Baghdad Burning: Vivid Details (Pages 21-39)
On page 21, River descibes how the people roamed the streets. She said, "You can see perplexity and anger in their stance, their walk, their whole demeanor. Their eyes shift from face to face, loking for a clue." This gives a much better picture in my mind than a simple, "They walked around for work." With that, I'd picture a bunch of Iraqis with "Will work for food" signs strung around their necks.
As I read, I highlighted many sections of the book where I found lots of detail and vivid desciptions of environments and events. Some examples of these are as follows:
"Everyday, I would climb three flights of stairs, enter the little office I share with one female colleague and two males, start up my PC and spend hours staring at little numbers and letters rolling across the screen." (Page 22)
"At 8 a.m. I'd walk in lugging a backpack filled with enough CDs, floppies, notebooks, chewed-on pens, paperclips and screwdrivers to make Bill Gates proud." (Page 22)
"The maroon carpet lining the hallways was dingy, scuffed and spoke of the burden of a thousand rushing feet." (Page 23)
"The lights were shattered, desks overturned, doors kicked in, and clocks torn from the walls." (Page 23)
"It was a day of shocked, horrified relatives, with dilated pupils and trembling lips, dragging duffel bags, spouses and terrified children needing shelter." (Page 29)
The most desciptive section I found was, "He sat stiff, in a suit that was a shade of brown similar to that of caked, dry mustard. He wore a white shirt, a black, yellow-striped tie and fluorescent yellow handkerchief with charming black spots. His hair was greased back with something or another to show a broad, furrowed brow over tiny, hard eyes. He did not look like he was on some political talk show--he looked like he was being persecuted." (Page 32)
There was also quite a bit of detail at the very beginning of "The Promise and the Threat" starting on page 34. She gives great visuals when comparing and contrasting the myth and truth of the Iraqi people.
My overall reaction to the assigned reading: I had a hard time following parts of this and found myself feeling overwhelmed and frustrated when she started getting into detail and describing each of the "presidents" they have. I don't even understand or know anything about American politics. I was not about to try and understand the ins, outs, and abouts of Iraqi politics.
Overall, I really like her style. She is very casual and gives great descriptions which help make it easier to read, understand, and enjoy.
As I read, I highlighted many sections of the book where I found lots of detail and vivid desciptions of environments and events. Some examples of these are as follows:
"Everyday, I would climb three flights of stairs, enter the little office I share with one female colleague and two males, start up my PC and spend hours staring at little numbers and letters rolling across the screen." (Page 22)
"At 8 a.m. I'd walk in lugging a backpack filled with enough CDs, floppies, notebooks, chewed-on pens, paperclips and screwdrivers to make Bill Gates proud." (Page 22)
"The maroon carpet lining the hallways was dingy, scuffed and spoke of the burden of a thousand rushing feet." (Page 23)
"The lights were shattered, desks overturned, doors kicked in, and clocks torn from the walls." (Page 23)
"It was a day of shocked, horrified relatives, with dilated pupils and trembling lips, dragging duffel bags, spouses and terrified children needing shelter." (Page 29)
The most desciptive section I found was, "He sat stiff, in a suit that was a shade of brown similar to that of caked, dry mustard. He wore a white shirt, a black, yellow-striped tie and fluorescent yellow handkerchief with charming black spots. His hair was greased back with something or another to show a broad, furrowed brow over tiny, hard eyes. He did not look like he was on some political talk show--he looked like he was being persecuted." (Page 32)
There was also quite a bit of detail at the very beginning of "The Promise and the Threat" starting on page 34. She gives great visuals when comparing and contrasting the myth and truth of the Iraqi people.
My overall reaction to the assigned reading: I had a hard time following parts of this and found myself feeling overwhelmed and frustrated when she started getting into detail and describing each of the "presidents" they have. I don't even understand or know anything about American politics. I was not about to try and understand the ins, outs, and abouts of Iraqi politics.
Overall, I really like her style. She is very casual and gives great descriptions which help make it easier to read, understand, and enjoy.
posted by Erin at
4:12 AM
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