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Brigid OBrien

Truth of War Art Project Reflection


April 2017

How did we explore the truth of war in this project?


We explored the truth of war in this project through various lessons, socratic seminars, and other
unique ways of learning. We first learned about the Red and Lavender Scare, how the US feared
communism in Russia, and how this led to the time of the Cold War. We later moved on to how
the Vietnam War started by researching the Gulf of Tonkin reports. Through this we learned that
the situation was a proxy war between the United States and Russia. After we learned this, we
wrote essays on whether or not the US planned to go to war with Vietnam through analysis and
research. After we had a full understanding of the conflict, we delved deeper into the draft and
how young American men were affected when at war in Vietnam. It was around this time that we
started to read the book The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien. The book was a series of short
stories about his experience fighting in the Vietnam war for America. We also had a veteran come
into class and tell us some of his war stories - which was eye opening. We subsequently discussed
the book through a socratic seminar. After we had a thorough understanding of the side of the
American soldiers, we moved on to learn about how Vietnamese civilians were affected by the
war. The final process of this project was to make an art piece based off of personal research
pertaining to the Vietnam war. I decided to create a pencil drawing to show the repercussions of
unexploded ordnances in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

How did you strengthen your skills during this project?


I strengthened my skills during this project academically and artistically. I strengthened my
writing skills when writing my Gulf of Tonkin essay. I had to use analysis and research
accordingly to what I was trying to persuade the audience of. I also grew artistically when
drawing my art piece for this project. I had to draw multiple drafts, erase, and redraw many times.
This forced me to grow in patience and sketch technique. I also had to grow in being self
sufficient. Unfortunately, in this project I did not have the best critique group that helped me with
making my artwork better. Since this did not work very well for me, I took the initiative to ask
others what their opinion was on my artwork. I wanted to make sure I did my best and therefore
really value other people's thoughts.

What enduring understandings will you take away from this project?
There are so many understandings that I will take away from this project, including historical
events, geography, truth in war stories, and how war affects people before and after its
occurrence. Content wise geographically, I will take away the geography of Vietnam and its
surrounding countries, something that I find very important. Historically, I will take away the
Gulf of Tonkin events, and how the US government was not fully truthful to its citizens. Truth in
war has also impacted me throughout this project in the way that I have learned and understood so
much perspective about the experiences drafted men had in the Vietnam war from listening to the
veteran who came in to talk to us. The opportunity to hear what he had to say was amazing and it
really had me realize what I take for granted in my life.

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