Facing it by yusef komunyakaa by Melinda Nguyen

1. Voice / Tone

1.1. Who is the speaker ?and what is the tone ?

1.1.1. The speaker is a Vietnam Veterans and the tone is emotional , upsetting , and thoughts provoking

1.1.2. Example :

1.1.3. “ I’m stone , I’m flesh “ “ I said I wouldn’t dammit: No Tears “

2. Poem

2.1. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa

2.1.1. My black face fades. Hiding inside the black granite I said I wouldn’t Dammit: No tears. I’m stone I’m flesh My clouded reflection eyes me Like a bird of prey, the profile of night Slanted against morning I turn This way - the stone lets me go I turn that way - I’m inside The Vietnam veterans memorial Again, depending on the light To make a difference I go down the 58,000 names Half expecting to find My own in letter like smoke I touch the name Andrew Johnson I see the booby trap's white flash. Names shimmer on women's blouse But when she walk away The names stay on the wall Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's Wings cutting across my state The sky. A plane in the sky. A white vet's image floats Closer to me, then his pale eyes Look through mine. I'm a window He's lost his right arm Inside the stone. In the black mirror A women's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair

2.1.1.1. Author

2.1.1.1.1. Yusef komunyakaa Born April 29,1947 in Bogalusa, Louisiana Family raise in a black American household oldest of five children Military: USA Army (1969-1970); correspondents, did not write about the war until 14yrs later Education : Bachelors degree from University of Colorado Springs (1975); Master degree from Colorado State University(1978) and Master of Fine Arts from University of California (1980) Accomplishment: 1994 Pulitzer Price for Poetry 2011 Wallace Stevens Award; William Faulkner Price from Universite De Rennes

3. Literacy device

3.1. Which device is used in the poem . ?

3.1.1. Metaphor : -Stone > being emotionless - Flesh > being emotional - Red bird’s wings > Fighter Jet - Window> Simile : - “like a bird of prey” - “I’m letters like smoke” Personification: - “My clouded reflections eyes me” Allusion: - Andrew Johnson : 17th president who voted for Civil Right Bills Imagery : whole piece Identity : Dual vs Single Alliteration: “Face Fades”

4. Theme

4.1. What is the theme in the poem ?

4.1.1. The Vietnam war was gruelling experience for all who fought. It is evident that life and death became huge theme with a racial aspect involved

5. Summary

5.1. The poem begins with the speaker facing the black granite wall of the memorial. He sees his own “black face” in the surface and feels as if he is slipping into his past as he reads all of the names written on the wall. He is returned to the time period that he served, or visited, Vietnam during the war, and imagines that his name should be alongside the 52,022 that are engraved on the monument’s surface. In the second half of the piece the speaker sees the reflection of a number of mundane interactions in the memorial. He is experiencing the simultaneous existence of peace and war and how it changes those who surround it. The poem comes to the conclusion that no one living in peacetime could full understand the experience of one who saw the horrors of war; horror at facts and figures is a temporary thing, lived experience is permanent.