War Topics In Songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR5kLoKlgyE - Blood Brothers by Luke Bryan

This song could be on a soundtrack for the two short stories we read in class because it shows the war topic, brotherhood. In the song, Luke sings about a time when he was younger and all the crazy things he use to do with his friends. In the song he even says, "the best of friends, take a bullet for each other." This shows the bond and brotherhood that he had with his friends. They would do just about anything to protect each other, and if anything happened to them he would be devastated. This is similar to when in Guests of The Nation one of the soldiers says, "I knew if they did run for it, that I'd never fire on them." This shows the brotherhood that the soldiers had with the prisoners and they would do just about anything to keep them alive like they are their blood brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcM9ElA1VHk - What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts

This song could also be on a soundtrack for the two short stories we read in class because it shows an example of the pain people feel when they lose someone. In the song Rascal Flatts sings, "It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go." He sings about how he lost his girlfriend and he hates the way he feels and he feels so lonely without her. The pain people feel when they lose someone is shown in Guests of the Nation when the soldier says, "I never felt the same about again." They were forced to kill the prisoners that they became great friends with and the soldier was struggling to cope with the fact that he had to kill his friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIczlV9bjpY - Here Comes Goodbye by Rascal Flatts

Another song that relates to the two short stories we read in class is also by Rascal Flatts called Here Comes Goodbye. In this song he talks about how his girlfriend is coming to his house but this time it may be for the last time. He explains that she is going to say goodbye and he is going to miss everything about her. This relates to when one of the prisoners says, "I'm ready and you boys want to get it over." This was the goodbye the soldiers received. At that moment they knew they would never talk to him again. They knew that the friendship was going to be over and everything was going to be different.

9-11 War Conflicts

All over the world there are constantly conflicts that are occurring for many different reasons. A major conflict that has occurred in the last 20 years was 9-11. On September 11, 2001 there was four coordinated terrorist attacks by Al-Queada on The United States of America and killed just under 3,000 innocent people. Two planes hit the world trade center complex as well as the pentagon.  Another plane was aiming for the White House but the passengers over took the plane and they crashed in Pennsylvania. The United Sates responded by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan. They targeted Afghanistan because Al-Queda operated training camps and openly lived in the country with the support of the Taliban.The terrorists of Al-Queada would be unable to destroy our military so they targeted symbolic places such as the Twin Towers, a centerpiece of the World Trade Center. 

https://www.911memorial.org/

This attack shows the war topic we discussed in class of brotherhood. After The United States was attacked, people reacted in many different ways. Everyone was completely in shock and didn't know to do. Before it happened the country was divided completely. People were fighting each other and not everyone was on the same team. After the attack many people joined together and stopped all the other fighting that was going on. People joined together to help rebuild what was destroyed and help people that were affected whether they lost someone or they were injured. The United States of America finally became one team. One brotherhood. 

Another war topic we discussed in class that was shown is loss. 2,996 people lost their lives because of the terrorist attack on 9-11. Many people lost their brother or their sister or even their mother. Fathers left behind daughters. Sons left behind daughters. Friends were lost. Al-Queada wanted us to be in pain. They wanted us to lose something that meant quite a lot to us. Sadly, that is what happened. On September 11th 2001 Americans lost a lot but thankfully for the brotherhood we joined, we were able to come out of this stronger and better then ever. 

VENEZUELA PROTESTING

Right now Venezuela is facing a terrible time in their country. With all of the protests and the corruption, there are many conflicts that have resulted. An obvious conflict that is seen is Man V.S. Man. There is a biker gang that has been hired by the government to cause confusion and chaos. The gang, the collectivos, are the men that are at war against the other people in the country that are just trying to live normal lives and be safe while the gang is trying to stop that from happening. With the people going through what they are going through, that brings up another conflict. Man V.S. Self. The regular people that are in the government that are trying to live normal lives are fighting within themselves with the decisions they have to make. Do they go against the gang and the government and risk their lives as well as possible children and other family members. They are fighting with the decisions that are morally correct and safe for themselves.

Along with the conflicts, an idea you see throughout the video, is loss. In the video, Henrique Capriles says that approximately, "25,000 Venezuelans were murdered last year." Last year in Venezuela many people lost their lives and many people lost loved ones. 

The government in Venezuela also runs on hypocrisy. Throughout the media, they say that Venezuela isn't in that bad of a place economically and there is only a small number of people upset when in reality the majority of people are upset and scared for their lives. Many people would even call that a dictatorship which shows hypocrisy because the Venezuela government is said to run on democracy. Instead of the government protecting the young people living in Venezuela, they are brutally repressed. Governments were created to help the people in the country but the government in Venezuela has only made things worse and made the people more unsafe. 

The Innocent Man Connections

For my first book, I decided to read the Innocent Man written by John Grisham. As I read this book it made me think of the story, Siddhartha, that we are reading in class. Throughout reading each story I saw many connections that I thought were related. Although many things are related, it was in a different way of looking at things.
For starters, both stories are about men trying to grow and find the true meaning in their life. While trying to grow as boys, men, and humans, they both have a path they are on in order for them to be satisfied. Siddhartha left his dad in the Brahmins to join Shramana's. On page ten Siddhartha says to his dad, "With your permission, father I have come to tell you that I wish to depart from your home and join the ascetics." That part of the story connects to the innocent man because Ron Williams left his family to try and make a major league baseball team. They both had to make a very long and hard decision that would change their lives forever.
Also, Ron Williams looks at his life and after injuries and depression he looks to drugs and alcohol and in Siddhartha he goes to the city looking for materialistic items and alcohol as well. Unlike Ron Williams, Siddhartha sees himself becoming a different person and he realizes that he needs to leave the city so he can expand himself and be happier. Unfortunately, Ron Williams, isn't strong enough for that and instead of growing to be a bigger better person, he only grows smaller.
Apart from the main characters, the stories themselves connect. Both stories make you really think deeply about your past and even about your future. When you read Siddhartha you think of all the things you did when you were little to try and figure out who you were and while you're reading The Innocent Man you think of what you could've done to be in the terrible situation that he was. It makes you hope you continue making the right decisions in your life that will help you grow as a person.

Changing The Elements The Innocent Man

While reading "The Innocent Man" the author spent a good amount of time explaining that the innocent man, Ron Williams, was once a star baseball player in Oklahoma. He was given the great opportunity to play baseball in college but rejected the offer so he could make the big leagues. His chances of playing in the MLB quickly began to fade with a messed up shoulder along with bad drinking and drug habits.

The author chose to add the darker details of Ron Williams and the bad choices he has made throughout his life. The author made strategic decision in adding those aspects. If John Grisham hadn’t chosen to add this to the book, would the reader even be surprised that Williams was found guilty or even suspected of the crime? I completely believe that if the author didn’t add the parts of Ron Williams and his past then the reader wouldn’t have really grasped that he would be a main suspect in a murder.

Like on page 68 of the Innocent Man the author, John Grisham, says, “in February 1981, Ron was again arrested for drunk driving and pleaded guilty.” So Ron Williams obviously had a problem with drinking, and was caught more than once. The book theme isn't a mystery about who goes to jail, but more of the man that went to jail when he didn't deserve it. On the back cover of the book it says, “in a trial littered with lying witnesses and tainted evidence that would shatter a man’s already broken life… and let a true killer go free.” If the author decided to make the innocent man a mystery would that have completely changed the book? I feel that if we didn't know about Ron Williams and that he was indeed innocent it would really change how you feel about him because while reading the book you feel terrible for Ron Williams knowing that he had a bad life with some bad choices and he is going to go to jail for something he didn't do, you feel bad for him. On the other hand, if you didn't know that he was innocent then you don't feel bad for him and you are even glad he goes to jail.

Archetypes The Innocent Man

Archetypes have been in every book and story since the beginning of time. While reading "The Innocent Man" the author spent a good amount of time explaining that the innocent man, Ron Williams, was once a star baseball player in Oklahoma but he made many mistakes as well. Ron was a gifted athlete who always had dreams of making a major league baseball team. The problem Ron faced everyday was he suffered with an archetypal symbol such as light versus darkness. He had both light and darkness in him which fueled him and his dreams as well as hurt them. There is light in the people around him like his sisters who tried again and again to make him less of a jerk that pushed and pressured his parents into buying and doing whatever he wanted. His parents also show a dark archetypal symbol because they always gave him everything he wanted with no hesitation his entire life. With them doing what they thought was for the best, only made him a spoiled brat that thought he could get away with anything. Another light archetypal symbol is that Ron always had big dreams and desires of becoming a baseball player. And with everything that happened in his life he still managed to have hope that one day he would be a professional baseball player. But the dark archetypal symbol that lead him to doing drugs and chasing after women overcame that light that he had. Also in the story there is another archetypal character, the devil figure. Ron's aspiration to become famous and a professional baseball player brought him the misery he received. The devil figure brought him to being an alcoholic that could not make a baseball team and eventually even took him to jail. The devil figure was stronger then the little bit of light in him and ruined him. Ron having these archetypal symbols and characters brought him the situations he faced in his life and without the situations brought upon him, there would be no story.