent visited a Vietnam war veterans memorial celebrating the lost lives of the soldiers that fought in this controversial war. The poem creates a story of a man filled with regret and terror from undergoing the scarring visions and experiences he must have gone through. I felt pity for the man as you could tell how he longed to be normal again and to feel like a child, oblivious of every stress inducer in sight and not having to worry about issues of the past.
 * 1)** **Initial Feelings**

In the poem, it is evident that the man has a hard time feeling emotion, "No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh" (line 4,5). He continues to see his reflection in the stone wall with all of the names engraved into his face, almost as if he is guilt ridden for all of those who didn't make it out alive. He begins to have flashbacks and it all seems too much for him to handle.

Overall, my initial reaction to this poem reminds me of the movie "Born on the 4th of July" by Oliver Stone. A man unable to recover from the scarring experience of war is highly prevelant and causes lives to be ruined. The poem saddened me and made me think how there are are so many other routes to diffuse a problem than to go to war. More lives are ruined and less problems are solved.

There is very little alliteration found in this poem. The use of images and symbolic references is utilized in full effect. "A clouded reflection eyes me," a quote indicating that his sense of self is hindered and unclear. The imagery the author uses to depict painstaking flashbacks is the most engaging part of the poem. He is taking you inside his thoughts, showing you a distinct display of the horrific images he witnessed.
 * 2) Engaging With The Text**