SandStorm

http://minusthe-x.blogspot.com/2010/09/sandstorm-this-week-we-read-play.html

I think the strongest emotion I felt while reading was when the soldiers were discussing the death of all of those innocent people with such casualness. I was instantly frustrated by the idea of war and of the innocent people who die for no good reason. After I continued reading, and realized that the soldiers did indeed feel a sense of guilt and shame, they just had to let the adrenaline and anger disperse so their real emotions over what had happened could truly hit them. Soldiers learn to numb out the pain and go through the actions without the emotions, so when they are out of the war, those things hit them that much harder, because they have yet to fully deal with it. It  made me so sad to read about how the men felt as though they weren't human, they had no empathy or sense of emotion when they encountered death so many times. 

The monologues were all VERY emotional and intense, and I do think that I gained a better outlook about those who do risk their lives for their country.The men and women who fight for our country are the ones at war, and the ones who will have to deal with the emotional consequences. They will be the ones with the memories and the images they can't erase. I think that regardless of political opinions or views, we should support our soldiers because they are fighting for our rights, and our freedoms. I think that these monologues showed the hardships and emotional agony our soldiers go through, rather than glorifying it like so many war stories do.

The monologue style of writing helped me to understand more of what the characters were feeling, but the numerous stage directions and other details thrown in kept taking me out of the story. Overall I find it difficult to fully appreciate that style of writing when reading it to myself because it distracts me from the real emotions of the story. It doesn't feel like a story or something you can imagine in your head and properly connect with.