Facing It Essay

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In Yusef Komunyakaa “Facing It” he describes how he feels towards the situation facing the end of the war and with it the loss of many comrades. Komunyakaa appears to be confused between time during war and reality, he appears to have a hard time letting go and moving on. Such situation would be understandable giving the situation that he is in; war time is a harsh event and everything that happens during that event it’s a life changing experience. Komunyakaa it’s a Veteran from the Vietnam War, who every time he visits the Memorial he re-lives events that happened during his time in war. Komunyakaa illustrates his feelings so vividly that it almost appears as he is living them over again, he does this by using a strong imagery to illustrate his work. Komunyakaa describes the Veteran’s Memorial wall as the war itself. When he mentions that “He’s lost his right arm inside the stone.” (28-29). To my understanding he is explaining describing the situation that that other veteran has lost his arm during the Vietnam war and he is a survivor of the war. The way Komunyakaa illustrates the action by saying he lost his arm in the wall it’s like saying the wall is the war and the event where the other veteran lost his arm. He is lost and confused in a mixture of feelings, to my perception he does not know better said he cannot assimilate what has happened. He cannot help but to feel depressed and wretched when he sees all those names. Like he says in lines there and four “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: no tears.” he is wretched by then fact that all those names on the memorial represent many of his lost comrades. Remembering each so vividly, that he feels part of the wall himself when he says “I’m stone. I’m flesh.” he is inferring that he is part of the wall the wall is a memory of war which he was part of. In that wall are memories from that war, trapped friends that now
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