I Had Seen Castles provides an honest and highly personalized account of a young man coming to terms with his role as a soldier during the most notable and catastropic event of the 20th century. This fictional memoir which takes place during World War II reveals the emotions, hardships and suffering that John Dante endured as a result of the war. Rylant captures the mindset and resolve of a nation that had been attacked and forced into an international conflict. Gone were the days of the United States being isolationists. It was the dawn of a new age in which America had to assert dominance over the world through militaristic force. John, like thousands of other young men during this time period, felt an unwavering need to support his country. Rylant revealed the emotions that consumed many young men during this time. John was fearful of enlisting, yet he was eager to join the fight to prove his bravery and allegiance to his country. The love of John's life, Ginny was opposed to the war and urged John to be a CO. John's initial outrage toward Ginny for suggesting this put a rift in their relationship, but they were able to reconcile their differences. I enjoyed Ginny's character because she represented a small minority of people who were opposed to the war. We often associate objectors of war with Vietnam but these people did exist during World War II.
I also was moved by Rylant's depiction of the patriotism that united the country during this time. However, I was surprised by the brutal honesty of John's accounts about his mother when she went to work in the ammunitions factory. He was disgusted by her because she wore men's clothing and upheld a job that traditionally was regarded as man's work. However, John also understood his mother's motivations for taking the job. She rationalized that the more ammunitions she produced, the stronger the chance would be that America would win the war, thus expediting the safe return of her son. Rylant revealed the feelings of desperation and helplessness felt by those who had loved ones fighting overseas.
Rylant revealed the impact of the war on both the homefront and also provided accounts of the war itself. Through John's perspective, we are able to experience the apprehensions he felt prior to the war and then we experienced his struggle to survive during the several years that he fought. One passage that powerfully conveyed John's first experience with war was when he stated, " Then mortar shells began to land in that meadow, and the sheep were hit, and lay bloody, half-alive, their bowels spilling upon the meadow flowers, and we were all in it. We were all in the Second World War." This gruesome description set the stage for the horrific conditions that John would face. Instead of seeing animals dismembered, he would witness comrades dying on the battlefields in a similar manner.
The retrospective accounts of the war provided by John as an older man are reminiscent of many other memoirs and stories about World War II. I immediately made a connection to the movie Saving Private Ryan and the powerful scene at the end of the movie in which Ryan visits the graves of all the soldiers who lost their lives during the war. Despite the many years that separate these veterans from their time on the battlefield, there probably isn't a day that goes by that they don't think about what they experienced as a result of fighting in the war. This book also had me making connections to the events of 911. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the reactions of the country documented by Rylant resembled the emotions felt by the country directly after the 911 attack. Rylant portrayed this historical time period with honesty and reverance for those who sacrificed as a result of the war.
I also was moved by Rylant's depiction of the patriotism that united the country during this time. However, I was surprised by the brutal honesty of John's accounts about his mother when she went to work in the ammunitions factory. He was disgusted by her because she wore men's clothing and upheld a job that traditionally was regarded as man's work. However, John also understood his mother's motivations for taking the job. She rationalized that the more ammunitions she produced, the stronger the chance would be that America would win the war, thus expediting the safe return of her son. Rylant revealed the feelings of desperation and helplessness felt by those who had loved ones fighting overseas.
Rylant revealed the impact of the war on both the homefront and also provided accounts of the war itself. Through John's perspective, we are able to experience the apprehensions he felt prior to the war and then we experienced his struggle to survive during the several years that he fought. One passage that powerfully conveyed John's first experience with war was when he stated, " Then mortar shells began to land in that meadow, and the sheep were hit, and lay bloody, half-alive, their bowels spilling upon the meadow flowers, and we were all in it. We were all in the Second World War." This gruesome description set the stage for the horrific conditions that John would face. Instead of seeing animals dismembered, he would witness comrades dying on the battlefields in a similar manner.
The retrospective accounts of the war provided by John as an older man are reminiscent of many other memoirs and stories about World War II. I immediately made a connection to the movie Saving Private Ryan and the powerful scene at the end of the movie in which Ryan visits the graves of all the soldiers who lost their lives during the war. Despite the many years that separate these veterans from their time on the battlefield, there probably isn't a day that goes by that they don't think about what they experienced as a result of fighting in the war. This book also had me making connections to the events of 911. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the reactions of the country documented by Rylant resembled the emotions felt by the country directly after the 911 attack. Rylant portrayed this historical time period with honesty and reverance for those who sacrificed as a result of the war.
3 comments:
This is my favorite Cynthia Rylant book I have read so far; I'm glad you enjoyed it too! I really enjoyed the connections you made between the book and Saving Private Ryan and 9/11. Although I haven't seen the movie, after reading your blog, I think I would be interested to see it. While I didn't make the connection between Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the two events definitely have some similarities and I can see how you made the connection.
It was interesting to read about how John described life as being so much more real, that his love was intense for Ginny, and how attitudes about their ways of life and what America stood for being so clear cut as to what a man should believe in and defend. I agree with the haunting parallel to the tragic, terrifying events of 9-11, which disrupted the peace of American soil being attacked. The surge of patriotism and community we witnessed in 2001 was powerful to feel and see in the media presented to those of us not directly affected.
I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had read it prior to 9/11. Before 9/11 I really had no connections to war and did not comprehend why people would want to fight and risk their lives. But after 9/11 it became clear to me why men so bravely and passionately gave their lives.
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