“Look at those long-haired
bastards. Can’t tell if they’re boys or girls. Worse than Germans or Japs. Look
at that hippie with the flag sewed to his butt. I’d cut it off his ass with a
butcher knife if I was there.” This phrase threw me off guard by how United
States citizens treated one another during the Vietnam War. When Ted said this
in the book, it showed how the Vietnam War really separated our country. My
first comment I would like to say about this book so far is, WOW! The language
in this book is outrageous for me since I do not speak in vulgarity the way the
people in the book do.
In the beginning on Chapter three,
one of the students were looking at an encyclopedia and came across a page with
snakes. The students repeatedly told Conroy that snakes were bad because “they
whip ya.” Conroy tried to tell them no that snakes do not whip you and that
they are good because they eat rodents. However, I would agree with the
students and say that some snakes are bad. There is a type of snake in the
southeastern part of the United States that relates to the one the students
were talking about, and I have had personal experience with them. The snake is
called an Eastern Coach Whip, and the snake will whip you with the whip it has
on the end of its tail. These snakes lift their heads up to see what is in it
territory, and the snake will chase whatever is in its territory. After chasing
and getting a hold of it, the snake continuously whips whatever it is after.
In chapter three, I can tell that
the children are starting to learn some things. Conroy tells us about how the
children are starting to learn the oceans, the planets, and many other things.
I thought it was funny that Conroy mentioned the students always called him
“yes ma’am.” He continued to state that the students thought that is what they
were suppose to say to a teacher, and they did not know that applied just to a
woman.
In chapter four, Conroy begins to
make friends on the island, and he also moves out of the school and moves in to
the Buckner house. He mentioned that this house was a palace on the island for
the simple fact that it had a commode. Commodes were luxury then and in the
book it is stated for “man’s comfort and convenience.” At the end of chapter
four, Conroy tells us how he had fallen in love and had gotten married October
10,1969 to his neighbor from Beaufort, Barbara Jones. Barbara’s husband was a
marine that had gotten killed in the Vietnam War leaving Barbara widowed with
two children. They spend their honeymoon on Yamacraw Island because Conroy said
nothing else aroused him. He continues to say once he got married, he was
miserable on the island and all he wanted to do was quit so he could be home
with Barbara and the children.
I agree how shocking it was how Americans treated each other during the Vietnam War. I have read somewhere that civilians would spit on the American soldiers who had just come home from war. It’s amazing how disjointed and angry people can get about what they feel passionate about. There are still plenty of people today who are outraged about current international affairs but they appear to remain more civilized about their disagreements by protesting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought the part about Mr. Conroy marrying Barbara came out of nowhere. He never really talked about her or his love life prior to this part of the book. Perhaps his commuting to the island everyday will prove to be more difficult than originally planned.