Question

In at least 150 words discuss how "Attack the Water" can be read as an archetype of war. Be sure to define "archetype" and include any relevant text from the poem to support your reasoning.

Answer 1

Answer:

The litterature in "Attack the Water" by Janice Mirikitani can be read and looked at as an archetype of war for a number of reasons. Let us start of by defining what an archetype is. An Archetype is an original, idealized model of a type of person, object, or idea.The use of archetypes with war in "Attack the Water" and the combination they form create a strong universal theme and also give important imagery and creativeness in making the readers connect and feel like they are in the poem as well. A central idea that was formed and brought up along by the archetypes of war in the poem is the mutual understanding of human suffering in war , many different races and countries of people can relate and understand the central idea of human suffering in war which brings us to an example of an archetype used in the poem.In the poem Mirikitani mentions a character of a mother who chews up maggets for her children to not have to encounter them when they eat their rice , they show sacrifice after sacrifice that she makes for her children and that leads to an archetype being drawn out in the poem , the use of Miriktani's real grandmother and the mother character she uses creat an archetype of war representing an all good mother who sacrifices herself and suffers for the well bieng of her children.

Answer 2

An "archetype" is a repeated/popular symbol in literature, art, or mythology. “Attack the Water" can be read as an archetype of war because it has a universal theme of "war is suffering". She uses her personal past to help her make her poem more passionate. The "war is suffering" theme has been used for decades, and people can either agree or dispute with it. An example would be from the video in the second section, when the enemy stepped up its military efforts and bombed the water supply of the rivers in Vietnam. This woman became the archetype of the Good Mother, sacrificing herself and doing whatever it takes—including eating maggots and spitting them out—to ensure that the cycle of life continues.