The Heav'n Rescued Land

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
’Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

This song was written by Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet, in September of 1814.  He penned the lyrics while being detained by the British aboard an American vessel during the War of 1812. He was inspired to write the lyrics by watching a violent, large-scale attack on Fort McHenry that the British had launched. Certain that the British would take the fort, Key was surprised and awed to see the American flag still "gallantly streaming" through "the dawn's early light." The War of 1812 forced England to officially recognize America's status as an independent nation and it also produced what would become our national anthem years later. Originally is was titled "Defense at Fort M'Henry," but of course now we know it as "The Star Spangled Banner." I think the last verse has to be my favorite. I love how he gives the glory back to God for their victory and refers to America as "the heav'n rescued land" and proclaims our motto as "In God is our trust" which we still use today. 

Info: Smithsonian.com

Picture: primarysourcenexus.org

Literature's Role in American Independence

I think one of the most valuable things I've gained from these literature courses is a new perspective on literature. I used to find literature boring and pointless but as I've read more and more works of literature by great American and English authors, and done more and more assignments that have helped me to gain a better understanding of what I'm reading, I grown to have a deeper appreciation for literature. It helps to show us where we've been, where we are, and in some ways where we're going.

It is truly priceless and without it we wouldn't be where we are today. My point is best illustrated by two documents that we looked at weeks ago in Pod 2. Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and Thomas Jefferson's The Declaration of Independence were vital works of literature that helped inspire and unite Americans to fight for independence from Britain in 1776.

Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine, expressing his view that reconciliation with England and the Crown was not a wise move for the colonies. He insisted that fighting for independence was their only option and if they were going to do it, now was the time. It was read wide-spread across the thirteen colonies and did much to sway the public opinion in favor of independence.

The Declaration of Independence, a document which everyone in this class should be familiar with, was written by Thomas Jefferson and formally announced American independence as a separate nation from Britain. It outlined the basic rights that we believe every human is entitled to - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and brought together the thirteen colonies into the United States of America.

Literature is a very powerful thing. In all reality it really isn't much different than the power of the tongue. Once something is written, published, and distributed to the public it's nearly impossible to erase it. It has the power to start wars and end them. In this case, it started the American Revolution in which America defeated Britain and became the great nation we live in today. Literature is far more important and powerful than I originally gave it credit for, but I've learned to respect it and learn from what these great authors have given us to read.





Pictures retrieved from freestatefoundation.blogspot.com and thecommonsenseshow.com

Introduction to Stories of War Part 2

 Greetings to all of you new bloggers!

As many of you know, I have already taken the second half of this course. As a result, I already have a blog started from last semester. It may seem a little odd since I'm going back in time but since I covered from 1865 to present in my previous posts, this semesters entries will be covering stories about war from the beginning of America to 1865. I'm excited to start blogging again and looking at poems, short stories, speeches, and anything else I might come across.

Interestingly enough, the very first story in the textbook, The Iroquois Creation Story, is not only a story about creation but one about a war.

It starts out with a woman who is pregnant with twins and before they are even born the twins are in a battle. One twin is evil and tries to burst from the mother's side and the other, good twin tries to prevent him. The mother dies but the twins survive and the good one, Enigorio, goes on to create the world. The bad one, Enigonhahetgea, went about sabotaging his work and making harmful things.

Eventually the twins battle to the death and the good one, Enigorio, wins. Despite the fact that this is not how I believe the world came into existence, I find it very symbolic that evil will not triumph. Not in the beginning and not in the end.

This war between good and evil has been around from the beginning of everything, not just the beginning of American Literature. It's still going on today and it will continue to go on until the world ceases to be. I think we can see that quite clearly in today's time. We just have to continue bringing out the good in the world and trying to be the good in the world until that time comes.

Happy blogging, folks!

Picture retrieved from https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8qFWJBxWRE4ADjkunIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIydDBvN2NkBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM0MGM4Y2U1Y2FkYzNhNDRjMmMzNGQxM2EyOWQ1MmExYgRncG9zAzEEaXQDYmluZw--?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Diroquois%2Bcreation%2Bstory%2Btwins%2Bfighting%26n%3D60%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-002%26fr2%3Dsb-top-images.search.yahoo.com%26hsimp%3Dyhs-002%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=1072&h=1232&imgurl=2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-wcvzZXr1Rrg%2FUET6khiIqHI%2FAAAAAAAAAAw%2F523WLf4_gPo%2Fs1600%2Fgoodmind.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftmmorris1.blogspot.com%2F&size=380.6KB&name=Monday%2C+September+3%2C+2012&p=iroquois+creation+story+twins+fighting&oid=40c8ce5cadc3a44c2c34d13a29d52a1b&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&tt=Monday%2C+September+3%2C+2012&b=0&ni=144&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=10u46nfuk&sigb=1656rdgns&sigi=12la5u9rh&sigt=10pjs0i69&sign=10pjs0i69&.crumb=W6.LwIyo/Cg&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla

End of the Semester Thoughts

Wow, the final post. The end of the semester is here. We have been through so many wars and battle of different sorts during the last sixteen weeks. We experienced running away from battle with Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage, we were horrified as Editha guilt-tripped her fiancee into going into battle and angry when he died, we went through the mental battle of Stanley vs. Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, all while dealing with the struggles of our own lives. In some of these stories, the hero succeeded--in some, they didn't. As we leave the world of Ivy Tech and American Literature (although as long as we're reading, we never truly leave it...so keep reading!!!), some of you for good, keep these characters in mind. What did they teach you? Did they show you how to act or how not to act? What was the author's intention behind the story?


I hope you all go on to succeed in whatever you set out to do. Don't give up especially when it seems impossible. Congratulations to the graduates! You did it! It's been a joy to be in the same class and learn from your discussion board posts and talk with you over Blackboard IM. Thank you all for a great semester!

American Sniper

Recently a movie was released called "American Sniper." It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the American Sniper. Here is a storyline I got from IMDB (International Movie Database):


Chris Kyle was nothing more than a Texan man who wanted to become a cowboy, but in his thirties he found out that maybe his life needed something different, something where he could express his real talent, something that could help America in its fight against terrorism. So he joined the SEALs in order to become a sniper. After marrying, Kyle and the other members of the team are called for their first tour of Iraq. Kyle's struggle isn't with his missions, but about his relationship with the reality of the war and, once returned at home, how he manages to handle it with his urban life, his wife and kids. 

It is a movie I would encourage everyone to get from Redbox, Netflix, Family Video...where ever you get your movies from, and watch. It shows the struggles that a soldier has to deal with going from a war hero to a family man. I won't reveal anything more in case anyone hasn't watched the movie or read up on the true story but again, it's a great movie and I recommend it for anyone who is looking for something to watch.

The Nightmare Never Ends

Close your eyes and go to sleep,
My poor, haunted soldier man,
I'll try my best to keep you safe,
In any way I possibly can.

Cradled there in my loving arms,
He drifted off to Vietnam once more.
I tried my best to soothe him,
But he was already back in the war.

His body's tense and twitching,
As he dreams of yesteryear,
I call out his name in vain,
Just trying to ease his fear.

But the battle is already brewing,
He's in the midst of a fire fight,
And for what seems like an eternity,
My soldier thrashes in the night.

And it's too late to bring him home,
He's fighting along side his brothers,
He hears his comrades cry out in pain,
And call out for their mothers.

He's soaked in sweat as he jumps about,
He feels the bullets whizzing by,
His body's numb as he checks himself,
He's so certain he's gonna die.

No, not today my brave hero,
Though you've lost so many friends,
He opens his eyes as the dream has past,
But the nightmare never ends.

Chris Woolnough
11/1/03


 This poem was written about the Vietnam War which lasted from 1959-1973. It honestly gives me chills each time I read it. I don't know the background behind the poem but the way I imagine it, it was written from the viewpoint of the soldier's wife. Her husband has returned from war physically, but mentally he's still in Vietnam fighting alongside his comrades. As our troops return from combat in present day, I think we would do well to remember that a lot of them are experiencing the same kind of mental struggles as this man was. Vietnam veterans did not come home to a warm welcome like many of our troops do today. That war was extremely controversial and when our men came home they were a source of contempt, not respect. Today, we are a little better at recognizing that those soldiers weren't the ones who declared war, they were given orders and had to follow them. We support and honor our soldiers, but unfortunately that doesn't always take away the horror of battle. For some soldiers, in any country, in any era, fighting any war, with public support or without it, the nightmare never ends.

Pray for our soldiers every chance you get.




Link to poem:  http://www.angelfire.com/nf/yvonne/Nightmare.html

A Streetcar Named Desire

I know A Streetcar Named Desire isn't a story about war, but at the risk of sounding like an amateur psychiatrist, it is in a mental sense.

One of the first things I noticed while reading this play by Tennessee Williams was that all of the characters are at odds against each other in some way. The conflict is mostly between Blanche DuBois and her sister Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski. A lot of the conflict stems from class differences but underlying all of their arguments is the battle for Stella.

Blanche disapproves of Stella's lifestyle now that she has married Stanley. To Blanche, Stella is living in a dump with an ape for a husband when she should be living the high-life with some wealthy Southern gentleman. She tries multiple times throughout the play to get Stella to leave Stanley.

Stanley, however, enjoys the fact that he pulled Stella down from her upper class status. He is the self-proclaimed "king of the castle" and his authority is absolute in his home. He resents the fact that Blanche is trying to undermine his authority and ruin the hold he has over his wife.

They both battle against each other for Stella's attention while Stella, stuck in the crossfire, does her best to placate both of them.

Blanche rants to Stella that Stanley is "common", a "madman, and "ape-like." She advises her not to "hang back with the brutes," basically saying that if she stays with Stanley she will miss out on the progression of society. Blanche's "attacks" are mostly verbal and appeal to Stella's past as a wealthy Southern belle. She insults Stanley's ethnicity, his behavior, his manners, his class status, and everything about the way he lives to undermine Stella's infatuation with him.

Stanley unveils Blanche's promiscuous past and her habitual lies as a way to discredit Blanche's opinion of him and turn Stella against her. While many of Stanley's attacks are verbal, his extend to psychological and physical attacks as well. This is ultimately what ensures his victory. Blanche's battle plan is to destroy his hold over Stella, while Stanley's battle plan is to destroy Blanche.

Again, this was not a story about a real war with guns and soldiers, but I was struck by Blanche and Stanley's battle, so to speak, over Stella. Sadly, Stanley's final attack was raping Blanche and sending her into a mental breakdown that led to insanity. Stella chose Stanley over her sister in the dramatic conclusion of the play when she decides not to believe Blanche and sends her to a mental institution.

This picture from the 1951 film adaption, starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, sums up the play pretty well. Stanley is smashing things while Stella is trying (and failing) to make him behave, Mitch is hanging around in the background but not really doing anything, and a frightened Blanche is cowering away from the noise and violence in the corner.

Picture retrieved from thewriteworkshops.com.