Throughout the ages, men and women have been the center of myths and legends, becoming tragic heroes in large part due to the embellishment bestowed upon them over the ages. Perhaps, though, truth can be stranger than fiction. Pat Tillman was a man of many talents and virtues, never satisfied by the mediocre, striving for more excitement, more meaning, in his tragically short time on Earth, and lived out the phrase carpe diem to the letter. Even Pat Tillman had tragic flaws; his unwillingness to be average, his undying loyalty to family and country, and his unusually concrete set of morals all eventually led to his death. These, whatever the outcome might have been, are not, by any means, archetypical tragic flaws. They are, as Jon Krakauer later described, “tragic virtues.” Where Men Win Glory is not solely a tribute to Pat Tillman. What makes it truly unique is its exhaustively comprehensive history leading up to Pat’s death, and just as important, the events that took place after his death, including the cover-ups, scandals, corruption, falsified documents, and lies that helped, also, to emphasize the themes, of which Pat was the epitome. Pat’s loyalty and devotion to the things that he loved, the use of misinformation surrounding his death, and others’ reactions to what Pat considered paramount in his life all played a key role in the tragedy of a man that won glory.
The first thing someone would notice about Pat Tillman was not his size or athletic ability; it was his devotion to everything he loved, be it his family, friends, sport, country, or virtues. Being raised by a family with a history of what the author called “alpha maleness,” shaped his understanding of right and wrong, his ideas of how to earn glory and ...
... middle of paper ...
... man who displayed both his objective and subjective sides to everyone he encountered by being cautious and calculating at times and emotional and wise at others. He strived for ways to prove to himself more than anyone else that he could overcome tremendous odds to not only survive, but live life to the fullest. When the government failed Pat’s memory, and therefore everyone he loved by not divulging the truth, the story of Pat’s life was written down in order to protect not only Pat’s memory and his loved ones, but also people like Jessica Lynch. It is important to note, however, that the tone of this biography is not one of sadness, remorse, regret, and grief, but one that celebrates who Pat was and what he left behind. During life, Pat Tillman was the embodiment of dedication and loyalty; in death, he is a man who won glory by winning the hearts of America.
...e in part, he waited 25 years to turn in a pack of cigarettes but he kept the picture that he had hidden from wife. The Viet Cong’s soldier had this stunning realization” I understand all at once that there is a secret space in the word, not Salem but sa and lem, Vietnamese words, the one meaning to fall and the other to blur, and this is the moment that comes to all of us and this is the moment” that would give him closure to what he had done to an American soldier separated from his Regiment some 25 earlier. Salem offers many images that persist long after the reader has read the last word. The author broke the mold by telling the story from the prospective of an American combatant rather than the American hero. This direction of storytelling was a risky, but the effective narration and visual cues that are taken from this story are stunning and long lasting.
Many times readers lose interest in stories that they feel are not authentic. In addition, readers feel that fictitious novels and stories are for children and lack depth. Tim O’ Brien maintains that keeping readers of fiction entertained is a most daunting task, “The problem with unsuccessful stories is usually simple: they are boring, a consequence of the failure of imagination- to vividly imagine and to vividly render extraordinary human events, or sequences of events, is the hard-lifting, heavy-duty, day-by-day, unending labor of a fiction writer” (Tim O’ Brien 623). Tim O’ Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” examines the correlation between the real experiences of war and the art of storytelling. In O’Brien’s attempt to bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction the narrator of the story uses language and acts of violence that may be offensive to some. However some readers agree that Tim O" Brien's "How to Tell a True War Story" would lack authenticity and power without the use of crude language and violence.
Tom Landry was born in Mission, Texas (Moritz 270). Landry really excelled in football at the high school level, attaining the prestigious honors of being selected as an “all-regional fullback” (Moritz 270). As most high school football stars do, Landry went on and “enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin” (cemetery.state). Although Landry seemed to do as every other great high school star had done, his college experience had a twist to it. “After a semester at the University of Texas, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and, as a co-pilot of a B-17 bomber in World War II, eventually flew thirty missions over German occupied Europe and survived one crash landing” (Whittingham 83). After his experience in the military, “he returned to the University of Texas and resumed his football career” (Whittingham 84). Landry’s success in football seemed to pick up where it had left off, as “he made the All-Southwest Conference second team” (Moritz 270) as a junior, and “was cocaptain of the University of Texas team” (Moritz 270) his senior year. Landry’s success in college football was clear, and showed...
The first thing someone would notice about Pat Tillman was not his size or athletic ability; it was his devotion to everything he loved, be it his family, friends, sport, country, or virtues. Being raised by a family with a hi...
An article called, “The Real War,” written by Roger J. Spiller, begins with a quote by Walt Whitman, “The real war will never get in the books.” The author writes about an interview with Paul Fussell, who was a soldier in World War Two and has written many books about World War One and World War Two. Fussell is very opinionated and critical about other books written about these wars, asserting they are not realistic or portray the true essence of what really occurred by soldiers and other people participating in the wars. I claim that it is impossible to convey the actual personal feelings and emotions of those involved in a war in books or any other forms of media.
"Emmett Till." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 6: 1950-1959. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
...in which all of the tales and happenings are true. Having visited Mount Vernon for instance, Borneman’s portrayal and detailed information about George Washington brings so much more to the man and the character. Walter Borneman consistently connected the dots in describing what individuals did and what important things they had yet to do. With no real complaints and only a thirst for more, the author has scored big with this book and exampled narrative history at its finest! In the end, what is most important is the knowledge one can gain from such a vivid and living portrayal of the Seven Years War.
Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.
According to Ray, Sgt. Powell is indeed at least an official hero. He is a police officer, a respected public official devoted to protect the people of Los Angeles. He wears his uniform and is armed with his gun, which demands respect. Yet, according to Cohen’s description of traditionally manly virtues (that seem to insect with R...
Living on Long Island, NY during the Vietnam War with a teacher that hates your guts; this is the world that seventh grader Holling Hoodhood lives in, and in Gary D. Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars, he has to deal with the war, Mrs. Baker, and seventh grade.
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
Throughout life, an individual must undergo many obstacles to reach their life's climactic point of success. Regrettably, an individual may not be able to enjoy their life's highest point of accomplishment-because they are deceased! For example, in “A Letter to His Wife, 1861”, Sullivan Ballou (1861) died in the First Battle of Bull Run, a war led by former President Abraham Lincoln. Ballou wrote a letter to his beloved wife named Sarah; the delivery of the letter was contingent upon his death. Ballou fought for what he believed in- civil rights, and the safety of his country; I believe Ballou reached the climactic point in his life when he died for his country: a war hero.
A true war story blurs the line between fact and fiction, where it is neither true nor false at the same time. What is true and what is not depends on how much you believe it to be. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” from the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the author provides various definitions to how the validity of a war story can be judged. The entire chapter is a collection of definitions that describe the various truths to what a true war story is. Unlike O’Brien, who is a novelist and storyteller, David Finkel, the author of “The Good Soldiers”, is a journalist whose job is to report the facts. Yet in the selection that we read, chapter nine, Finkel uses the convention of storytelling, which relies heavily on the stories the combat troops tell each other or him personally. Finkel attempts to give an unbiased view of the Iraq war through the stories of the soldiers but in doing so, Finkel forfeits the use of his own experiences and his own opinions. From O’Brien’s views on what a true war story is combined with my own definitions, I believe that Finkel provides a certain truth to his war stories but not the entire truth.
In 1990, when he was 22 years old, Christopher McCandless ventured out into the Alaska wilderness in search for true happiness, and 2 years later he suffered a tragic death. An aspiring writer, Jon Krakauer, found McCandless’ story fascinating and chose to dedicate 3 years of his life to write a novel about him. The book entitled “Into the Wild” tells the tale of Christopher McCandless, an ill prepared transcendentalist longing for philosophical enrichment, who naïvely, failed to consider the dangers of isolating himself from human society for such a long period of time. Though Christopher McCandless made a courageous attempt to separate himself from society, in order to achieve self-fulfillment, the stubborn nature of this reckless greenhorn led him to his unfortunate demise.
The Struggles in life is something everyone is faced with whether it is physical, emotional mental or personal struggles. These struggles are capable of shaping an individual’s personality and outlook on life. Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, shows that struggles lead to the character’s ultimate inner struggles, outer struggles and self-discovery. War exists in a person’s physical and psychological aspects. In The Wars, Robert Ross goes to war and fights a personal and physical battle.