First of all, this poem is about a war in which takes place in Apghanistan or Iraq. The speaker is a soldier. In the first stanza, he references the poor people (alliteration), to represent his innocent enemis which he must fight against. he knows that the US is powerful and they have no chance of winning. Dancing is a fun time/ memory for the speaker so is why is repeats it in the 6 and 7 line. The first and second stanza are exact copies of eachother to get across to the reader than this is an important message and he wants the readers to know that times have gotten more complicated and advnaced then back in the day when all he did was dance and enjoy life.
In the third stanza, the speaker states he has is act right, which is included in his back pack. This means his act always has to be up to date and readily available at all time in case one of the poor people acts up. He references an allusion of Nimoy which was a star trek host of a game show about what the truth really is, which may show how the speaker wants to know the exact truth behind this war. the fourth stanza states a peace loving decoy, which are total opposites. The speaker feels as if he is a decoy to distract the poor people from seeing America's true standpoint. His orders of robot-likeness are show and is told to strike without asking any questions. This makes the speaker feel like a robot and shows to readers how stressed and upset he is over this war.
The fifth stanza shows the soldier's characteristics and post tramautic stress disorder after being very on edge at all times with the war. he doesnt know who is out to kill him or destroy his life. He makes a reference to a type of car in which Americans fill up with gas, and tells how he is the reason they are able to drive everywhere. In the 6th stanza, he shows his missing for home and how he only has 90 day visits and recovery periods till he has to go back and fight for his country. he shows the greediness that consumes americans with how they have such better living conditions and products than the ones that fight for their freedom. he shows the injustice between the war and America and how much they dont realize what he does for them.
In the 7th stanza, he references PTSD that overcomes him especially at night and how his cost of life is expendable apparently to the american government. He doesnt feel appreciated or worth anything. He references bush with his flight suit on and how this is a tactic he used to advance as president. He doesnt like bush, and feels as if bush is only using him like a "pawn so he can advance" (lines 47-48). Lastly he states that he remembers when times were simpler and when he had good memories, instead of these terrible war times. he just wants to go back to dancing and being happy.
Your journal is EXCELLENT, Ashlyn. Great notetaking and interacting with the texts. College level work, girl!
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