The guest vet

I was very impressed with the guest speaker that we had. He seemed really well spoken and was willing to talk about a good number of things that happened to him in the war, which surprised me. When I was studying Tim O'brien last year I actually had my dad come and talk to the class, because he was in the Navy while he was in Vietnam. So it was very interesting to me to hear another perspective about the war. Granted my father did not see much action being in the Navy but he was very willing to talk to the class about the effects of being drafted into the Army, then enlisting into the Navy during a war, had on my dad. He had received a letter from the army in which he was sure was his draft orders, so he went with his father to the Navel recruiter, a friend of my Grandpa's, and was able to enlist as a higher rank because he had not opened the letter yet. I mention my dad's experience here because it seems to be a big contrast to that of our speaker. Where our speaker saw a lot of action and was right in the middle of things, my dad really experienced the mental aspect of the waiting and not knowing what was going to happen part of the war. My dad did a complete 180 during the war; from the straight laced MP he was at the beginning, to a complete full 8 inch long beard wearing hippy who looked exactly like Tommy Chong he turned into by the end of it. So by contrasting my dad's story of the war and with our guest speakers I really can see how Vietnam can change a person. With our speaker, it gave him a greater connection to Christianity, granted he was already deeply involved with it but there is no doubt that the war solidified his beliefs in ways nothing else could. As with my dad, it did some what the opposite. My dad experienced a war in his mind much like the "dull period" that is found earlier in our book, and as a result he separated from some of his former beliefs. Our speaker experienced the war first hand and as a result trusted more and more in God, my dad did not so trusted more in the popular rebellious beliefs of the times...

Going after what is already gone...

I have read Tim O’Brien before and I like what he does with his novels. I have read the things they carried and I can see striking similarities within both novels. On the back of my book there is a quote that says "To call going after Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby Dick a novel about whales." I completely agree with this. This novel is no more about a search for an AWOL soldier than it is about the war itself. This novel was written to give an insight to how a 17 year old boy would find himself in a terrible war. In this novel we see how this boy who normally was considered nothing but a quiet, brave, and trustworthy solider, could just decide to leave it all behind. Tim O’Brien knows what it was like to be drafted at a young age and where he did a lot of his finding himself and growing up into an adult while he was trying to come to terms with being drafted, he still is no stranger to how war can affect a young man. The war brought out the best in Cacciato, he was a good solider, but it also made him question everything, question everything so much that his only answer was to go away to some place safe; give it all up, and that is what he does. He seems perfectly nonchalant about it too, because he knows that was his only choice. Stay and die for a cause he did not understand, or live the rest of his life with only his reputation in the Army to be harmed. It was an easy decision. I also think another important aspect of this novel can be seen in how Paul Berlin handles the search. He seems to be the only one really affected and connected with the reasoning behind Cacciato's departure, and that connection seems to help him come to terms with his own role in this war.

The violent Buildungsroman

The question of whether or not the Violent Bear it away is a buildungsroman novel is a hard one for me to answer. To me the point of this novel was to disturb people. It seemed to be a novel made to make people aware of the insanity that some families can be forced to live with as well as the insanity that can only be brought about in a person by something infinite, and ultimately powerful. By that I mean religion in general. The novel illustrates how someone can be driven so far into insanity (whether they were already insane before or not) to the point that they could not control themselves, or function as a normal human being, all by the belief in their religion. They see themselves as the only true prophets of their times, and the only person with the will to go the distance. This novel focuses on Christianity but I believe it is symbolic of all religions and the power they can possess in a persons mind. Now with that in mind the questions remains; "is this a buildungsroman novel?" Well in the traditional sense I do not think so since the novel seemed to focus more on relationships than the development of any one character, however, it may be considered a buildungsroman in the religious sense. In the development of the characters religious beliefs in contrast to their growth in the world, however twisted it may be it can be seen as a buildungsroman. The characters, old Tarwater included, all are forced to come to terms with the way the religion is being treated in the world, as well as what it really means to them, and in that sense it most certainly is a buildungsroman.

The Violent Bear was a misleading title

I had been referring to this novel in my own head as the violent bear, so naturally I had gotten my hopes up that it would be another hunting story about a violent bear just like our previous one. I was sadly mistaken however. This novel to me really touched on the relationship issues between disgruntled families. Also I understand how a family member can really hurt you emotionally and physically if they are a danger to themselves. I have been an uncle since I was 4 months old and I have had to constantly deal with a nephew who just kept going down the wrong path. And because of that I felt drawn to the relationship between Francis and Rayber. Although my own nephew is not mentally ill (or so I think) he has definitely committed acts that would make me think so sometimes. He has been in an out of correctional homes and has only now finally gotten his life back together. He has gone through many traumatic experiences in his life and has felt a connection to me throughout all of them. I am the one he comes to for help, a place to stay, necessities, and sometimes just advice, and I love that he feels comfortable enough to come to me with that. So when I read about the relationship Rayber has with Francis I can not help but see the similarities between my own with my nephew. So I know how difficult it can be when a person you are related to and love cannot seem to get things right. This rings true for those with mental disorders and those who just make poor decisions.

The bear grows

Throughout the story of the bear, it is clear in the beginning that it is a coming of age story. The development Ike makes through the process of becoming a hunter, an outdoorsman, and even an equal, is the exact development needed in a coming of age tale. However, there is even more than that in this book. This book also goes into the deeper growth that a man must do when confronting his families past. Faulkner devotes an entirely controversial chapter in this book in which Ike learns about his past and is forced to deal with it. Ike learns that his families fortune is tainted with slave blood and other disturbing events, and as a result in order to clear his grandfathers name as well as allow him to live comfortably with himself as a person, he denounces his inheritance. He takes only the small amount that he needs to survive but ultimately rejects it, saying that he would rather make his own way. A way that was free from tainted past and one that was entirely his. This way proved that his development was complete and that he was genuinely a good man. And I believe that the forest and his relationship with the bear helped him become this man. The bear taught him to overcome his fears as well as his past, and to respect nature and the natural balance of things. This natural balance is what made him ultimately opposed to slavery and anything gained by slavery. Former slaves and other black people already influenced his life in a positive way so it was completely foreseeable that Ike would take that lesson to heart most above the others.

The Bear Dies

In a novel that was so centered around the bear, I was surprised to find out that it died fairly early on in the story. I figured that it would follow the route of the old man and the sea, and remain until close to the end of the book and even then still remain a major part of it. With the death of the bear came the death of Sam and Lion which I saw both somewhat fitting. For Sam this was because he was an older man whose life seemed to be centered around the connection with the bear. His deep love for the forest also symbolized his love for the powerfully old and wise bear, and when the bear was killed so was Sam's drive to carry on. With Lion, his whole purpose was to fight the bear. He was the one dog and final element that the hunters had been waiting on for so long that could possibly contend with the bear. They left him simi-untrained just for that reason, so he could be just as wild as the bear but yet still be civil to most humans. After he did the job of cornering the bear and holding him in place there was really nothing left for lion, at least as far as this stories message was concerned and therefore he kind of had to die. I also found it interesting that it was Boon with a knife that killed the bear. This brought my thoughts back to the idea that the bear was above some of the sophisticated weapons and needed to be treated like an equal. So it took a man to see it as a threat, like Boon did with the fact that it was killing his dog, and then fight it head to head without extra help. Boon dug deep within himself and developed a connection with Lion that was being destroyed by the bear, so naturally Boon had to destroy the bear to even the score.