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Literary Analysis Of Yusef Kounyakaa's 'Facing It'

Decent Essays

Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It” is an emotional journey to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. According to Poets.org, Komunyakaa earned a Bronze Star for his service in the United States Army during the Vietnam war (1969-70). The use of first-person point of view gives the reader insight to the pain felt by a veteran reliving the horrors of war. The writer shares an indelible bond with not only the narrator, but all survivors of military combat. This bond is something that cannot be fully understood by the average person visiting the memorial. The theme of the perpetual effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is conveyed through the use of imagery, diction, and mood.
The use of imagery allows the reader to picture the long-lasting emotions gripping the narrator. Being a concrete representation of an object or sensory experience (myLearning), imagery permits the reader to visualize what the narrator is experiencing. One example of imagery is used in line 5 “I'm stone. I'm flesh.” The narrator is using metaphoric and literal imagery describing his body. The reader can visualize the attempt to harden the body against the onslaught of emotion, and the reflection of the vulnerable flesh body in the granite wall. Another example of imagery can be found in lines 22 through 24 “Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's / wings cutting across my stare. / The sky. A plane in the sky." Here the realistic memories of war involuntarily flash through the narrator’s mind.

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