The sniper Summary

Summary of The Sniper

          In Dublin, it was a dark June night where the Republicans and the Free Staters were at civil war. A Republican sniper named O’Connell Bridge was laying on top of a roof watching for any Free Staters. He decided to take the risk of lighting a cigarette in the dark which made the enemy aware of where he was. All of a sudden a bullet flew over his head and he dropped immediately. Then he saw the enemies turret coming his way, but then an old woman who was an informer was informing his where about. But then the enemy in the turret and the old woman in the tattered shawl both got shot by the Republican sniper. From the opposite side of the roof the Republican sniper got shot by the enemy which wounded his forearm. After the Republican sniper thought about a plan to kill the enemy, he fooled the enemy into believing that he has killed him when it was a decoy. When the enemy gave up his location, he then killed the enemy who fell to the ground. The Republican sniper went to identify who he had killed, but then when he flipped over the body he realized he had killed his own brother.

 

What is the author’s message?

          I think the authors message is that he is against war because in the article about the sniper, when he had killed many people and when he saw the enemy’s body falling to the ground he felt “bitten by remorse and the sweat stood still in beads of his forehead, it weakened his wounds which then he revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy.” This basically means that he cannot believe he had killed this man which turned out to be his brother. To know now that he would have to live with killing his own brother and many others is a lot to take in. The author’s message is that the regret is not worth it and not to solve your problems or any situation with violence because honestly at the end of the day no one really wins, everyone is hurt either from physical damage or by mental/ emotional damage.

ISU Reflection #1

Never let me go social issue

In my ISU novel Never Let Me Go, a social issue which occurred was bullying. One of the 3 main characters Tommy was a kid which got bullied. He was always left out when all the other boys would go and play soccer. Tommy is the type of kid who gets angry and makes a fit but really doesn't do anything about the situation. Instead he goes on trying to fit in with the boys that bully him. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/dealing-with-bullying.htm In this article, the part about making new friends is something which relates to the novel because finding someone who shares the same values as you is a great way to make new friends and start over. This is exactly what Tommy did, he found Ruth who now is one of his closest friends who he can talk to about anything. Instead of Tommy trying to fit in with the boys that make fun of him, he now has Ruth who understands him. 

The boy in the striped pajamas

Retell

The boy in the striped pyjamas is mainly about two boys, Bruno a German boy and a Jewish concentration camp prisoner Shmol. Bruno along with his family lived in Berlin but then they moved. When they moved to their new house, Bruno goes on exploring seeing "farmers" working in the farms in their pyjamas. As soon as he goes on his exploring journey he comes across a fence where he first meets Shmol. They become really good friends, so he always went to the fence everyday to spend time with Shmol asking him questions about the farm, giving him food and playing games with him. Bruno's mother was worried about how they lived near a concentration camp and how it wasn't a good environment for Bruno, also she was worried about her daughter Gretel who had been getting really interested in Hitler and the camps. So she decides to take her kids somewhere else. But before they could go, Bruno promised Shmol that he would help him find his father. Bruno went on the other side of the fence wearing the pyjamas so he would blend in with the other prisoners to helped Shmol, but then both boys ended up in the gas chambers where they both died.

Reflect

The boy in the striped pyjamas was a really good movie. It was a heart breaking movie to watch because of how the two innocent boys died. Looking back at the movie, I don't know how Bruno's father could live anymore due to the fact his son died because of what had been in charge of. It took his son to die to have him realize what he was doing was wrong because when someone you know dies its so painful. Everything that happened in the movie was because of how everyone misunderstood every situation. After watching this movie all I felt was pure sadness over the fact that two innocent lives had died, basically this movie left me speechless.

Relate

This movie can be related to how kids are innocent they believe in what they see and not what they are told. In the movie The boy in the striped pyjamas, Bruno and Shmol had no idea what was going on, Bruno thought shmol was a farmer who had so many friends and thought that he had a great life. Shmol on the other hand didn't know why he was at the camp. But due to the boys curiosity and innocence, it eventually lead Shmol and Bruno to their death.

Child soldier and Teaching kids to kill

Connection:

The text Teaching to kill reminds me of a show I used watch called 24. This is because in one of the episodes a boy learns to shoot at the age of 15 by playing video games. Then later on finds him self dealing with bad people and doing bad stuff for them, for example killing innocent people to rob a bank. This relates to this text because the things kids watch and play can physically and mentally manipulate them. Then later on those violent movies or games they had played can be a sense of reality to them. There is a similarity between the text and the show because it all relates back to media and what type of message they are putting out there and which is violence is okay and there is nothing bad about it.

Challenges:

Is the impact of violence on kids only should be blamed on the video games and the media out there? or should the parents of the kids be aware of the things there kids are doing?

Concepts:

I think the key concepts that should be held from the text is that the parents have a say in what their kids do and what types of games and movies they watch and play. So the negative impact of violence on kids shouldn't all go to the media, it should also go to the parents because they c=have they power to stop their kids in doing these bad things.

Changes:

The key changes that are being portrayed in the text is that we shouldn't all blame the media (violent movies and or games) because those things could be the cause of the violence the kids do and it may not. So we just have to keep and open mind and send positive messages to kids and limit the amount of violence they watch and or play. 

U.S. hostage killed, Obama says as Islamic State conflict heats up

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/islamic-state/article22886854/

Summary:

This article is about ISIS continuing to capture more innocent people and executing them. The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria had captured a Jordanian pilot and later on was executed. So in return to that, the united Arab Emirates launched an air strike marking its return. In August 2013, 26 year old Kayla Meuller was captured and held hostage by ISIS. In recent news the White House and her family found out she had been killed by ISIS. Before she had passed, her family received letters from her saying she's safe and not hurt when she was held captured and that she would never give in to them. Barak Obama referred to ISIS as "a hateful and abhorrent terrorist group whose actions stand in stark contrast to the spirit of people like Kayla." In order to stop ISIS, Barack Obama is trying to prepare a new appeal to congress to authorize military force which mean he has an open option to send military forces if its needed.

connection:

  This issue with ISIS which is still occurring reminds me of past history with World War II because Hitler was trying to bring fascism into the world by force and if people opposed him, they would die. Furthermore, he was killing innocent lives who ever didn't agree with his method. This is similar to ISIS because ISIS is trying to form an International Islamic State which means they are trying to bring out their culture with scare tactics and by using force. There are many other issues around the world which can relate to ISIS because at the end of the day its all about gaining power and ruling with your views of something and to get what you want, plus governments and individual people will do anything to get what they want. That's how this connection furthers my understanding of ISIS because they will not stop up in till there needs are met.