Sacrifice In Marcus Luttrell's Life

The American Revolution marked the history of many heroic events that immaculately stand as true inspirations for the generations to come in the United States. Even today, the gallantry of a few soldiers that won independence for the country is not only kept in the hearts of the people but run in the American blood to demonstrate acts of valor at times of war and hardships. One such story recorded in the history dates back to 1776, about a sixteen-year old juvenile, Joseph Plumb Martin, joined the Rebel Infantry and recorded his tribulations about forty-seven years in a memoir titled as “A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier”.

It would mean a lot to me to lay a wreath on the tomb. It would mean a lot because this tomb does not just stand for the two soldiers buried inside, but for all the men and women that risk their lives to protect my freedom. Many people who put their lives in danger, so I can have things such as, freedom of speech, right to bear arms, freedom of religion, and many more, did not return home. They did not return home because they were fighting for my, and many others’, freedom. I would like to honor the people who put and are putting their lives at risk for me by laying a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess. War was so much more than just war to O’Brien and he able to share this through his writing. "But this is true: stories can save us. ... in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world." (page

Since humans romanticize war, Death can strike any family. This is demonstrated in Luis Valdez, in the 1969 play,”The Buck Private” demonstrates that. Valdez supports hi argument by illustrating stock characters, by using death as a main character, and flashbacks show Johnny’s, the protagonist,reasons for enlisting to earn respect, and the consequences of his enlistment; his death.Valdez’s purpose is to entertain the audience and protest the Vietnam War so that the audience stops glamorizing war and starts recognizing its dangers. Valdez writes in a satirical tone for young adults. Johnny was young and irresponsibly drank heavily so, that makes him not be a tragic hero because his motives were not honorable since he had nothing better to do.

In Catch 22 by Joseph Heller the book is a complex novel. Heller uses many themes, does not have the storyline in chronological order and often uses irony in his descriptions. Many of the themes can be compared to other literature. One of the themes that can be compared is fear in war. As well as the value of a human life during these times of war, but the insanity of war and Heller 's solution to insanity is the idea of "there is always a catch" in life is shown to a dramatic extent. Heller 's novel not only satirizes war, but all of society.

The obligation a citizen feels to serve their country is a common sentiment. Despite this presumed duty resulting in countless deaths of men and women, many still make the brave decision to enlist themselves during a war. This can be attributed to how those who serve their country’s military are touted as courageous, selfless and heroic. Timothy Findley’s “War” follows the tragic story of a young boy named Neil growing up during World War II. Neil finds himself in a difficult situation upon learning that his father has enlisted himself in the army. Neil’s characterization which embodies an ordinary child, is expressed through his apparent naivety and innocence. Furthermore, “War” strongly displays three of Neil’s character traits which in turn,

From 1914 to 1918 World War One occurred due to the murder of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by a Serbian group named the Black Hand. Additionally, several powerful countries, including Germany, France, and Britain, established a series of alliances that amplifies the size of the war. Likewise, the war expanded by the strong nationalist beliefs of each country, therefore a countless amount of men desired to fight the war, in order to support their country. This sense of nationalism is a theme explored throughout Erich Maria Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front, through the lense of a young German Soldier. The protagonist, Paul, a 19 year old soldier, explores the horrors of war through strong comradeship, the death of companions,

In the novel “The Cellist Of Sarajevo”, Steven Galloway illustrates the life of three very similar characters that are facing the same situation—war. Dragon one of the characters changes within the novel in a very positive way. Throughout the story he waits at the intersection to determine when it's safe to cross. Dragons morals of continuing to communicate, help others, and face the man on the hills was a conflict for him at first. But in the end, he gained the courage to do all that and and this developed his true identity. During a situation that causes an individual to lose hope; different acts of courage can cause them to restructure and maintain their morals in order to perceive who they truly are

On September 11, 2001, tragedy struck the city of New York. On that fateful day, two airplanes were hijacked by terrorists and flew straight into the twin towers. Each tower fell completely to the ground, taking thousands of lives with it and injuring thousands more. Not only did that day leave thousands of families without their loved ones, it also left an entire city and an entire country to deal with the aftermath of the destruction. Poet, Nancy Mercado, worries that one day people will forget that heartbreaking day. Though there is little danger of forgetting that heartbreaking day, she worries that even she will still forget. She expresses these worries while writing her poem “Going to Work”. She does this by using three poetic devices within her poem: personification, imagery, and symbolism.

Courage is the ability to try something not easy for one’s self. According to the Oxford Dictionary, courage is “The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery”. The theme of ‘courage and what courage brings’ was embroidered deeply in Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried. The book talks about the traumatic experiences Tim and his soldier friends had been through during the Vietnamese War. The soldiers in Nam were all showing different acts of courage. Norman Bowker and Lieutenant Cross were presenting a bold front for someone else –Kiowa and Martha. Tim O’Brien and Curt Lemon plucked up their courage for themselves. And all the soldiers in the war overcame their fears for their country. The book focuses on both the act and the result of the soldier’s bravery. As some of their courageous acts end in a glorious victory, some finish with a lugubrious way. No matter how the case of courage eventuates, bravery is bravery. Courage as a value is determined by the reason of your actions, not the outcomes.

In the short story, “The Man I Killed,” O’Brien focuses on this to show that everyone fighting in a war has a story. He spends the story describing the man he killed and searching for justification of his actions. He carries around guilt with him because of it, and his fellow soldiers try to help him justify and come to terms with his action by saying things like, “You want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down= you want that? I mean, be honest,” (126) and “Tim, it’s a war. The guy wasn’t Heidi- he has a weapon, right?” (126) However, by giving insight on the man’s life, the reader learns that similarly to O’Brien, the man he killed originally had no intention of fighting. He wanted to be a scholar. The collections of short stories in “The Things They Carried” come together to show how complex war can be. It is not black and white, especially since soldiers are dealing with heavy issues and people are dying all around

It has been said that this great nation has always been paved with streets of gold, that opportunity is around every corner, and with effort anyone has the chance to make a name for themselves. America was the place that both citizens and immigrants could aspire to be all that they dreamed to be with a little bit of determination and hard work. That was the American Dream. However, when the dreadful morning of September 11, 2001 came, the American Dream forever changed. Four planes were hijacked. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers, one plane crashed into the U.S. Pentagon, and yet another crashed into a Pennsylvania field. It was discovered that a radical Islamic terrorist

Through centuries of great wars and battles, history has displayed brave men and women who have fought for their countries. These audacious people have helped propel countries for the greater good. However, the weight and responsibility, of the war, takes a heavy toll on soldiers that is often overlooked. Tim O’Brien, author of the novel The Things They Carried, records his stories, and the stories of his fellow soldiers during the war. However, three of these soldiers are affected in an outlandish way. The lives of soldiers, Norman Bowker and Curt Lemon, illustrate how the war pressures the human spirit to a standard it can’t resemble.

That same need to be a hero is parallel to his craving of attention and affection from when he was a child (Koenig, 2016). Making a statement of wanting attention does not describe a soldier that has the interest of everyone, instead it shows how selfish he could be. Selfish in the way that he believed that he could take that war and make movie scenes out of it. Giving the impression as if he does not see the gravitate of how that one dreaming mistake can have on someone’s