Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

War changes the lives of each and every soldier who participates. It continues to change the way they experience events and the way their perception of the simplest things. Many veterans do not realize what truly happened until much later in life, if at all. Many live in denial of the truth, consciously or subconsciously, and many continuously remember their darkest moments. This is the case in “Salem”, written by Robert Olen Butler. The short story is about a man, late in life, recalling a past event from the Vietnam War. He remembers a man, alone in a clearing, whose life he ended. He starts to understand his actions and their true outcomes. The author uses symbolism, setting, and character to enhance the idea that one should always be aware of how his/her actions affect others.

“Facing It” by the American black poet Yusef Komunyakaa of Shreveport is written with the use of visual images. Yusef Komunyakaa writes about one of his many trips to the Vietnam's Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. This Memorial is a long polished slab of black reflectant granite with the names of all the US soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. Yusef says “my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite”. Here Yusef uses his reflection in the wall to bring the reader back to the war and how he feels standing at the wall now. He makes his feeling ambiguous and give the reader the opportuntity to decide what he is feeling through his use of viual images.

“Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, are two powerful poems with the graphical life like images on the reality of war. It is apparent that the authors was a soldier who experienced some of the most gruesome images of World War I. In “Ducle et Decorum Est” Owen tells us about a personal experience in which he survived a chemical warfare attack. Although he survives, some of his fellow troops do not. As in “Facing It” Komunyakaa is also a soldier who has survived a war. Komunyakaa response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit to Lin’s memorial. Inspired by the monument, Komunyakaa confronts his conflicted feelings about Vietnam, its legacy, and even more broadly, the part race plays in

In the poem, “The Names,” it states, “Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory. So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.” In that quote, it is showing how these names are part of a memory of the narrator. It shows that the narrator was once with those people in or at a dangerous place. Looking an area earlier quotes in the poem, we can infer that the narrator was with those people during 9/11, specifically when they were rescuing people within the tower. It links the narrator to the rest of the community and the wall since he knew all of the men and women on the wall, just like the people who are mourning. In “The War of the Wall,” it states, “To the People of Taliaferro Street I dedicate This Wall of Respect Painted in Memory of My Cousin Jimmy Lyons.” In the beginning of the story, the narrator mentioned how Jimmy Lyons was going to take him or her fishing. However, he died, and wasn’t able to take them. In the quote, the connection between the the painter lady and the man Jimmy Lyons is seen. We can infer that memories of him made the painter lady dedicate the wall to Jimmy Lyons. Those memories eventually led her to writing how the wall was dedicated to Jimmy Lyons, which is how we link the painter lady to the two main characters, and how we can identify the painter lady as someone of relation to the main characters. The memories, which eventually led to

In his poem, “Facing It”, Yusef Komunyakaa describes his ambivalent emotions towards the Vietnam War of which he was a veteran. Reflecting on his experiences, Yusef expresses his conflicting feelings about the Vietnam War and his feelings about how racism has played a part in America’s history. By using visual imagery and metaphoric language throughout the poem, Yusef is able to reflect the sad and confused emotions he felt while visiting the Vietnam memorial.

“Facing It” a powerful sonnet, brings both exact and metaphorical meanings to the reader. As seen in “I see the booby trap’s white flash,” (18) where there is no room for a different interpretation, but a flashback; which invites the reader into the world of war. It is up to the vet to see himself as something other than a man of war and the Vietnam Memorial allows them to release their pain into the stone, the black granite; releasing the empty pain that is carried for years. “[H]alf-expecting to find / my own [name] in the letter” (15, 16) and the portrayal of “I am a window” (27) allows others to see through the vet what a veteran took away from the war. Not all came back whole either mind or body and Komunyakaa displays this within the reference of “his right arm / inside the stone” (28, 29) and how this soldier wishes the names and pain could be erased by the simple movement of a

The returning of a dramatic event disables a soldier to adapt accordingly to everyday life. Ones conscious of reality is infringed upon Posttraumatic experiences of warfare, which unleashes an outbreak of inhumane actions directed towards existence and significant others. As the short story progresses after the event of the Vietnam War, the narrator says referring to Henry that:

Often times, we feel we deal with the weight of so many burdens. We feel overwhelmed and aren’t able to do anything about it. But unlike our minor situations faced daily that we feel is weighing down on us, there are many veterans who would love to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.

People often feel embarrassed because they believe what they do are wrong. In The Things They Carried, the conflicts in emotions of the soldiers highlight the theme of embarrassment. For instance, O’Brien in “On the Rainy River” is ashamed because he decides to go to the Vietnam War and escapes his real ideals. In “Speaking of Courage,” Norman Bowker is embarrassed because he has saved himself instead of saving his friend Kiowa from death. Indeed, the theme of embarrassment plays an essential role in The Things They Carried because shame greatly affects the complexity of the soldiers’ decisions and emotions before and after the war.

Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It” is a lyrical poem about a Vietnam veteran reflecting back to the Vietnam War. Komunyakaa uses types of figurative language to show the different emotions and experiences he went through upon visiting the Vietnam Memorial. Throughout the poem he expresses his feelings on the war and concludes that as humans, we must eventually move on from this tragic event. Komunyakaa uses personification, metaphors, and powerful imagery to reflect on the painful and confusing emotions that he was going through while at the memorial.

I said I wouldn't dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh.”(Komunyakaa 1). When the author says “the black granite” he expresses someone crying as their reflection bounces off of the wall and looks back on them. Like an impermeable black hole that swallows you up and makes you look at yourself in the reflections of it walls. Also, he repeats the word “black” twice which refers to the coloring of the wall and his ethnicity. He not only uses the metaphoric expressions to describe his emotions but also he uses metaphors to describe a woman who was also sculpting the wall who stood next to him. The author writes “In the black mirror the women’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” (Komunyakaa 16). He misinterpreted the woman’s act of brushing the boy’s hair as the mother not having emotions towards the names on the wall. He then realizes that women are able to face the reality of seeing the lost soldiers on the wall, and being able to move on from

The poem Facing it by Yusef Komunyakaa, a black soldier, is a brilliant message of the difficulty of war. This Poem has many hidden meanings, with many literary devices to get his point across. He uses personification Metaphors and lots of Imagery. These devices make is very easy for the readers the image the hardship of looking at that wall, seeing people you know and loved name’s staring back at you. Many emotions appear in this poem but none stronger than guilt.

The meaning of “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa is conveyed by his excellent use of imagery throughout the poem to employ the speakers feeling while visiting the Vietnam Memorial. Imagery effects the poem by providing vivid descriptions of how a veteran feels after seeing the memorial for the first time and how the Vietnam War has impacted his life. Imagery furthers the poem because the speaker uses it to explain the effects of the Vietnam War on not only his life, but the lives of all those who suffered because of the war.

In the aftermath of a horrific experience, it is not uncommon for a survivor to feel guilty about their survival. The most difficult thing for survivors can be finding the ability to move beyond what has happened and look toward the future. An individual is often shaped by their past experiences. If ensuing guilt is not dealt with, however, the past can hinder the ability to achieve in the present. In Art Spielgelman’s MAUS II, Vladek and Art struggle to live in the present and are laden with guilt from their pasts. When not properly dealt with, guilt can become an overpowering emotion, governing decisions and depleting self motivation. To move successfully past debilitating guilt one often must learn to be accepting of the past and

causes the poem to flow, and thus lightens up the dark and serious issue of war. The lines "But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place." are easy to read; however, their meaning is extremely