Achilles the Wrestler

“You and your opponent want the same thing, the only difference is who is willing to work harder for it.” -Ben Askren  

It was down to the final moments, of the Milwaukee Area Dual Meet Championship. Achilles  was locked in a brutal match between him and last year’s state champion. The odds were against him. But Achilles had a secret talent. He was unbeatable unless he was pinned on his heel.

It was the beginning of the first of three periods Achilles was unable to pin Odysseus but was able to pick up a good 6-0 lead. By the time the last period had occurred Achilles was still holding up a good lead against Odysseus. Achilles had said, “I got this”.  This meaning that the match he was in now could easily be won and come out on top.  Odysseus had met with his coach and revealed Achilles weakness.

Achilles’s weakness is simply his tendon jointing together your gastrocnemius muscle with most of your heel bone.  Now just know as our Achilles tendon.  This is because in Achilles was dipped into the Pewaukee river when he was a baby and this made him invincible.  Where his mother had held him while he was submerged into the river was his ankle.  

When Odysseus and Achilles faced off for the last time, Achilles tried his signature “leg ride” move, to try to bring him to the ground. Odysseus was caught off-guard and fell to the ground. Achilles then put him into a half-nelson and prepared to pin him for the win. Odysseus quickly turned and grabbed Achilles’ ankle. Achilles could not fight against him anymore and was defenseless; he then fell to the ground. Odysseus easily pinned him down winning the match and beat the unbeatable.   

Odysseus Then and Now

Author's note:

This is a piece comparing Odysseus in the "Trojan Horse" story to more modern installments of the same type. I also tried to put in A-B transitions

In every battle since the dawn of humanity, there have been leaders. Some good, some not. Some fighting for what is right, some not.  But in the classic story "the Trojan Horse," the leader of the Greeks, Odysseus used his cunning abilities to outwit the enemies, and claim victory. After learning this story, countless movies/ media have centered around this idea of manipulation. 

King of Ithaca, Odysseus was the main Greek war commander in the Trojan War. After ten years of bloody fighting, he wanted to put a stop to it once and for all. He used his ingenuity to create a large wooden horse to be placed inside the walls of Troy containing a small amount of Greek soldiers. The Trojans were manipulated into thinking the Greeks had ran off and left them a peace offering. Once inside the walls Odysseus waited for the larger attack around the city had begun. While Troy's military was occupied by the attack they did not notice Odysseus and his soldiers wandering around the city killing certain leaders. Troy had been manipulated and cost them their lives and city.

As stated earlier, this concept has been replicated in media for years. One of the most recent and popular occurrences happened in the recent video game COD: Black Ops II. Where the main terrorist against the UN surrendered to the US planning to be brought aboard their command center. While he is being detained, his soldiers begin an all out assault on the center. While the entire force is occupied by the attack, he breaks free. While wandering around the ship he executes the head commander. He then makes his way to the database and uploads a virus to hack their entire military network. He then uses the technology to make his own army, cripple the US military, and use the weapons on countless innocent cities. The US had been manipulated, and it had cost them much more than just a city. 

United States Army

Author's note:
This is my last piece for the year, and I wanted to do it about something that I am really interested in. I did it about the US Army' s origins .

Since the birth of our country we have needed a force to protect us. The first armed force to be born was the Army. When it was started we were at war for freedom against England. It met the needs for a force that can protect us almost anywhere. Now they still remain to protect us.

When we were fighting against England in the Revolutionary war, we needed a force that could lead the fight on land. That was the army. They saw conflict on many different battlegrounds. They ultimately lead to the victory against England for freedom.

While the war was raging there was a "safety crisis" going on back in the homesteads. The population did not   feel safe with just the local militia forces protecting them. But when the Army started fighting they had a more trust in the fight. They were at piece knowing that they were going to be safe with the Army protecting them.

 One of their bloodiest battles happened in the Invasion of Canada in 1775. Here they fought along with the Canadian militia against the British Quebec and the British army. They were completely outmatched and was one of the worst losses for the Americans. But later in the war when the Army was back to fighting, they were able to rebound from this loss and make-up with huge victories.

Since the dawn of America the Army has been there to stand guard. They fought time and time again against our enemies to keep us safe. They were brought up with honor in one of America's darkest days. And they still remain to keep that.

Things Are Not Always as They Seem

Author's note:

this is a summary of the story The Trojan Horse, and a look at how this is used in modern times. 

For ten long years, the Trojans and Greeks have been locked in a vicious fight. For ten years they had lost countless good men in the battles, but soon it was all over. The Greeks had constructed a large horse and hid in it. They had presented it as a peace offering to the Trojans, but they were really going to kill them when they came out. Hey had used manipulation to fool them into thinking they got a trophy. 

These kinds of things can happen these days. On your computer, a Trojan Horse can go into your computer and insert viruses without you ever knowing. Or when you are applying for a job, the employer may display the workplace as better than it actually is. These kinds of things have been seen in countless media and TV. One example is in the video game COD: Black Ops II, the main terrorist surrenders to the US Army intending to be brought aboard their ship for interrogation. But soon he breaks out with the arrival of his army attacking the ship, then hacks the entire military network, hacking all their drones and using them on countless innocent major cities. 

The Man Standing Next to Them

Authors note:

This is a research report about the US Navy. It goes through the origins up to the modern day. I named this piece what it is, because whenever someone is fighting in a war, they do it for everyone there with them. I was trying to be able to implement transitions into this piece. 

Whenever our nation has been threatened, or in need of protection, our military forces have been there. When we are faced with a threat regarding our world's waters our Navy has been ready to answer the call. Since their origins in the Revolutionary war, to the lethal fighting force they are today, they have they have defended our nation with the up most regards. 

The origins of the US Navy date back to the Revolutionary war. When George Washington began the force, it was made up of only seven warships. It later grew in size drastically toward the end of the war. Due to the loss of ships, and men, the Congress started to question the reason for a Navy, until they heard of the success of the remaining ships.  The total number of lost ships was 24, to the British forces. 

After the Revolutionary War the Navy fought substantial battles in the various wars during the 19th century, but noting compared to the fights it would encounter in the 20th century. Although the Navy saw little action in World War I, they engaged in the most battles during World War 2 than any country. Since the war had started when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Navy was the head of the fight in the Pacific. But they did not only see combat in the Pacific theater, but they also engaged in the European region against the Germans. The Navy had pulled off what was thought impossible after the attack. They had come back with full retaliation against their enemies. 

Although the art of naval warfare was set in World War 2, it changed drastically in 21st century and the years leading up to it. Around the time of the "Black Hawk Down" incident in Mogadishu, the Navy had changed its entire face. They had upgraded to the biggest and best ships that money could buy. They had state-of-the-art equipment that could do almost anything that they wanted it to. They could spot enemies thousands of miles away, or relay communications to the US from the middle of the ocean. Their elite ground force the Seals had made a new name for the Navy, making it the most elite maritime fighting force the world had ever seen. This was the new face of the Navy

Thought history of the free America the Navy had been ready to defend us. From the somewhat primitive fighting force in the Revolutionary war to the catastrophe at Pearl Harbor, and to the 21st century, they have been there. Ready to answer any call from our nation. They did not do it only for the country, but also for the man standing next to them.

SOURCES:
Director, Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, Undersea Warfare, OPNAV N97 There has been a good deal of conversation recently debating the size of the Navys ballistic missile submarine force, and .... "Navy.mil Home Page."Navy.mil Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.navy.mil/>.

"America's Navy - A Global Force for Good: Navy.com." America's Navy - A Global Force for Good: Navy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2013. <http://www.navy.com/>.

Dancing Shoes

Author's note:

In the story Ribbons, that the main character does not believe that her grandmother loves her. She will soon find out her intentions.

We see in the story Ribbons  that Stacy's grandmother still loves her... in her own way. Stacy believes that when she first arrives she does not even care about her, only her brother. But when she tries to bond with her by asking her to fix her dancing shoes she finds the reason for the way she acts. And how she loves her. 

When Stacy asks her grandmother to fix her dance shoes, she freaks out. When she was a child in China, the people would bind their feet with ribbons to keep them a certain way. She thought that Stacy was trying to do that to herself with those shoes. When Stacy learn of this from her mother, she talks to her grandmother and finds her true love for her. And that is all Stacy ever wanted. 

Reversed-Racism

Looking at how the woman acted toward her son's friend, shows that she is very stereotypical toward colored people. She displays that she believes that she knows everything about them. She seems to be over-nice to him, by offering food, clothing, and other things. In her mind, she thinks that all black people are poor, adults have terrible jobs, and have no clothing. And she displays little respect for them. 

She displays a stereotype when saying that her son's friend "will eat anything." She thinks he is poor, and does not have much food. But the kids do not pick up on this. She is just treating him this way because of his race, that is not right.

Through the story, the woman tries too help him in situations that are non-existent. He does not need a lot of food. He has enough cloths to keep him warm.The only thing that is out of place in this story, is the woman, and her act of reverse-racism. 

Hard TImes

Author’s note: This was a piece I wrote about the main conflict in the book The Art of Racing In the Rain. I was working on using a/b transitions, and text analysis.

When almost everything you own is taken from you in a matter of weeks will you still fight for what’s yours? The main character Denny from The Art of Racing In the Rain, looses almost everything in an instant. His wife, daughter, money, and home, are all taken. But he still fights for what’s his.

Denny’s first problem starts when his wife gets brain cancer, and dies 6 months later. Denny is heartbroken, and starts to set into depression. His parents-in-law, offer to take Zoe his daughter for a while, and eventually stay with them forever. Denny refuses, then the problem escalades to a level uncontrollable by anyone. The “Twins” (his parents-in-law), sue him for custody rights over Zoe. Denny is then forced to shove out huge amounts of money for a lawyer. But this is only his first obstacle.

Denny is still going through incredible adversity, but possibly the worst is yet to come. Along with the “Twins” law suit, they then decide to charge him with assault. They claimed he had inappropriately assaulted a 15 year old relative. This is all false. Now Denny is forced to get another lawyer to help on this front, all the while sinking deeper into debt. At one point Denny tries to get drunk and utters the words “I honestly don’t think this is worth fighting for anymore.” Denny is forced to sell one of his cars, his home, and move into a small apartment, just big enough for him and his dog. Denny appears to have hit rock bottom.

But when you have hit rock bottom, for some people, it gives them even more motivation to fight. And within a few more months, Denny is proven innocent on the assault, and the Twins finally give up trying to take Denny’s daughter. Denny’s live is now back on track, and when a famous racecar driver offers him a job in Italy for Ferrari, his spirits are soaring. But two weeks, his dog Enzo dies. Denny is heartbroken, but understands that he needed to go. Denny, with an open mind agrees to move to Italy, and become a driver for Ferrari.

Through all the struggles Denny faced, it turned out the way he wanted it. He lost his wife, home, job, all his money, and almost his daughter. But he does not stop fighting. He did not let someone take from him what was not theirs.

From Story to Film

Author's note:
This was another short piece based off of the story A Clean Well Lighted Place. In this piece I am analyzing the similarities and differences between the original story, and the video version.

The written story of A Clean Well Lighted Place, and the video version have some similarities, but also some differences. I will start by analyzing the similarities. They have all the right characters and lines. The characters seem to be playing the parts right and really play living the role. This gives it a quality, that only comes from when actors take the time to study the literature and their roles.

Although there were some similarities, there were also some differences. The video version seemed to be going at a slower pace showing every detail of the scene. Also in the story version, the old man is sitting outside drinking the liquor, but in the video, he was siting inside. And in the story it stated that branches were shadowing his face, in the video, there were no plants.

A Clean Diner

Author's Note:
This was a short piece stating the three phrases I thought were important in the story, and ultimately decided how the reader would respond to the story.

Through the story A Clean Well Lighted Place, the author puts Tn certain phrases or sentences that seem important to the story. One of them happens relatively close to the beginning of the story. When the waiter is called to bring another brandy the first time he says: "you should have killed yourself, last week." This seems important to me, as it shows how one man can have so much hate toward another. The old man had done nothing accept stay at the diner. Another was when the two waiters were talking one said: "You talk like an old man yourself. He can buy a bottle and drink at home." This shows that the waiter does not understand why the old man comes here every night. He comes here because it is quiet, not crowded  clean  and well lighted. The last phrase that I thought was important was when the waiter was at the bar and he said: "The light is very bright and pleasant but the bar is unpolished." Here he is comparing the bar to the diner, and he further understands why the old man had wanted to stay at the diner.

Fight Back

Author's note: 
In this piece I was analyzing the main conflict in the book Divergent. I was trying to work on idea understanding, in only writing about one main event int the book.


When you are faced with incredible adversity, do you back down from the fight? Or do you do everything you can to achieve your goal that you believe that is right? In the main conflict of the book Divergent, the main character, Tris, fights back with everything she has.

It is amazing how fast your life can be destroyed. In one day Tris' faction falls under a mind control set to destroy the nation's government, her friends turn on her, and her parents both die protecting her. But after all this had happened, Tris still fought toward the same goal, no matter the cost. Her goal was to shut down the mind control, and save the government.

If you were forced to fight against your best friend to reach your objective, would you still follow through? Upon reaching the headquarters where the mind control device is, Tris is confronted by a past friend, named Will. Tris hesitates to shoot him, until she notices his gun pointed at her face. And in one quick movement, Tris sends one quick, accurate bullet, straight toward Will. He falls and doesn't come back up.

As if killing one of your best friends wasn't enough, Tris is confronted again by someone different. She is confronted by Four, the person who had trained her to be a lethal fighting machine, and who happened to have a soft spot for her. But the real Four was hidden under the brainwashed human body that lived inside of him. She tells herself that she will not kill him. Unfortunately, they engage in rough hand-to-hand combat, and Tris is losing. When Four prepares to deliver the killing blow to Tris, he snaps out of the simulation randomly.  With Four on her side, Tris now could stop the brainwashed soldiers from killing more innocent people. She had seceded.

Now ask yourself, if you were faced with these trials, would you still keep fighting froward? Or would you hide in fear? For Tris, that was not an option. She knew what she needed to do, and she got it done. She faced many adversities, such as both her mom and dad, dying in front of her to protect her. Just ask yourself, "what would I  do?"

Sometimes Friends Will Change

Author's note:
This was my character development piece. I analyzed the main character's best friend Rowdy, from the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. Rowdy does not live in the best conditions, but has one friend that stays true to him. But him and his friend undergo a  huge transformation.

All of us have had a friend best friend during childhood. Someone we feel safe revealing secrets about our life to. And someone we can trust. And for a boy named Junior, it is no different, for a while. His best friend Rowdy, comes from one of the worst families for a kid to grow up in. His mother died when he was young, and his father is drunk almost all day, every day. But the main character Junior and his friend are still friends. But Rowdy undergoes a change that will change his life, and his best friend Junior's life forever.

The problem first arouses when Junior is sick of his school on the Indian reservation, and wants to move to a  school outside of the "rez". When Junior happily announces this to Rowdy, in the hopes that he will move there with him, Rowdy's heart turns black. He is outraged. He screams, and punches Junior in the face two times, accusing him of "betraying the reservation an their traditions". And after a friendship of fourteen years , Rowdy had just ended it in about fourteen seconds. But that is not where Rowdy's transformation ends.

Rowdy's second change, happens when Junior's basketball team from his new school, plays against them, at Junior's school. This was the second time the two teams had met this season. The first time had been at the reservation school, and Junior's team had gotten beaten. Junior had gotten picked to guard Rowdy for the whole game. In a blink of an eye, Junior gets the ball and sinks the first 3-pointer of the game. Rowdy is then impressed on how he has improved, but is still set on winning. Rowdy goes intentionally rougher on Junior, by pushing him over and purposely hitting him in the face on shots. But Rowdy's heart has softened up towards him.

Rowdy's final change happens when Junior's sister is killed in a fire. Both Junior are able to talk then, and they are able to talk about what was really keeping them from being friends. After much talk and Rowdy's constant swearing, the two make up and are friends once again. They realize it was really just Rowdy being jealous of Junior being able to leave the reservation, and fend for himself. And once again, Junior offers the chance to come back to school with him to the school outside the reservation.

The Lost Hero Retold

Authors note:
This is a retelling of the book The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan. The story is filled with action and adventure, keeping readers glued to the book for hours.

At the start of this book, the author depicts the three main characters on a school bus going to the Grand Canyon. But Jason (one of the main characters), does not know how he got here or who all these people are. But even stranger than that, they all think they know him.

When the children arrive at the Grand Canyon, they are attacked by storm spirits, claiming to be working for a certain leader. Shortly after the three main characters find out they have parents that are ancient Greek gods. They are also informed that the queen of the gods have been kidnapped and they have to rescue her.

Along the way they are betrayed by countless spirits, and almost killed countless times. They fight giants, with an army of minions and successfully defeat him. When they get near to the goddess Jason meets his sister, and her soldier friends. Together they assault the cave where the goddess is being held, and successfully save her. Had they not saved her, the king of the giants would have risen up from the ground and destroyed the earth. And once again, the earth had been saved by three young kids. 

One With the Forest

Author's note:
This was my creative writing piece and my figurative writing piece. I wrote about a hunt from the perspective of the hunter, and the frustration of a failed hunt. 

Dawn, -5 degrees, and suspended in a tree. To most people, this not a place they would like to be. But this is just where I like to be. From dawn to dusk, I sit, motionless, in the pattern of a tree. It takes some of the most skillful eyes to spot me, and if anything spots me, it's too late.

As I sit, I hear the faint crunching of leaves, that seems to be coming toward me. After a few moments of the sound growing more intense by the second, I spot it; a 10 point white tail dear. "Finally, this is what i have been waiting for." As I raise my rifle, and aim, I mouth a small prayer, and ready myself to fire. Finally, it has entered a clearing, and I have a perfect shot. I aim, and pull the trigger... "CLICK!" No bullet fired. I had felt like I had almost won the lottery, but found out that it was just another number. At the sound of that, the deer and I lock eyes. We can almost read each other's thoughts. Then it happens, it runs away, into the thick underworld of the forest, never to be seen again. 

Revised Forging for Freedom

Author's note:
This was a piece I wrote about a month ago, but I decided to revise it to make it into a better piece. In this piece I will be analyzing the cause and effect in the story Forge by Lauri Halse Anderson, witch tells of a young slave seeking freedom during the American Revolution. 

When Curzon ran away from his cruel master, to join the Continental army, he never though it would change his life... forever. He had thought he would be caught again. But he ran away for reasons that need no explanation, he was a slave and wanted to be a free man. He had been born into slavery and separated from his mother and father at an early age. He was able to escape with the help of a friend named Isabel; she would later become a major part of the story.

The climax or main turning point of the story was Curzon escaping his master. His reasons for escaping, were obvious, he was a slave. He then finds refuge in a small town working for a military supplier, who is secretly stealing goods from the war effort. He is then forced out of the city, and not long after, Isabel runs away. Heartbroken, by Isabel's decision, Curzon decides to keep heading toward the closest military camp, where he successfully joins the army and makes friends.

Later in the story, Curzon's old master finds him, and plans to manipulate Curzon to have him come back to his control. He is successful at this. As an effect of Curzon running away, Bellingham (his master) wants to make sure he learned his lesson. He commands Curzon to call him "master", and do the most strenuous jobs, he could think of. When Curzon's plan of escape reaches Bellingham's ears, he has another slave come work for him. And when Curzon saw who  it was, he was speechless. There Isabel stood.

Curzon is then more determined to escape then ever. He gets in touch with his old military friends, and work out a plan for both of them to escape. They folow thorough with the plan and successively escape. And for the first time ever, both Isabel, and Curzon stood free. After all the years of pain and suffering, Curzon had been through, it was finally over. But had Curzon had never escaped from his master the first time, he would have never lived free. While George Washington and the other Founding Fathers were fighting for freedom of a nation, Curzon was fighting for his own freedom, something unheard of with all slaves.

A Look Inside The Lost Hero

Author's note:
This was my traits, piece. I will be analyzing the trait of survival in The Lost Hero. All through the book the characters are faced to survive. But not always for themselves.

Thought the book The Lost Hero, one main theme of survival is clearly shown. All of the characters, not even the main characters are trying to survive. And for the unfortunate three main characters, their lives have recently been turned upside-down. But as they begin to uncover what is truly going on, the deadlier, their lives become.

First off when we look at the main characters, we see the trait in action. The main characters, Leo, Jason, and Piper, have had an unusual week. It started out with Jason, somehow appearing on a school field trip, to the Grand Canyon, next to people he did not know. But the thing was, that they all thought they knew him, they had been tricked. And followed up by that they were attacked by some kind of wind spirits  where they were forced to survive. Which then shows the first evidence of survival.

Secondly, all three are flown to a "magical camp" for kids that are the children of Greek gods. All of them are claimed by their god-parents, but Jason turns out to be the son of the king of the gods. They are then shown a prophecy that they must save the queen of the gods, and some evil force from rising. Which then  shows that they will need to survive against many enemies.

Finally, while they are on their "adventure," they are attacked by monsters, and tricked by spirits. All of which are trying to stop them on their journey. Thought the rest of their adventure, they must survive and overcome huge obstacles. Through the book, and the characters, give us their reason's for trying to survive. For some of them it is just to be able to live. Others are trying to get back what is rightfully theirs. While others are surviving for someone they care about. Some of these same situations can be seen in many other survival- type stories, and are what keep readers compelled to keep reading.

His Eyes Through My Eyes

Author's note:

This was my point of view piece. I did a 3rd person analysis of the main character of the book Black Hawk Down, Mike Durant.

Mike Durant goes through more fear and hopelessness in the book Black Hawk Down, than most of us will in a lifetime. The morning of that fatal day that he would endure a so much pain and fear, did not start out in a bad way. It had just started out as a normal routine mission, protecting the troops on the ground, but it soon would become much more than that.

During US engagements in Somalia, Capt. Mike Durant, was a Army Black Hawk pilot.  But on one fatal day in October his “routine” mission would change his life forever. He would almost loose his life. He loses his friends, and at some times his sanity.

He was tasked with flying a helicopter to provide cover for their troops on the  ground. When suddenly his helicopter is hit with a rocket, and spins out of control, hurling toward the ground. On the crash landing, Mike, and his co- pilot, are knocked out. The two men in the back were not so lucky.

When Mike regains consciousness, he manages to free himself, and his badly wounded friend. Mike soon realizes he had crashed right in the middle of the war zone, and enemies are moving in out his position. He soon is aided by two stray soldiers, but they are soon killed. Mike then is knocked un conscious.

He wakes up in a strange house on a bed, and realizes the man who took him here is not an enemy, but someone who is also fighting against the same enemies. Mike is free to go as soon as the military can extract him, which is going to be a while.

Finally after a few weeks, Mike’s friends and soldiers are finally able to extract him, and get him medical, treatment. Later Mike hears of his co pilot’s death. He is not able to re-join the fight on account of his broken ribs, arm , and, leg. Mike had overcome extreme adversary, and had a perspective on the whole ordeal through his own eyes. 

Similarities and Differences

 Author's note:

In social studies we had to read a book abut the Revolutionary War, then do a compare and contrast it to the movie The  Patriot. I compared it the book Forge. Both stories have sad, and happy parts, but end up peaceful. Both main characters show great courage in the face of adversary, but not always in the way we would expect.

The Revolutionary War was of the most pivotal wars in our world’s history. And it has inspired countless books, and movies on its subject. Two of which are the book Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson, and the movie The Patriot. 

The Patriot

In The Patriot, the main character, Benjamin, is a war veteran, and now lives in South Carolina, with his 7 children. His youngest child has not talked to him since his wife died, and for the better part of the movie, does not say a word to anyone. Against his will his oldest son joins the continental army. Reluctantly after his son returns home only to be captured by the British, does he decide to join the war.

His second oldest son is killed in front of him trying to keep the soldiers from taking his brother. Benjamin and his sons ambush the convoy taking his son, and kill every single troop, accept one, who later tells of being attacked by a “ghost.” After recovering, Benjamin, and his son Gabriel, re-join the army and lead a militia force.

The small militia force defeats countless British convoys with tactics, now known as Guerilla warfare. They end up acquiring multiple personal items of Gen. Cornwallis, including a pair of Great Danes. Benjamin uses these to re-claim some of his captured soldiers.

Eventually Gabriel gets married to a childhood friend, and gets to enjoy marriage for a few days, before his wife, and her family and friends are burned alive in a church. In the next few days Gabriel seeks vengeance against the man who took his brother, home, and wife. He shoots him, but is stabbed to death by the British officer. Benjamin, upon witnessing this now seeks vengeance of his own.

Benjamin, now leads the last remaining militia in the most important battle they had ever been in. Colonel Tavington, the man who killed his  sons, personally targets Benjamin. The two engage in a duel, where Tavington causes Benjamin to loose his tomahawk and prepares to finish him. Benjamin spins around and stabs him with a bayonet. The two both lock eyes as Benjamin delivers the coup de grace, stabbing his throat. Justifying his son's deaths. The battle is won as French troops arrive to help the Americans. Eventually  due to the fighting, Cornwallis is forced to surrender. A bunch of farmers had just won the freedom for an entire nation.

Forge

In the book Forge, the main character, Curzon is a past war veteran, but not the same as Benjamin. He is as was a slave. He thought fighting in his masters place would grant him freedom, he was wrong. So he ran away to the war, where he joins the military as a Private.

Everything seems to be going fine, until his master shows up as a general. His master, Bellingham, invites him to spend the day at his mansion. Curzon, not knowing what he was

When arriving at Bellingham’s, mansion he is greeted happily by Bellingham. After a meal, and some talk, Bellingham states that Curzon will be staying with him. Curzon tries to resist and run away but he is just caught by guards.

Curzon is forced to live there for about one month, until Bellingham orders for another slave. He ends up getting the little girl that helped Curzon escape Bellingham in the first place. He name was Isabel, and she was just as surprised to see Curzon as he was, but did not show any emotion on her face. They are both forced to serve under Bellingham, and any generals that would stop by.

In the coming months, the army force Curzon used to be a part of moves to their area. Curzon is able to meet up with one of his old friends, and manages to hatch a plan to escape, slavery, both him and Isabel. After weeks of planning and waiting the two finally escape captivity and head toward the military camp. Finally… they were both free.

Conclusion

In both The Patriot, and Forge, the main characters are fighting for what they believe in, and for those they love. Benjamin fought for the vengeance of his sons, and for his family. Whereas Curzon was fighting for his own freedom, which was unheard of in this era. Both of these stories depicted of ordinary men fighting for something more than what they had. But they had one thing in common that was the most important, they were fighting for a new nation of freedom.

Story Time

Author's note: this will be my retelling piece. I will be retelling the story that goes on in the book Saving Pvt. Ryan by Max Allen Collins. This piece will be something new for me, as I have never done a retelling piece both last year, and this year. In this piece I will be trying to not bore the reader with the story but still tell the story.

The book begins with the infamous invasion of Normandy France, D-Day. It focuses on possibly, the most famous beach landing: the American invasion on Omaha Beach. During the fight, chaos is all that surrounds Captain John H Miller. He watches all around as bombs explode, people drop from gun fire, and wounded soldiers, too young to be in the war, cry for help.

Somehow, through all the chaos, troops are able to head up the tall hills, take out the German gunners, pinning down their comrades, and secure the beach. Once the beach is secure, Miller is informed that a soldier had become MIA in the night air raids. But there was something special about this soldier, he had lost all four of his brothers in the last day, and they were going to rescue him. His name was, PVC James Ryan.

Miller and his squad embark on a three day journey to find Ryan, loosing two of their men, along the way.They eventually find him in a small destroyed town with three other MIA paratroopers. They get there just in time to hold off the attacking Germans. After the fighting, Miller informs Ryan of his brother's deaths, and tells him that they are taking him home. Ryan promptly responds, "Tell my mother, that you have found me, here and I was with the only brothers I had left." Miller and his squad decide to stay and help the troops defend the bridge keeping the Germans out of the town.

The soldiers have a few hours to ready up for the attack. The German offensive front, consisted of 55 well trained soldiers, two tanks, and anti- air artillery. The few rugged soldiers are able to hold off the invading attacks, for a while. As one by one, almost all the Americans are killed, and the Germans advance further over the bridge. Ryan, Miller, and the few surviving soldiers, are all out of hope, as another wave of tanks advance. Their hope is renewed as American planes, and soldiers destroy the tanks, and eliminate the troops. Miller is mortally wounded, and dies shortly after the attack ends.

The closing scene is Ryan, as an old man, visiting Miller's grave. He remembers, what they did to save him.It ends with His grandson coming up to him and hugging him. Ryan then leaves the grave of the man who gave everything to save him.