The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien catches the eye of the reader. This book was very easy to follow and kept me entertained throughout the whole book.
The theme for this book would to inform the readers about the hardships about the war in Vietnam. This book talked about what the soldiers carried, if it was their equipment or items from back home that help keep them sane. The book talked about the weapons and how much they weighed and about how much the items they brought from back home helped keep them pushing and fighting to make it back home.
The narrator in this book name was never given. He was a young man that was drafted into the military. He always refers to the first man he killed and how he regretted doing it but had to to keep him alive. By the way he talked you could tell that he missed his friends that had been killed in the war. He would often talk about Curt Lemon who was killed while playing a careless game of who could catch the smoke grenade, the hot potato of war. He was very caring and kind, he was soft hearted, you could tell this because he did not want to kill. Although he did to survive.
The scene was Vietnam, not just Vietnam but Vietnam during the war. This set the scene for the story because it was were the war took place, without this war this story would have never been written, therefor this played a major role in the book. It provided the conflict in this book because they had to leave the United States and fight this war, that none of them wanted to fight in. Without this setting there would not have even been a conflict.
This book connects to me because my cousin is in the active military. He often talks about what they carry and the little things that keep him pushing on. He talks about how important this items are to him while he is in Afghanistan. I was really able to connect to this book through my cousin.
I would recommend this book to anyone with family in the military because I was able to connect so well I believe that they would too and it would help them understand the situation their family members are going through.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Monday, December 17, 2012
Current Connections 3
This past week our nation was hit hard with a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman forced his way into the school and shot and killed 20 first grade students and six adults before taking his own life. This will cause the nation to crack down on the security at all schools, which I believe should have been done a long time ago.
This terrible event will spark a uprising of security measures that should have been done at schools already. It is as if in our country we have to experience the worst before we prepare for it. Even today while I sit here and type this paper the door to the room I am currently in is locked for the first time all year. Why now? Why after it has already happened? Since this happening, kids will be afraid to attend school and will not be able to have a normal day without going through security checks because of the one mental guy who decided to shoot up a school.
Newtown shooting will also cause another huge debate in the US, gun control. People start to point fingers at the NRA or any other handgun association saying that they man should not have had the gun in the first place. In my opinion, the gun did not shoot itself a human hand had to pull the trigger. The gun did not march up in Sandy Hook Elementary and kill those innocent first graders and staff on its own.
The whole situation hurts me because I remember being a first grader and having no care in the world. I never had a thought about guns at all back then. I could not imagine how the families of the victims feel at this time. Mass shootings normally bother me, but this shooting with these kids hit me harder.
I hope that our nation can find a way to prevent these things long before they begin to happen. Such as stopping to shooters disease before it ever comes to the point of thinking about shooting 20 first graders. If not, we have a long way ahead of us.
This terrible event will spark a uprising of security measures that should have been done at schools already. It is as if in our country we have to experience the worst before we prepare for it. Even today while I sit here and type this paper the door to the room I am currently in is locked for the first time all year. Why now? Why after it has already happened? Since this happening, kids will be afraid to attend school and will not be able to have a normal day without going through security checks because of the one mental guy who decided to shoot up a school.
Newtown shooting will also cause another huge debate in the US, gun control. People start to point fingers at the NRA or any other handgun association saying that they man should not have had the gun in the first place. In my opinion, the gun did not shoot itself a human hand had to pull the trigger. The gun did not march up in Sandy Hook Elementary and kill those innocent first graders and staff on its own.
The whole situation hurts me because I remember being a first grader and having no care in the world. I never had a thought about guns at all back then. I could not imagine how the families of the victims feel at this time. Mass shootings normally bother me, but this shooting with these kids hit me harder.
I hope that our nation can find a way to prevent these things long before they begin to happen. Such as stopping to shooters disease before it ever comes to the point of thinking about shooting 20 first graders. If not, we have a long way ahead of us.
Friday, November 30, 2012
current connection
The fatal shooting of a 17 year old high school student at a gas station in Atlanta, has sparked another uprising in the Trayvon Martin and the gun control crisis.The author is exposing this information about this two murders to the public so they will understand the importance of gun control and who needs to be able to have possession of firearms.
The author states in this passage that "law enforcement should be the only ones carrying guns of the street, that is what is killing our kids." The author believes that guns should not be owned by the common person but by the law enforcement and military. They believe that with making this come in affect that the murders will stop.
Also stated by the author is "The law came under harsh criticism after Martin was shot in February by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who believed the teenager was acting suspicious. Martin and Zimmerman got into a fight and Zimmerman said he thought Martin was reaching for his gun. Authorities didn't arrest Zimmerman for more than a month after the shooting, adding to the furor."
Zimmerman and Dunn both allegedly say that they were both threatened. Both of these individuals went out looking for trouble and using the fact that the two boys murdered were black they acted prejudice thinking they would be harmed.
I can connect this to myself in many ways, the shooting we had here committed by three high school students. Two of the students have been two of my life long friends that I have known since I was a baby. Knowing what Zimmerman and Dunn's family feel like, makes me able to connect with this very easily. Another way I can connect is that my best friends great grandfather was gun downed while trying to protect his families gas station in Cord. This makes me understand that certain people should not be able to own guns and that the people that do buy them should be studied carefully making sure that they are capable of owning a firearm.
The author states in this passage that "law enforcement should be the only ones carrying guns of the street, that is what is killing our kids." The author believes that guns should not be owned by the common person but by the law enforcement and military. They believe that with making this come in affect that the murders will stop.
Also stated by the author is "The law came under harsh criticism after Martin was shot in February by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who believed the teenager was acting suspicious. Martin and Zimmerman got into a fight and Zimmerman said he thought Martin was reaching for his gun. Authorities didn't arrest Zimmerman for more than a month after the shooting, adding to the furor."
Zimmerman and Dunn both allegedly say that they were both threatened. Both of these individuals went out looking for trouble and using the fact that the two boys murdered were black they acted prejudice thinking they would be harmed.
I can connect this to myself in many ways, the shooting we had here committed by three high school students. Two of the students have been two of my life long friends that I have known since I was a baby. Knowing what Zimmerman and Dunn's family feel like, makes me able to connect with this very easily. Another way I can connect is that my best friends great grandfather was gun downed while trying to protect his families gas station in Cord. This makes me understand that certain people should not be able to own guns and that the people that do buy them should be studied carefully making sure that they are capable of owning a firearm.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
current connection
As Martin Fletcher mentions in his article Army must Invade "as rockets flew over Israell Monday morning, a land rover filled with camping gear stopped and watched from the outskirts of a neighboring village." I believe that the author was trying to inform the reader about the war that is starting in Israel and the danger that the the civilians are in.
The people that live in Israell are in constant danger, Palestinians are launching rockets by the hour which puts the lives of these civilians in harms way. To help ease the tension and help protect the civilians, the Israels have invented a drone system that intercepts the rockets and destroys them before they can detonate. This has helped ease the tension, and helps some citizens feel somewhat protected.
The drone that they created is a missile battery that works with sensors to detect and intercept short and mid-range threats such as rockets. It was created and put into use in 2007, when they received thousands of missile attacks, mostly in the northern region. These drones do not stop all of the missiles but they do stop up to eigthy percent of them, this has helped save countless lives.
Although these missiles save lives, they are not cheap. Each missile that is launched cost approximately $40,000. To us this may sound like a large amount of money, especially since they have shot over four hundred of these rockets. To the people that these missiles are protecting, they are priceless.
In the video that was presented, it mentions that the kids and some of the adults are being placed in bomb shelters, where they have been for six straight days. The adults have to keep the children entertained to help keep their minds off the missiles being fired.
While reading this passage and watching the video, it has really made me appreciate the luxuries we have. Being able to go to school or to work and not having to worry about when the next missile will be launched and if we will have to go to the bomb shelter or not today.
The people that live in Israell are in constant danger, Palestinians are launching rockets by the hour which puts the lives of these civilians in harms way. To help ease the tension and help protect the civilians, the Israels have invented a drone system that intercepts the rockets and destroys them before they can detonate. This has helped ease the tension, and helps some citizens feel somewhat protected.
The drone that they created is a missile battery that works with sensors to detect and intercept short and mid-range threats such as rockets. It was created and put into use in 2007, when they received thousands of missile attacks, mostly in the northern region. These drones do not stop all of the missiles but they do stop up to eigthy percent of them, this has helped save countless lives.
Although these missiles save lives, they are not cheap. Each missile that is launched cost approximately $40,000. To us this may sound like a large amount of money, especially since they have shot over four hundred of these rockets. To the people that these missiles are protecting, they are priceless.
In the video that was presented, it mentions that the kids and some of the adults are being placed in bomb shelters, where they have been for six straight days. The adults have to keep the children entertained to help keep their minds off the missiles being fired.
While reading this passage and watching the video, it has really made me appreciate the luxuries we have. Being able to go to school or to work and not having to worry about when the next missile will be launched and if we will have to go to the bomb shelter or not today.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Current Connection 2 Mystery Kidney Disease
I believe that this authors purpose is to tell the world about the widely spreading kidney disease in Nicaragua. In the past ten years almost 60,000 people, mostly male sugarcane workers, have been killed by Chronic Kidney Disease. This tragedy has allowed this area to gain the nickname "the island of widows", not a very delightful name.
The author states many examples of people who have died from this horrific disease, he also talks about how the family has suffered due to the loss of their family members and loved ones. He also talks about how more than 20 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with this disease. The outbreak of this "mystery" disease is spreading rapidly across South America and on up to the United States. This has killed over 60,000 people and South American and have been diagnosed in 20 thousand Americans. This has worried many people in South America, it makes them worry about going out and working in the sugarcane fields and that's something they have to do to maintain a steady income for their family's.
This disease is going to keep spreading rapidly from country to country unless there is something that we can do about it. But until then, people working in the sugarcane fields will have to face this deadly disease in order to keep a decent livelihood for them and their family's.
The author states many examples of people who have died from this horrific disease, he also talks about how the family has suffered due to the loss of their family members and loved ones. He also talks about how more than 20 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with this disease. The outbreak of this "mystery" disease is spreading rapidly across South America and on up to the United States. This has killed over 60,000 people and South American and have been diagnosed in 20 thousand Americans. This has worried many people in South America, it makes them worry about going out and working in the sugarcane fields and that's something they have to do to maintain a steady income for their family's.
This disease is going to keep spreading rapidly from country to country unless there is something that we can do about it. But until then, people working in the sugarcane fields will have to face this deadly disease in order to keep a decent livelihood for them and their family's.
Current Connection 1
The rhino slaughter in South Africa is on a gradual incline. Last year poachers killed 448 Rhinos all year as of just septemeber of this year, the poachers have killed 455 rhinos and that number is still growing. I believe that the authors purpose of this article is to expose this issue to the public and let them know how serious this problem really is.
This problem started out in 2007 when just 13 rhinos were killed due to poaching. In 2008 this number jumped to 83 and now in 2012 that number has risen to 455. With the price of ivory being so high, not only are hunters the only ones participating, veterinarians andhelicopter pilots are also killing these rhinos. Scientist believe that although the number of rhinos being born exceeds the number of rhinos being killed, they believe that they may go into decline and start needing controvational support. I believe that the author wants to give out information to the public regarding this event. If the number of rhinos keeps declining and try start needing conservational support, I believe that this will be very bad on the rhinos part. Although we give them support they could still suffer great losses due to this poaching problem.
The price of ivory is increasing daily; I believe that even with the growing help of humanist and wildlife management the number will continue to decrease unless we as a nation and with the help of other nations help out a stop to this.
This problem started out in 2007 when just 13 rhinos were killed due to poaching. In 2008 this number jumped to 83 and now in 2012 that number has risen to 455. With the price of ivory being so high, not only are hunters the only ones participating, veterinarians andhelicopter pilots are also killing these rhinos. Scientist believe that although the number of rhinos being born exceeds the number of rhinos being killed, they believe that they may go into decline and start needing controvational support. I believe that the author wants to give out information to the public regarding this event. If the number of rhinos keeps declining and try start needing conservational support, I believe that this will be very bad on the rhinos part. Although we give them support they could still suffer great losses due to this poaching problem.
The price of ivory is increasing daily; I believe that even with the growing help of humanist and wildlife management the number will continue to decrease unless we as a nation and with the help of other nations help out a stop to this.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Book Review - Calico Joe
Calico Joe is a very interesting book that catches the eye of many sports fan and John Grisham book lovers. Calico Joe was an upcoming baseball phenon, that had broken a numerous amount of records within months of his debut. But when stepping into the box agianst Warren Tracey, the Mets known head hunter, he probably never thought it would be the last time he ever did so.
There could be many themes to this book, but the one that really stood out to me was that you should never take things for granted because the moment you do it could be taken away within the blink of an eye. This impacted Joe because when he became the biggest mlb player in the league, it was all taken away from him due from one "well" placed fastball. This affected me while reading this book, it made me really think about how I take playing baseball for granted. I could take one fastball to the head, or throw one breaking ball too many and tear my ucl and never be able to throw a ball again. This really makes the reader think about all the things they take for granted. When John Grisham talked about Calico Joe in this book it showed him as being very humble. One thing mentioned in the book was when they were talking about his hitting streak and Joe /replied" they will get me out sooner or later." If he was arrogant he would have talked about how much longer the streak was going to last, but he didn't. The setting in this book was very easy to figure out. It went between Calico Rock Arkansas, Chicago and New York. Most of the book was placed on a baseball field.This setting affected the conflict because it is where Joe got hit in the head. This was the main conflict in the story. It really related to me, being a highschool baseball player I was really able to connect with this book. It made it very easy to read and kept me very attatched to this book, I didnt want to put it down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loved sports. It was very easy to follow and if you are a baseball player it really made you connect with Joe. It would be great for any athelete to send the message of playing each game or each play like it was your last.
There could be many themes to this book, but the one that really stood out to me was that you should never take things for granted because the moment you do it could be taken away within the blink of an eye. This impacted Joe because when he became the biggest mlb player in the league, it was all taken away from him due from one "well" placed fastball. This affected me while reading this book, it made me really think about how I take playing baseball for granted. I could take one fastball to the head, or throw one breaking ball too many and tear my ucl and never be able to throw a ball again. This really makes the reader think about all the things they take for granted. When John Grisham talked about Calico Joe in this book it showed him as being very humble. One thing mentioned in the book was when they were talking about his hitting streak and Joe /replied" they will get me out sooner or later." If he was arrogant he would have talked about how much longer the streak was going to last, but he didn't. The setting in this book was very easy to figure out. It went between Calico Rock Arkansas, Chicago and New York. Most of the book was placed on a baseball field.This setting affected the conflict because it is where Joe got hit in the head. This was the main conflict in the story. It really related to me, being a highschool baseball player I was really able to connect with this book. It made it very easy to read and kept me very attatched to this book, I didnt want to put it down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loved sports. It was very easy to follow and if you are a baseball player it really made you connect with Joe. It would be great for any athelete to send the message of playing each game or each play like it was your last.
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