Band of Brothers Essay Example for Free

Band of Brothers Essay The book title, â€Å"Band of Brothers,† by Stephen E. Ambrose is a book that shares the risky undertaking and hazardous experience that the United States Army had to go through in World War 2. Bravery is an understatement when describing the men of East Company’s personalities. The book really helps the reader describe the relationships and friendships that were either directly or indirectly developed as a result of going to war. From the extremely brutal training, to the depths of enemy territory, these men developed a brotherhood that only can come about as a result of extreme situations such as preparing and training for war, as well as World War 2 itself. This book not only describes Easy Company but other military veterans or active service members can relate to the situations described in the book. First of all, the book’s title describes things very accurately. Like most military divisions, Easy Company which was a part of the 101st Airborne Division in the Army, had to go through an exhausting basic training course in Camp Toccoa in Georgia. This alone is going to establish bonds and friendships among the young men participating in this training, whether they are looking for a buddy or not. Much of Easy Company already had an unspoken brotherhood before they even came into basic training. Many of these men had grown up in the terrible time of the depression and many of them had something in common. During Easy Company’s time in basic training, they not only had to compete with their selves, but with other militaries. â€Å"A day or so before leaving Toccoa, Colonel Sink read an article in the Reader’s Digest that said a Japanese Army battalion had set a world record for marching endurance by covering 100 miles down the Malayan Peninsula in seventy-two hours. (p. 28)† Colonel Sink wanted to top the Japanese’s achievement so he ordered his men to do better. This was a very miserable journey and test for Easy Company but they accomplished more than the Japanese Army had. War in itself is a competition but this book also examines with detail, the miniature competitions that occurred during World War 2. This march helped bring the soldiers together even closer and it also gave them the confidence and conditioning they needed to go into the brutal battles of World War 2. Most importantly, trust develops between these men because they are confident that they have well trained soldiers going into battle with them and not people that are going to drag their feet. â€Å"They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other (Pg. 1). The first battle which was the invasion of Normandy proved to be an eye opener that would just only strengthen the bond and brotherhood that Easy Company had. The pure terror of landing in Normandy and facing the Nazi German in a low vision area was at this point, the ultimate test to see if the training they bared in Camp Toccoa was good enough. With bullets flying and loud bangs disrupting their hearing, many of the men could not locate the rest of the group. Winters helped to organize and reunite a few men so they could have a better chance against the Germans by sticking together. Even though men were lost, Lieutenant Winters proved in a small victory that Easy Company was a highly trained group of soldiers that could get the job done in defeating the Nazis. Winters achieved this with a small group of soldiers as well. â€Å"The attack was a unique example of a small, well-led assault force overcoming and routing a much larger defending force in prepared positions (Pg. 84). † Even though this gruesome battle was an eye opener to the horrors of war, Easy Company’s soldiers were described as confident, had a will to survive and a sense of pride.

Lovers :: Personal Narrative Sex Relationships Essays

Lovers My mother went to Barnard on a full scholarship. She commuted from home, two hours a day on the subway. One night after a Columbia party, she was up a ladder taking down crepe paper when an orange hit her on the back of the head. It thumped to the ground and rolled under a stool, where my father knelt to retrieve it. He tossed the orange across the room to a friend — his intended target — and offered my mother his hand. In my version, she shakes off his attempts to help her down from the ladder. Does not speak to him for months because she’s so offended at being hit on the back of the head with the orange. Looks the other way when he passes on the street. Starts dating his roommate. In my version, the roommate can’t be there for a date they’re supposed to have. He has an emergency to deal with — a death in the family, a last-minute pinball competition at the pizza place, what have you. My father answers her knock with as much grace and charm as he can muster. "Hello," he says. "Are you here to see Bob?" "Yes," she says, stepping cautiously over the threshold. "He isn’t here," my father says. "He had to go to a funeral/pinball semi-final/what-have-you." My mother: "Oh." Of course, she could just step back across the threshold and find another way to spend her evening. But in my version she does not. She sits on the couch, tugging her mini skirt to cover more of her nicely shaped legs. My father brings out a basket of butter crackers and wedges of cheese. They talk about politics, literature. Something. What would my parents discuss during their first conversation? Now, after thirty years of marriage, their communication isn’t even verbal; each speaks through the other’s eyes. But how did they communicate then, when they were still new? Of course, this night kicked off the ravenous affair that would become my parents’ marriage. In my version, they could not keep their eyes (or their hands) off each other. They went everywhere in each others’ company: the dining hall, where my mother sneaked my father in on her meal ticket; the library, where he tossed spitballs into her hair; the movies, where they nuzzled at the back of the room, my father attempting a hand on her thigh, my mother staring straight ahead, her arms and legs rigid.

Bird in the House

REVISED Vanessa: Distressed Female In Margaret Laurence’s A Bird in the House By: Adeline Hartono #20336566 For: Professor Vardon Date: Monday November 14th, 2011 In Margaret Laurence’s A Bird in the House, the female characters in the story are helpless and distressed. Each character struggles to reach their own personal freedoms and is constantly battling through the ups and downs of life. This issue brings about the essence of entrapment, which is apparent in the collection.It can be further seen in regards to the female and main character, Vanessa Macleod. A Bird in the House tells a story about the life of Vanessa Macleod, the protagonist, and the rocky journey she endures throughout the process of growing up. Life is never easy for Vanessa, for she faces many challenges and tragedies throughout her childhood. In the collection, Vanessa possesses a unique quality in that she is able to find ways to deal and cope with the harsh events taking place in her life.One wa y in which she illustrates this is through her many writings of creative stories. When she wrote and developed ideas, Vanessa escapes any feelings of entrapment and helplessness; however, one of the hardest things Vanessa has to endure is the numerous losses of her loved ones: firstly, the passing of her beloved Grandmother Connor, whom she adored and loved very much, and shortly, in months after her death, the passing of her father, Ewen Macleod. Out of the two, the greatest lost in which Vanessa continues to struggle through is her father’s death.Throughout her childhood, she has always wanted to be closer with her father, but with the profession in which he holds, a doctor, it is difficult for the both of them to ever have any time to spend together. She not only believes that her father is the best doctor there is in Manawaka, but also the best doctor in the whole of Manitoba. With this being said, her father frequently travels out of town for work. During one winter in M anawaka, Vanessa’s father became very ill and had developed pneumonia.Almost immediately, in days after, he unfortunately passed away due to being unable to recover from the illness. In the days following her father’s death, Vanessa continues to fight back feelings of regret that she could have somehow been closer to her father and conversed with him more, â€Å"I took the letter and picture outside and burned them. That was all I could do for him. Now that we might have talked together, it was many years too late. Perhaps it would not have been possible anyway.I did not know† (Laurence 107) Hence, Vanessa never got the closure she has wanted with her father and this prevents her from fully reaching happiness. Although Vanessa has suffered the tremendous loss of her father, the pain and struggle of her life did not end there. She continues to endure obstacles while growing up, as she faces the dominance of her Grandfather Connor. Throughout the novel, Grandfathe r Connor is shown as someone of a high power who wanted things to go his way.He has a strong character and will, which gives him authority and as a result, overpowering almost all the members in Vanessa’s family. In one of Vanessa’s first creative stories, she realizes that her writing bears no relation to the life around her, but instead resembles her Grandfather Connor. She realizes that her Pillars of the Nation about pioneer life may well incorporate her Grandfather Connor, who is a real pioneer. She is troubled by the connection of the hateful old man she feared and fought with being apart of her creative writing so much so that she decides to set it aside.Only then does she see how similar she is to Grandfather Connor and how she will never be free of his control, â€Å"I had not thought it would hurt me to see it in other hands, but it did. I wanted to tell them to trim their hedges, to repaint the window frames, to pay heed to repairs. I had feared and fought the old man, yet he proclaimed himself in my veins† (Laurence 191) Thus, Vanessa continues to be trapped in the dominance of her Grandfather, and continually feels distressed and helpless.Ultimately, the theme of entrapment is evident in the book. One of the obvious ways in which readers see this idea clearly is in the character of Vanessa Macleod, the protagonist. The death of her father and the dominance of her Grandfather Connor prevent Vanessa from fully reaching happiness. As a result, she often struggles with feelings of regret and sorrow. All in all, the female characters in the book can be seen as distressed and helpless, for Vanessa was a perfect example of this.

The Colonization Of The North Over The Global South

Explore the ways in which colonialists established and maintained their rule in the colonies and assess whether any of these mechanisms continue to be evident in the contemporary domination of the global North over the global South. Over the years Europeans have established many different types of colonies throughout the Global South for reasons such as the expansion of empire and for economic motives. These different types of colonies such as, company rule, direct rule, indirect rule and settler rule have been established and maintained using ways that best suited each colony and the motives of the colonisers. However all of the colonial governments shared certain attributes. (Exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu, 2014). Some of the mechanisms used to maintain rule can still be seen as playing a major role in the contemporary world, although the form of imperialism can be seen as changed from colonialism to neo-colonialism to better suit the needs of the growing capitalist dominant powers. This essay is structured as follows: first I will briefly discuss the background of the Scramble for Africa including some of the possible motives. Secondly I will analyse some of the mechanisms used to establish rule focusing on c ertain colonial rule types and will examine some of the ways in which colonizers maintained rule in colonies. Thirdly I will examine some of the mechanisms still being used to dominate the Global South using the concept of Neo-colonialism. At the Berlin conferenceShow MoreRelatedAmerican South And German Imperialism Essay1257 Words   |  6 PagesAlabama in Africa, written by Andrew Zimmerman, explains the history surrounding the relationship between slavery in the American South as well as in the African village of Togo, run by Germany. He opens with the importance of cotton in America’s social, political, and economic markets. Not only does Zimmerman explain the correlation between cotton and black labor, but he further explains black labor through Booker T. 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Abolitionism began during the early 1830’s when Christians realized that slavery was opposite of their belief and a sin (http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu).Read MoreNative American Population History And Genetics988 Words   |  4 Pagespopulated continents on the planet, at around 15,000 years before present. The Asian ancestors of Native Americans crossed over a land bridge, connecting Asia to North America, during the earths last glacial maximum in the late Pleistocene (Dennis et al., 2010). Native A merican population history and genetics are still very new subjects of research and there is still much debate over questions such as: What routes were taken by the migrating Native American peoples? When was the migration? How many migrationsRead MoreThe United States During The Indochina War979 Words   |  4 Pagesrelationship during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not approve of colonization, and wanted France to halt in suppressing Vietnam. 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