BS: Post #6 Book 3 Project: Listicle

     

5 Reasons Marcus Luttrell Kicks Butt

Marcus Luttrell, member of SEAL Team 10, is telling his eyewitness account of Operation Redwing in his autobiography Lone Survivor. Throughout the book, Luttrell is faced with difficult decisions that he has to live with for the rest of his life. Some may be tragic, some may not, but either way he saves many lives while risking his own.

1. He never gave up, even when all hope seemed lost.
   There are many points within the book that any normal person would have just thrown their hand in the air and said, 'Nope, I'm out. There is no way I can do this anymore.' Not Marcus Luttrell. He just digs down deep and keeps trudging on. After his three comrades were killed in battle, he was left on his own. But did that stop him from fighting off the dozens of Taliban all by his self? No, no it did not. He was determined to live, even if it seemed impossible. As he says, "I was like a badly wounded animal, ready to fight to the end," (320). He was ready to go out, guns blazing, and defeat the enemy who took his three buddies from him, even though he was badly outnumbered.

2. He survived not for himself, but for his Team
     "'You stay alive, Marcus. And tell Cindy I love her,'" (275). Those were Matthew Axelson's last words spoken to Marcus before the bomb landed feet away, immediately blowing them apart. Danny, Mikey, and Axe were all gone, killed by the Taliban, leaving Marcus alone and the only one from his group still alive. But he wasn't safe. The Taliban were out for more blood. No American would leave the mountain alive if they had anything to say about it. Marcus was under constant fire from the enemy, constantly fearing for his life. At one point, all hope seemed lost and he knew that he was going to die by the hand of the Taliban. But he gathered up the courage and repeated to himself, "For Axe, and for Danny, and above all for Mikey, I knew I must stay alive," (288). And he did.

3. He began training to be a SEAL at age fourteen.
     At just the age of twelve, Marcus knew that he was going to grow up to become a US Navy SEAL. But it wasn't until he was fourteen that he acted and went to Billy Shelton, a former Green Beret sergeant, asking him to train him. And he agreed. "Billy did not hold an exercise class; he operated a full pre-SEAL training program for teenagers. Over the years he had us in the gym pumping iron, hauling the torture machines, the ergometer, pounding the roads, driving our bodies, sweating and straining... he showed us no mercy," (62). I know that when I was fourteen, there is no way I would ever think of training as hard as Luttrell did. And I'm sure that not many people would have either. But that is what makes his story so incredible and inspiring.

4. He survived the BUD/S and training.
     I know that when you hear the words training, you tend to think 'How bad can it be?' Let me tell you, this training was bad. Think of the toughest thing that you have ever done, and multiply it by a thousand. SEAL's have to go through that and more. One example of an"easier" thing they had to do is, "Before us was the five-point screening test:
1. A 500-yard swim, breaststroke or sidestroke in 12 minutes, 30 seconds
2. A minimum of 42 push-ups in 2 minutes
3. A minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes
4. A minimum of 6 dead-hand pull-ups
5. A 1.5 mile run in 11 minutes, 30 seconds, done while wearing boots and long pants," (99-100). And that is considered easy. A harder type of training they did was push-ups. Again, you might be asking yourself, 'Push-ups? A hard thing they had to do was push-ups?' Sure, 10 or 20 of them might be easy. But try doing 450 of them. "By 0600 I had counted out more than 450 push-ups. And there were more, I just couldn't count anymore," (129). So next time you're in gym and complain about having to do ten push-ups, just remember that SEALs consider that a walk in the park and would much rather prefer it to their 450.

5. He risked his life serving for our country.

     How can someone risk their life for you, and you not say that they kick butt? You can't. Marcus Luttrell, and everyone else in the armed forces, risk their lives for us everyday. Marcus went to another country half-way across the globe to fight the enemy so us US citizens would not have to worry about our safety. There are many times when his life was in danger, and he did not know if he was going to make it out alive. But he still fought on, vowing to protect the United States, even if as a result he ended up being killed. And this is the number one reason as to why Marcus Luttrell, and really anyone in the armed forces, totally kick butt
   

BS: Post #5 Truth in Memior

     To be considered non-fiction, I feel that a book should be about 95 percent true. If it is anything less than that, the book would be considered unreliable. You don't know which facts are true and which are false. If you needed a non-fiction book for a project you are doing on a topic you know nothing about, it is impossible for the reader to know if the information they have is correct or not. But since you are reading a non-fiction book, you believe it to be true.
     I believe that half-truths are okay if it is still a good story. People are looking too far into specific genres. Who cares if the author bends the truth a little to make their story more interesting. Their story is just that, a story. The definition of story is an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment. Nowhere in the definition does it say that it has to be totally true. In fact, it says it can be imaginary or real. The choice is up to the author on how to make their story more interesting. So, no, I do think it matters if Frey or other memoirists bent the truth to tell their stories because it is their story, and no one else's.

     I agree and disagree with David Shields. I believe that we need to have a distinct line between the two genres of fiction and non-fiction. Like I said above, if you are doing a project and need specific facts that you know are going to be true, you need to know where to look. If we didn't have a line between fiction and non-fiction, the reader would just pick a book, unsure if it is true or not. But I agree that we do not need to divide fiction and non-fiction into more specific genres, such as mystery, romance, science, etc. The book the reader picks up is not going to be judged by what genre it is considered, it is going to be judged on how well written it is. And this will keep people from judging the types of books.. If someone who does not prefer mystery novels in general does not know if a book is a mystery or not, they will pick it up and maybe read it. They would be judging the book on how good it was, and not on the specific genre it is.

The best thing about my book is… (could also be flipped to “The worst thing about my book is…”)

     The book I am reading right now is Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. It is an autobiography about Marcus Luttrell, a US SEAL. I'm only about half way through the book, but so far, he is explaining how he is coming to be a SEAL. He went through some of his childhood and how it impacted him, and the BUD/S training.
     The worst thing about my book is all the little details that are put in, explaining some of the not so exciting missions. Or going into way too much detail on a minor part of an event. I actually found the book pretty hard to get into because of that. I really like books that start off with a really good lead and keep it good throughout the whole novel. An example from the text that shows how way too much detail for a minor event is overwhelming and unneeded is, "We headed east-northeast for four hundred miles, forty-five thousand feet above the Arabian Sea. We crossed the sixty-first line of longitude in the small hours of morning. That put us due south of the Iranian border seaport of Gavater, where the Pakistan frontier runs down to the ocean," (Luttrell, 45). Even though it is a very well writing portion, I feel that it is too much detail for such a minor event. Not many people, unless they are very good at geography, would really know where the sixty-first line of longitude are. So, I felt that that detail was irrelevant. Well writing, but irrelevant.
     The best thing about my book is how action-packed it is. I knew that it was an autobiography when I picked it up, but it still amazes me how much he had to go through. I knew that training to be a SEAL is tough, but I never knew how tough. I am extremely intrigued when reading this section of his novel because I can't believe that people are actually put through this as training. I thought that conditioning for soccer was bad, but that might as well be a walk in the park compared to what he had to go through. A good example from the text that shows how action-packed the novel is is, "...a coliseum where someone was about to bring on the lions. Before us was the five-point screening test:
1. A 500-yard swim, breaststroke or sidestroke in 12 minutes, 30 seconds
2. A minimum of 42 push-ups in 2 minutes
3. A minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes
4. A minimum of 6 dead-hand pull-ups
5. A 1.5 mile run in 11 minutes, 30 seconds, done while wearing boots and long pants," (Luttrell, 99-100). I can't imagine having to do all of that. And this is considered the more mild of training that they are put through. I am extremely excited to get to the portion of the book where Marcus and his team actually go into combat.

Fahrenheit 451 Theme Handout

"Censorship causes diminished individual thought"

Sahaja Ampolu, Wei Gao, Jordan Kling, Emily Smith, Ghafeera Malik, Eden Breens 

 Bell 3

1) Guy Montag meets Clarisse, who contradicts the ideas of the society that they are living in.
2) Montag returns home to find Mildred collapsed from taking too many sleeping pills; he calls over a medical team to save her.
3) Montag realizes he is living in darkness and hasn’t really thought about what he is doing when he burns the books filled information.
4) He later responds to a call to burn the house of a woman who is hiding books. However, she chooses instead to burn herself (and the books) using a match.
5) Montag asks Mildred questions such as when and where they met. She cannot remember.
6) Montag goes to Faber’s house to discuss books, specifically the Bible, and what he should do about wanting to keep the books.
7) Montag decides to read Dover Beach outloud to Mildred and her friends, who then become very upset.
8) He gets called in to go burn another house, only to find that out that it is in fact his house they are scheduled to burn. He later finds out that it is his wife who placed the call.
9) Montag becomes a fugitive after killing Beatty and knocking down the other firemen. As he escapes, he gives some of the books he hid to Faber.
10) Once Montag reaches the river, he is no longer followed. He begins reminiscing about events in his past and notices many details about the nature around him. He also finally remembers where he met Mildred. He meets the new society which values and memorizes books and becomes part of it.


Quotes:

Part 1-
“We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon.
Breach man’s mind.” (pg 58)


Part 2-
“‘...the televisor is real. It is immediate,it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right. It rushes on you so quickly to its own conclusions, your mind hasn't time to protest,’what nonsense!’” (pg 84)


Part 3-
“Even if she dies, I realized a
moment ago, I won’t feel sad. It isn’t right. Something must be wrong with me.” (pg 155)
“He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the land in, the more he was filled up with all the details of the land. He was not empty. There was more than enough here to fill him.” (p. 144)

This theme is important to our understanding of the story because it showed us that the characters had their own thoughts and their own opinions but the censorship did not let them have the full individual thought they could have had.

Censorship causes diminished individual thought relates to our modern-day society because on a daily basis we stop ourselves from doing things just because somebody else could be watching or vice versa. It is important for us to study this theme because we need to realize that we all have an opinion and censorship shouldn’t stop you from doing something you believe in.

Describe the best and worst qualities the main character in the book has, including textual evidence for both.

     The book I just finished reading was American Sniper by Chris Kyle. It is an autobiography about him as he tells his experience of being a Navy SEAL, while simultaneously falling in love and starting a family. Throughout his time in the military, he comes to be known as the most lethal sniper in American history. One of his best qualities was his dedication to his country. When the World Trade Center was hit on September 11, you could practically feel Chris Kyle's patriotism coming off the pages. As he retells part of his side of the story, he says, "I saw smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center in New York. I didn't understand what-all was happening. Part of me was still sleeping.Then as we watched, an airplane flew right into the side of the second tower... I stared at the screen, angry and confused, not entirely sure it was real," (pg 52). Chris is extremely patriotic, and would do almost anything for his country. And that is also why his dedication to his country is also one of his worst qualities. Don't get me wrong, I respect everything that the military does for our country. But Taya Kyle, his wife, is starting to get a little upset with him. He places the military (his country) above his family, which is extremely hard for a woman who has to raise her two kids practically all by herself while her husband is staring death in the face everyday. At one point, she says, "When he came back after this deployment, I felt almost shy. I was a new mother and had been doing things on my own for months. We were both changing and growing in totally separate worlds. He had no firsthand knowledge of mine and I had no firsthand knowledge of his, (pg 234). She later goes on to say, "I wanted to count on him, but I couldn't. His Team could, and total strangers who happened to be in the military could, but the kids and I certainly could not...when he had to choose, he didn't choose us," (pg 348). Taya loved Chris to death, but couldn't depend on him to be there for her when she needed him most. That is why Chris Kyle's best and worst qualities is his dedication to his country.

Discuss why you were interested in picking up this book

     The book I just finished reading was American Sniper by Chris Kyle. It is an autobiography about him as he tells his experience of being a Navy SEAL, while simultaneously falling in love and starting a family. Throughout his time in the military, he comes to be known as the most lethal sniper in American history. I chose to read this book in particular because for my Best Sellers class, I needed a book that had been adapted into a movie. There were novels such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Gone Girl. Apart from having read some of them, I wanted to try a genre that I typically don't tend to read. And so I went with an autobiography. I actually found this book to very interesting, although the majority of my group did not. When asked if they would see it then read it, read it then see it, just read it, or just see it, everyone but myself said that they would rather see it. But I said that I would rather read it, then see the movie. Chris Kyle also wrote in a way that I'm not used to. Usually, the books I pick up tend to be just a story. But Kyle wrote a bunch of mini stories that were then combined into one. I actually found myself liking this style of writing. 

     I was also really interested in reading this book because I really wanted to see the movie. I don't like to watch a movie before I read the book (unless I don't know that it is a book). I like to get a feel for the characters and learn about their personalities how the author pictured them, not the director. Plus, I really want to imagine the characters as how they appear in my mind, and not how the director decided to cast them.

BS: Post #4 Adapting American Sniper

     The book I read was American Sniper by Chris Kyle. It is an autobiography about Navy Seal, Chris Kyle and his journey through becoming and being one. In this book, you will follow Kyle through the ups and the downs of his life.
     If I were to adapt this novel into something that people would be able to watch, I would make it into a movie. I feel that this make the most sense because the book has some action in it that would not transfer well into a play, and a TV series would be too long, plus it would get a little boring. With a movie, you would open up more possibilities than imaginable; stunt doubles, action, suspense until the end (unless you have read the book), and more!
     If I made American Sniper into a movie, I would want to keep it as close to the story line as possible. I personally hate it when directors stray from the plot line and add/remove key events. By keeping close to the story line, it would almost be like stepping into Kyle's shoes and living how he did. The audience would be able to develop a connection with all the characters that they read about.
     I would also feel inclined to add voice overs whenever necessary. When watching an autobiography, I personally believe that voice overs are a must so the author of the novel are able to go into a little more detail about that event than what is shown on the screen. Or if there is a particularly confusing part in the novel, the author would be able to explain what happened versus leaving the audience wondering. And sometimes by adding a voice over, you are adding suspense to a scene. Imagine you are watching a scene where there is a load of gunfire and bombing. Suddenly, you hear a grim voice saying, "On October 23, _____ died." You know who dies, but you don't know how, leaving you wanting more. The scene will then cut to a close up of Kyle and _____, along with some other members of their team. You will watch as they fight the enemy, when in semi-slow motion, you see _____ get shot. "_____!" Kyle screams. The scene fades out as fighting continues then back in to Kyle at ______'s funeral. You here the voice over say, "200 men showed up to his funeral, myself included. We all mourned the loss of not only a comrade, but a friend." By adding the voice over to this scene, suspense is created, leaving you on the edge of your seat.
     If I were to choose a casting for the film, I would want the actors to look as much like the characters as possible. Even the minor ones. So that way, the audience would feel like they aren't just watching another movie that had terrible casting, choosing people who looked and acted nothing like how the character was supposed to. For the movie, I would personally choose to keep the real casting of Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle and Sienna Miller as Taya Kyle because I believe that they actually look like the characters they are supposed to be portraying.