Osama Freewrite

The death of Osama Bin Laden was a good thing for the US because it shows that we never give up.  After years of fighting the Al queda and many people dying we finally killed their leader.  We never gave up; this might show the al Queda that they are not strong enough to defeat us because if we killed the most powerful person in their group they might decide to give up.  Also this gives the US a sense of uniting just like we had after the attack on the trade towers.  The US is celebrating over the death of a man which I find kind of strange.  Is it right to celebrate the death of a man, I know we have been hunting him down for a while but still killing is not something to celebrate. We can be happy a relieved but having parties is just weird.  

I first heard of this when my friend texted me. At first I did not know whether or not to believe him because he is such a powerful man.  But then I went onto face book and saw that everybody had their statues were about him being killed.  I thought this was cool but at the same time strange.  Most of them were saying how happy the person was that he was dead and some other ones were about who should be getting credit Obama or Bush.  I found this weird because it does not really matter because all the same Osama is dead, they both contributed the same amount if you ask me.  

I till do not know wether or not to believe that he is dead because there is no visible proof that I have seem.  No pictures or films all that we know is what the military is telling us.  We DNA tested the body to make sure it was Osama and it was him supposively, but they could just be saying that to make us happy.  Also they dumped him off the side of a ship so that no one will ever find his body.  This just makes me believe that he is still out there and that the government is just saying he is dead so that the citizens of America feel proud of their nation. 

The over all impact that this has on me is very minimal because one man being killed will not stop the terrorist.  It will just make them lay off for a while but during that time all that they have to do is fid another leader then the terrorist are back in action.  I am happy that Osama is dead but I mean it did nothing to make me feel like there was a weight holding me down until he was killed.  I honestly forgot that he was still alive I thought he died a while ago or at least thought he was because he was hiding for so long.  I am sure that the people who knew people that died in the twin towers attack are very happy that justice was served.

Maus/Night Comparison

Maus and Night go twell together because they both tell stories of the Holocaust. Night, was more realistic and was told from someone's point of view that was in the Holocaust, making this my favorite of the books. Night was my favorite because, it was more realistic and had more impact on me. Maus, on the other hand, seemed to make a less serious version of what really happened in the Holocaust. I think it is clever that the author created the nazis as cats and the jews as mice, cause everyone knows that these two don't get allong. The idea behind Maus was meant to give a younger reader a good example of the holocaust, but Night did a better job of telling us what happened in the Holocaust. If someone asked me what book they I suggest it would be Night, because of its greater depth on what happened in the Holocaust.

Restrepo

Prewriting:
In Fallen Angels it is said that thousands of dollars were sometimes used to kill one of the enemies that they cant even see, in the movie Restrepo you see how half the time it seems that the men are just shooting blindly at the forest.  Soldiers from both Restrepo and Fallen Angels are excited to get into the war.  In both the movie and they book they had similar goals such as making good relations with the natives.  Both groups in the book and the movie go on patrols and get ambushed by the enemy.  Most of the men in both stories have the common fear of dying and tend to lose sleep over it.  In both the soldiers seem to find entertainment around their base camp.  One of the characters from both seem to die but the men understand that thy must continue to do their job.  Both groups of men are very excited to find that they get to go home.  During the battles they both describe the type of fear/excitement they get during a firefight.  In Restrepo, a flare is shot off over the place where the soldier died and in Fallen Angels they make a cake on Brew's birthday, and they both mourn their deaths.


Writing:
Watching Restrepo and reading Fallen Angels really gave me a new perspective on war.  By reading and watching these stories I have learned that the movies on war are very inaccurate.  Half the time you are trying to kill someone you can not see them and you do not have unlimited ammunition.  Also in the book and movie they share what their feelings towards the events that are happening, unlike the movies where there is just constant fighting.  So one of the most important things I puled from these stories is that there is a lot less heroism then there is in the movies.  There is not one man in either the book or film that kills off a whole my or saves a town, most of the time the men just shoot into the woods hoping to kill the enemy before they get killed.

Slaughter House 5

Please list 10 ways you can improve your essay scores

1. More effective points at the start of paragraphs.                 
2. Better use of quotes.                       
3. More effective explanation.                       
4. Use better word choice.                    
5. A better introductory quote.         
6. Create a better thesis statement.
7. Have better focus on the pararaph.
8. Read more throughly.
9.  Use better punctuation.
10. Use better grammar.                         

Please write any 15 thoughts about the book Slaughterhouse-5.  For each thought, please refer to a specific part of the book that generated this thought (for instance, “It was funny” receives no credit; “It was funny when he described the Tralfamadorians” receives full credit).

1. It was action filled.  When Billy gets captured.

2. It was historical, when it describes the Dresden bombings.

3. Death is insignificant, "so it goes."

4. There is a fourth demension, time travel is important to the Traflamadorians.

5. Traflamadorians are smart, they can time travel.

6. Pain is worse then death, Billy is crying at the horses in pain.

7. It is weird how Billy is the only one to survive a plane crash.

8. It was inresting how when Billy was about to die he did not care.

9. It was neat how it was about the war.

10. It was unique how the main characters death was in the middle of the book and not the end.

11. It was cool how the Traflamidorians kiddnapped Billy.

12. It was unique how this book was written out of the usual time line.

13. It was cool that Billy was no special person, he was just normal (like no special hero qualities). 

14. It was depressing when they were talking about the concentrarion camps.

15. The concept of being unstuck in time is interesting when Billy travels back and forth in his life. 


State 5 possible themes for the book Slaughterhouse-5.
1. War is not needed, the Traflamadorians do not have war they live in peace.

2. Life never stops, the quote "so it goes."

3. Time travel, Billy skips around through time a lot through out the book.

4. Love can be viewed differently, the Traflamadorians thought human mating was the most amazing thing ever.

5. Don't fear death, Billy kept on expecting to die throughout the book.


Write a conversation between yourself and Billy Pilgrim in which he tries to teach you a lesson based on his own experiences.  You must explain IN DEPTH at least 3 specific events and details from the book in order to receive full credit.  This conversation should go on as long as it takes to demonstrate YOUR UNDERSTANDING of Billy’s experiences.
EXAMPLE:
Billy: Hello, Mr. Cheng
Mr. Cheng: Hi Billy
Billy: Have you heard about Tralfamadore?
Mr. Cheng: No, what’s that?
Billy: It’s a planet where they... etc.

P: Hi Billy.

B: Hi Pierce

P: Where have you been lately?

B: Traflamador. Its another planet.

P: O really...? How did you get there?

B: They abducted me with their space ship.

P: What is it like there?

B: The people are green with two eyes sticking out of their heads.  And there is no war unlike here on earth.

P:  Wow! That is amazing!

B: I know, they also know a fourth demension.

P: O really? What is that?

B: Time control.

P: That is amazing Billy! I really have to go now though c'ya.

B: Bye.

Siddarhartha Theme

Siddhartha learns many important lessons throughout his life and his journey to find nirvana.  One of the most important and main themes of this book is that Siddhartha should follow his own path.  Siddhartha says to Govinda, "Siddhartha was going his own way; his destiny was beginning to unfold itself,and with his destiny, his own." (9) Siddhartha wants to leave to find Nirvana because he feels he can not find it and wishes to become a Samana.  He leaves his family to follow his own path and not the path of which his father wants him too.  He asks his friend Govinda if he wishes to join SIddhartha on his journey in search of self. SIddhartha says, "That is why I am going on my way-not so seek another and better doctrine, for I know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone-or die." (34)  This quote shows how Siddhartha does not need the Buddha's help to find what he was looking for. This shows how he follows his own path and no one else.