Reading Wish List

Some books that I wouldn't mind reading for pleasure next trimester are 1. Divergent by: Veronica Roth, 2. Hunger Games series by: Suzanne Collins, 3. American Sniper by: Chris Kyle, 4. Let Me Off At The Top by: Ron Burgundy, 5. Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series by: Eliot Asinof

Book 3 Review: Lone Survivor

The book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (in theaters now) is one of two books written by Marcus who is a former United States Navy SEAL. He received the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for his courageous and brave actions he took in 2005 while fighting a couple hundred Taliban in Operation Red Wings, which was a special operation aimed at taking out a high priority Taliban leader and American target. Lone Survivor is a memoir of the accounts that occurred on the fateful day in Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush where the other members of his SEAL team were killed with the hatred for Americans that existed in the heart and cold soul of those Taliban warriors. This is the story of a brotherhood.  “It’s strictly American brotherhood, mostly forged in blood. Hard-won, unbreakable.”

Lone Survivor takes place in the mountains of Afghanistan, specifically, the Hindu Kush. This mountain is a well-known Taliban tribesmen hideout and home to multiple Taliban leaders. One of these Taliban leaders being Ben Sharmak was Marcus’s SEAL Team’s objective, to either capture or kill the ferocious Taliban leader who despised Americans for everything they represented. He was also the man who killed hundreds of Marines in roadside bombs and ambushes in weeks earlier.

                  While reading this great book, many people may wonder why Marcus Luttrell refers back to the ROE’s and Liberals and tries using a strange sense of humor in his detailed description of the battle and other accounts while stationed in Afghanistan. It seems that Marcus tends to incorporate this humor into his writing style to almost ease the pain of what he is saying, like a nervous joke or laughter. First off, ROE stands for Rules Of Engagement, which are the rules that all U.S military personnel must follow. And these rules state, “that we could not shoot, kill or injure unarmed civilians… How about the innocent-looking camel drovers making their way through the mountain passes with enough high explosives strapped to the backs of their beasts to blow up Yankee Stadium? “ Later on in the paragraph, Marcus tries to explain this further with humor by saying that, “we could not shoot that camel drover before he blew up all of us, because he might just be taking his dynamite for a walk.” Although most people might see this as a funny and comical remake, like it was meant to be, Marcus is all business when he is explaining this.

                  As Marcus tries desperately to describe his fallen brothers, Mike Murphy, Matthew Axelson, and Danny Dietz there is never any point in the entire book that Marcus isn’t grateful for the actions that those brave men took on that mountain. The development of the characters isn’t the best but it will be suffice since Marcus couldn’t really develop them in any way. He gives us, the audience, a straight-forward approach to each character. For example, when Marcus originally introduces Mike Murphy he right away tells us that he thinks he is the bravest man he has and ever will meet. As the audience, we later find out why when Marcus is carefully explaining each of his members deaths in the battle. Marcus explains how Mike Murphy died by flat out saying, “And the Lieutenant Murphy walked out into the open ground… walked until he was more or less in the center, gunfire all around him, and he sat on a small rock and began punching in the numbers to HQ…Knowing the risk, understanding the danger, in the full knowledge the phone call could cost him his life,” Marcus later goes on to tell how Mike was shot and continued to fight until he eventually died. This in-depth account of how just one of his brethren died is horrific enough, so now imagine witnessing that two more times. From reading this novel and just sitting in shock from the words on pages, there is no true need to try to develop Mike, Matthew, and Danny since the words speak for themselves.                                                                                                                            

Like all great novels there are multiple themes that are present, but there’s always a select few that stick out and make an impression on the audience. In many fictional novels it may be difficult for a reader to find that needle-in-the-haystack theme that has a lasting effect on your life. For me, that theme was a part of the Navy SEALs promise. A promise that has been lived out by many men and women that aren’t only SEALs, but also civilians. And that theme is that you are never out of the fight. This means that no matter what happens, you keep on fighting, you never give up, and you most certainly never quit! Marcus gives the audience a couple chances to discover the theme. The first one is when he was at Navy SEAL prep training and he had broken his leg and kept on trying to climb up the wall even though he kept falling and landing on his broken leg. The second example was when Lieutenant Murphy is shot in the back when making the call into HQ; he keeps on fighting till his last breath. Even-though there is blood spurting out of his chest and back, he keeps on firing and taking down enemy combatants to protect his teammates, who like himself have also been shot and injured.

The rating that I would give this book is a 10/10, because of the in-depth detail and extremely precise accounts of what happened in Marcus’s life as a U.S Navy SEAL and also what happened on the mountain. Another reason this book deserves a 10/10 is because of the emotion that as a reader I can feel in his writing, even though I don’t know Marcus or any of the fallen SEALs. The final reason would have to be the theme; because it just gives off such a powerful and radiant light that everyone could incorporate into his or her lives.

Lastly I want to take the time to thank Marcus Luttrell for his service for this country and also shinning the light on a story that needed and deserved to be told to do justice for those who had fallen during Operation Red Wings. 

Book Talk Presentation

Post 9: Heroes

In my book Lone Survivor, the protagonist is most certainly the US Navy SEALS especially Marcus Luttrell (author) and his fellow SEALS (Matthew Axelson, Michael Murphy, and Danny Dietz, along with other members of SEAL Team 10 that were killed while attempting to rescue them in a helicopter when it was struck with a RPG). Unfortunately Marcus’s fellow SEALS were killed in a massive firefight in the Hindu Kush that involved an army of close to 200 Taliban soldiers against 4 US Navy SEALS. In Marcus’s memoir he tells how the real protagonist is his fallen SEAL buddies that were killed on that mountain, but he himself is the lone survivor and is also a protagonist. The SEALS and Marcus fight into an archetype and that would be Epic Hero. I believe that the word “Epic” is used way too much and that it has lost the true meaning of the word. But in this situation these SEALS went above and beyond the call of duty and were in my eyes “epic heroes”. According to the definition of an Epic Hero: The hero participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey, gathers allies along his journey, and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society from which the epic originates. They usually embody cultural and religious beliefs of the people. Epic heroes have no superpowers but they're smart, brave, and have fears but overcome them to protect their friends, families, and countries. An epic hero can also be a warrior of some sort who performs extraordinary tasks that most find difficult. This hero is loyal, smart, and brave. I believe that Marcus and his buddies surpassed and crushed what we define as an Epic Hero, and should be the guide of what to call an “Epic Hero”. If you were to ask me if the characters in this memoir challenge the traditional patterns of a hero I would most certainly say they don’t challenge the pattern at all, but they do add another level to that pattern that would be extremely hard to reach. Let’s keep this in mind though that these heroes aren’t fictional, these were real, living, and breathing, dying SEALS, which would make having a protagonist obtain this new level of being a hero that much more complex.

Thank you Marcus Luttrell for shinning the light on this story and being able to give your SEALS the respect they deserved. I thank you for your service to this nation.

Post 8: Truth in a Memoir

How true does a book have to be in my mind for it to be considered non-fiction?

In my opinion a non-fiction book should be 99% true because by definition a non-fiction book is " writing that is about facts or real events" (Merriam-Webster dictionary). Of course in a book the author will not be able to write exactly what happened on everyday of a specific event, that's why I say it should be 99% true. Also an author is going to most likely going to over-exaggerate a little bit, because the author wants you to feel how they think they felt, at that exact moment even if that means that they throw in an extra expression that didn't actually occur. As a reader, I also understand that an author is going to have some creative juices flowing while writing a non-fiction piece and may come up with extra details to give the novel some more drama while keeping the story as close to the truth as possible while also writing a good, interesting book. 

Are half-truths okay if it’s still a good story? 

I do not believe that half-truths are okay even if it turns out to be a great story! As I said above, an author should stay as close to the truth as possible and try their best to not stray far from the truth. If an author were to write a half-truth than I believe that they should either put a disclaimer in the book, or not call their book non-fiction, or a memoir and just say it is a book that has some elements of actual events that occurred in real life.  

Do we need lines between genres? Do we need to label something fiction or non-fiction?

Due to the issue of authors creating memoirs that contain only half-truths, I do think that it's necessary to have lines between genres. And we also do need to label something fiction or non-fiction because now we have writers who think they can get away with creating a story that is partially true and partially false, and I think that they should create a new genre that is a mix of fact and fiction. That way it would allow authors to tell half-truths and people not get mad about it.