Poem:We Slept With Our Boots On
Task 1
Poet:Steve Carlsen
Born and currently living in Dowagiac, Michigan(somewhere in America), Steve Carlsen joined the United States Army in October 2000 and went to Infantry Basic Training, and Airborne School in Ft. Benning Georgia. He was deployed to various places such as Kosovo and Afganistan. He was discharged from the army in 2003, and has been attending Southwestern Michigan College since then. Throughout the poem, he hints on his occupation in the army-a paratrooper.
The poem is obviously about Steve Carlsen's personal experiences in war, so the conflict represented can only be the Afgan war (he only aided in peace-keeping in Kosovo, so it is not considered a war). Another clue that points us to the Afgan War would be the mention of "Hindu Kush" in the poem. The Hindu Kush is a mountain range that stretches from central Afganistan to northen Parkistan.
The Afgan war started in 2001, and has yet to be ended. It started as a direct result of the September 2001 bombing of the World Trade Centre. On 7 October 2001, armed forces of America, Britain and the Afgan United Front launched as assault on southern Afganistan, with the objective of eliminating the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda, suspects of masterminding the bombing of the World Trade Centre and also removing the autocratic Taliban regime. Massive air raids were launched, and within a matter of weeks the Taliban regime was ousted and a Democratic republic was established. However, the other objective of this war was not achieved. To make matters worse, the Taliban still lurks in some parts of Afganistan, incessantly launching insurgents and constantly harassing and threatening to overthrow the government.
Task 2
Point of view: The point of view presented here is that of a soldier, or more specifically a paratrooper. Throughout the poem, the poet managed to show vividly his experiences in war, from what he sees to what he hears and even what he feels. These experiences are unique to soldiers, therefore I did not experience it beforehand. However, upon reading the poem, I was plunged to the scene of war-injured and dead lying on the floor, orders barked from my superiors, and the inevitable feeling of excitement tinged with dread upon being ordered to fight. The poet managed to maintain this sort of connection with the reader from the start to the end, showcasing the experiences of people in the very core of war-the soldiers.
Situation and setting: The war was set in Afganistan, in a particular range of mountains known as the Hindu Kush.
Language/Diction: The poem was written in simple language, and the poet seemed to be 'talking' to you through the poem. There was one instance where the word 'you' was mentioned, referring to the reader. Also, there was a part where the poet wrote down exactly what his superiors said. All these allowed me to personally feel the chaos during the battles, the incessant barking, shouting, gunshots, the murky fields and steep mountains the soldiers have to overcome, and so on. The poet wanted this to be formated in a sort of 'conversation', where the where he can share his first-hand experiences in a way much closer to the reader so that the reader would get to understand his pains. Nevertheless, the poet still managed to illustrate the battles quite vividly.
Personal response: This poem holds a realistic view of the war, not glorifying war, not criticising war. Steve Carlsen personally experienced war, and wrote this poem based on his memory. Instead of another poem critising war, where poets would only showcase the banes of war and never the benefits, or a poem glorifying war, where poets in control of an imperialist would dump all the benefits of war into one poem that would make your blood boil, this poem only talks about the experiences of soldiers. Although this poem has a slightly negative connotation of war (as life of a soldier is indeed tough), it actually brings out an important point in war, or in general every hardship faced in life, that bonds would be made, and on friendships that would last forever.
