Facing it by yusef komunyakaa analysis

The Vietnam Veteran Memorial and Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It”

Yusef Komunyakaa, the author of "Facing It" served in the Army. He wrote this poem, almost a decade after the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War took place for a very long time in the United States. Komanyakaa's "Facing It" is regarded as an examination of the effects of war on people, especially the Vietnam War. Since Komanyakaa was part of the war, it is easy to conclude that his experiences from the war inspired him to write the poem. The construction of Vietnam also said to influence the writing of the poem "Facing it" by Komanyakaa. This essay, therefore, analyses the significance of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial to Yusef Komnyakaa's "Facing it".

The speaker of the poem tells his story in the first person perspective. He has gone to visit the 'Vietnam Veterans Memorial', which in turn spurs a series of flashbacks of the war. The setting is in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the memorial has been vividly described to the audience. The visual representation of the memorial provides the persona with an opportunity to think about his past, his present, and his future.

It is worth noting that the language used in "Facing it' is simple and easy to follow. It is somehow informal, such that the audience can easily relate to the persona. The persona speaks simply and openly as if he is having a conversation with a friend. The language does not follow the rules of grammar and the writer, in fact, uses slang such as "dammit!" in his poem. The poem also consists majorly of two to three-word sentences, without order, which makes it look like the speaker was having random thoughts. In addition, the poem has no rhymes in the poem that makes it look lyrical. These are aspects of ordinary conversations between people. The speaker's inability to focus on one thing and instead, rambling and hopping from one thought to another is important as this makes the audience feel like they are part of the persona's experiences.

A close examination of the title of the poem leaves its audience with suspense as the audience is left asking themselves "facing what?" The title is a broad concept that leaves its readers to explore their imaginations. Upon analysis, on a literal level, one would say that the title "facing it" is about someone looking at the memorial. Since the speaker is at the memorial, one would simply assume that he is facing the memorial. However, metaphorically, the "facing" would mean the speaker needs to "face" his past experiences of the war and struggle to preserve his composure.

The poem opens with "My black face fades/hiding inside the black granite/ I said I wouldn't/dammit: No tears/ I'm stone. I'm flesh" (Lines 1-5). Here, the speaker seems to be confused and facing an identity crisis. His face is as black as the granite wall. Despite being as tough as the granite, he is also weak and human. He knows that he is bound to cry, because he is also made flesh, and faces emotions (Marvin, 2003).

The speaker then goes ahead to explain his "clouded reflection" (line 6), where he recalls the happenings of the past. His past seems to haunt him "like a bird of prey" (line 7). The comparison with the bird of prey shows the gravity of past happenings and how they continue to affect his present life. He says, "... profile of night/ slanted against morning" (line 8). It suggests the divided self of the speaker, who is torn between the experiences of the Vietnam war and his present moment. Even as he emerges into a new day, the events of the war still hover around him.

The speaker then looks the other way to the memorial, and through the light, skims through the names in the memorial. He says, "I go down the 58,022 names, /half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke (Line 14-16)"Through these lines, the audience can see the depth and magnitude of the war. The number 58,022 shows that many lives were lost in the war. He expects his name to be there and that it would be engraved like "smoke". Smoke, unlike the memorial, which was immovable, was able to vanish easily (Marvin, 2003). The memorial, on the other hand, would always be there, with people's names engraved on it, as it reminded people of those who died during the war. The reference to smoke makes the audience understand how lucky the speaker feels for having narrowly escaped the war and now glad for having survived.

The speaker comes across a name. He says "I touch the name Andrew Johnson;/I see the booby trap's white flash," (lines 17-18). The speaker seems to remember the Andrew Johnson from war. These names do not remind him of the loss that came with war. Instead, they remind him of the memories he shared with them. The speaker realizes what despite their memories, they did not share their ultimate end because his name was not encrypted in the memorial.

The speaker also notices that "Names shimmer on a woman's blouse/ but when she walks away/ the names stay on the wall" (lines 19-22). The speaker seems to be having difficulties comprehending how one would approach the memorial and walk away like nothing happened. It was almost as if the memorial had no impact on the woman, whatsoever. The speaker, on the other hand, saw the names at the memorial and they reminded him of his experiences. They changed him forever, and could not understand why other people could not feel the impacts of the war (Marvin,2003). The speaker concludes that despite the consequences of the war, people had various ways of coping with the aftermath. He realized that other people, despite having been affected by the war, were still able to live a normal life and undertake normal tasks.

The speaker then flashbacks by describing "Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's/wings cutting across my stare. /The sky. A plane in the sky." (Lines 23-25)The speaker clearly remembers what happened in the war. He remembers seeing warplanes in the sky; he then sees "A white vet's image floats/closer to me, then his pale eyes/look through mine. I'm a window." (Lines 26-30) The way that the vet looks at him makes him doubt his existence. He wonders whether he is an apparition, a ghost, or just alive. By referring to himself as a ‘window", it means that his perceptions of himself have become lessened after visiting the memorial. Instead of being flesh and stone as he had earlier mentioned, the speaker now viewed himself as a window, through which the white veteran was able to look at the wall. The veteran does not seemingly see the persona of the play, but it is clear that he has also had his share of experiences in the Vietnam war as he peers into the wall.

At the end of the poem, the act of erasing names is juxtaposed with that of a woman brushing a boy's hair. It says, "In the black mirror /a woman's trying to erase names/ No, she's brushing a boy's hair" (lines 31-33)

These lines leave the audience wondering who the woman could be. The audience wonders it is the wife of a soldier with her son that come to visit the memorial, or a mother remembering the good times they shared with his dead son in his childhood. The last line of the poem gives hope to humanity. It gives them the idea of love that would sustain the future generations, even if it does not necessarily prevent war from erupting.

Unlike at the beginning of the poem when the persona seemed harsh and full of contempt, he seems to have changed his mind at the end of the novel. It has become a turning point for him. The speaker now understands the complexity of human emotions and reactions, especially in difficult phases and historical events. The speaker realizes that the woman's act of brushing the boy's hair is simply a depiction of motherly tenderness

Through the poem, the author explicitly explores the theme of conflict with regards to racism and the role it has played in shaping the American history. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker says "Black Face Fades". Clearly, he intends to reveal to his writers that he is an African- American. Later, in describing the white veteran, he says, "his pale eyes/look through mine" (line 27-28). The use of a white veteran implies that the persona, having visited the memorial, has begun to understand that the war did not just affect the African-Americans, but the whites as well.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is situated in the nation's capital. It is built in a V-shaped manner and measures about 400 feet long. It has more than 58,000 names encrypted on the walls to honor of the veterans that lost their lives in the Vietnam War (Chapman & Ciment, 2015). The speaker of the poem has described the Vietnam Veteran Memorial vividly. In this regard, therefore, the conception of the Veteran Memorial has become very successful in enhancing public awareness and maintaining historical happenings.

Despite this poem being relevant to the people of America and others that were affected by the war, it symbolizes all the experiences that people undergo after a war. The poem "Facing It" is a brutal narration of what war does to people. The speaker, however, desires that people understand him, but wants them to move on. He simply wants people to understand that the past may never be erased because the memories shall always be stuck with us.

References

Chapman, R., & Ciment, J. (2015). Culture wars: An encyclopedia of issues, viewpoints, and voices. Routledge.

Komunyakaa, Yusef. "'Facing it'." (2000): 102-102.

Marvin, T. F. (2003). Komunyakaa's Facing It. The Explicator, 61(4), 242-245.