Thursday, November 29, 2007

Debate Blog

Children vs. Parents- occur at various locations, here the child is trying to persuade his parents, it can result in a better situation, unstructured, unstructured can lead to variance of topics with no real boundary.

Children vs. Teacher- occurs mainly in the classroom, child most likely trying to receive a better grade, can result in a switch of grade, unstructured, unstructured can lead to direct effect of teacher's authority.

Worker vs. Boss- mostly occurs at the work place, employee is trying to persuade his boss for something, could result in what employee wants but it probably won't, unstructured, unstructured can lead to employee asking for too much or boss just saying no.

Prosecutor vs. Defendant- court rooms, plantiff tries to argue his point where the defendant tries to defend theirs, can result in a win of the case for either side, structured, structured allows for an organized and civilized debate so order is preserved.

Speeder vs. Cop- occurs all over the place, speeder trying to convince the cop that they weren't speeding or that the radar gun is busted, never works, unstructured, unstructured results in cop getting iritated and writing the speeder a large ticket.

Friends vs. Friends- all over the world, friends try to convince eachother that their Saturday night plans are the best, often works, unstructured, unstructured results in one side of friends giving in and going with the other plan.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Outside Reading Q2 Week 2

Part A:
Vocab
"quarter decking"- the term the drill instructors use for singling out one recruit and having them perform extra exercises in front of the whole platoon for 15 minutes.
"the pit"- a pit dug 7ft deep that is very hot due to its open position. The sand in there can reach 100 degrees and recruits who slack off are sent to "the pit" to due extra exercises, while being bitten by the sand fleas that inhabit Parris Island.
Figurative Language
-"Marine history is exactly the same as it was back in high school; hell." Here, this is an example of a metaphor. The recruit compares the history portion of training to hell, but in reality, is isn't hell.
-"After pugil stick training, I was as tired as an old dog." A simile. I know this because the recruit compares his tiredness to an old dog using like or as.
-Irony: One part of the section that I found ironic was that Junior Drill Instructor Zwayer demands perfection from Platoon 3086 in the fitness tests, but he himself can barely muster up a passing grade on them!

Part B:
"Week three has performed its function, sorting out the platoon and letting its members know where they stand. They have shed their old civilian selves. They aren't yet Marines, but they are moving in that direction" (115).

This quote is significant to the book, but also very significant to me. It symbolizes many things in the book. Such as how far the platoon has come from week one. They are cooperating and working as a team. Plus, they know what is expected of them; push themselves further than they believe they can go. So, it resembles a part of progress for the platoon, but also what still needs to be done. The training does get harder as the weeks go by and Platoon 3086 still has a long way to go before they become Marines.

To me, this quote has a lot of meaning. I know I talked about this in my week one post, but so far it has been the main message I have gotten out of this book so far: determination. Reading about this platoon really makes me want to push myself beyond what I imagine in order to become something great. I can use this throughout all aspects of my life too. I can use it to motivate me in sports, school work, social activities, and the list goes on. I think that this book has done a good job of telling the platoon's story, but it has also done a great job of establishing morals and life lessons that are of mistaken by society because they are hidden. Hidden, no. But embedded deep in the core of Marine culture.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Outside Reading Q2 Week 1

Post A:
Quote-"His face just inches away from the recruits, he screams, 'I? I? I? I is gone!'"(60).
This quote symbolizes the transformation the recruits undergoe in the first three weeks of boot camp. Here, the recruits leave behind their old civilian identities and build new characters; qualities of a Marine. I is 'gone' so the recruits can only focus on others before themselves, teaching them selfless servive values and discipline.
Emerging Theme- So far, the new recruits have met the hardest obstacle of their lives. And the only way they are going to graduate as Marines is if they give all they have every time.

Post B:
Response- I thought this book has many connections to my life, other media, and the outside world. It is a powerful book with many lessons that not only an military recruit might need to know, but any average citizen. Some of the values brought up are great ones that we all can try to adhere to and hopefully benefit from.

First off, I love this book! I've have always been interested in everything to do with any branch of the military. So, this is right my alley so to say. I like to relate the training phase of the book so far to similar experiences I have faced like: tryouts for sports, weight lifting, and overall determination. Hopefully, I can use this book and its values of self-motivation, determination, and hard work to propel myself beyond what I think is possible.

It is also easy to relate this book to the media. So many different books or movies have been made about the military and its tough lifestyle. Such as Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, Black Hawk Down, and there are many many more. But one thing all of these different types of media have in common is there theme. All of the movies show the bravery, brains, and loyalty it takes to suceed in combat and in life.

The last part of response includes the outside world. The soldiers stationed abroad all have shown their commitment to our country and have answered the call. So have these new recruits. They have given all of their body, mind, and spirit in order to complete boot camp. If they do perserveere through the agony of trainig, they will emerge as something far superior to what they thought they could be. They will be Marines.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Outside Reading Q2 Book

-"Making the Corps" by Thomas E. Ricks
-Copyright 2007
-Nonfiction
-323 pages
-Evidence: this book is an appropriate book for a sophomore due to the topic of military service and the plot of boot camp and training. It rakes a mature teen to understand this type of book and I believe I chose a challenging book.
-Explanation: I chose this book because I love the military. It has always been something I've been fascinated with and something that I want to pursue. This book really interests me because it tells a story of one platoon's struggle to join the ranks of the Marines. Each soldier will have their own struggles and the author clearly shows how hard and brutal, yet satisfying making the corps can be.