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.