Rough and Tough SEAL's

When I read The Lone Survivor, I'm always noticing the purposeful literary devices. One writing technique that really intrigued me is the characterization displayed in the book. Luttrell uses dialogue to describe each and every character. For example, when Luttrell describes Instructor Eric Hall, Hall says, "Anyone lies, cheats, or steals, you're all done, because that's not tolerated here. Just so we're clear, gentlemen." (Luttrell 150) This quote from the text shows the personality of the Instructor, which can be described as polite yet strict. If I was Marcus at that moment, I would probably be terrified of the officer. Instructor Hall is a tough man when he describes the consequences for some actions. But in the second sentence, Instructor Hall shows that what he said was just a confirmation. Bi-polar much? Why do people's personalities change so quickly? I guess it's just part of being a Navy SEAL. Having to adapt quickly to your surroundings. But I digress. This drastic change in personality is shown by Luttrell's brilliant choice of diction. It allows the reader to understand the characters and follow the story better.

What surprises me on a more personal note is how the SEAL's are so tough! Luttrell always describes himself as persevering through anything and everything. Luttrell explains the SEAL's as needing "to be at home in rough country, able to survive, live in the jungle if necessary" (Luttrell 53). I feel like I'm pretty tough. I could handle a spider or two. Maybe even a cockroach. I could probably live out in the jungle. And being a vegetarian increases my chances of survival, right? I would consider Mason a pretty rough region. We are only the seventh best city to live in the nation. Maybe I could be a SEAL if I wanted. Maybe. NOT. What I really mean to say is that I admire the Navy SEAL's toughness. They go through BUD/S training and "Hell Week", which to me would be a real nightmare.

Here's a video that mildly explains the toughness of the SEAL's.

Blog Post #6 (3rd Trimester)

What I really love about my book, The Lone Survivor, is the use of allusion from Marcus Luttrell. He also makes connections to the world, enabling the book to be more interesting. The use of allusions allows the reader to connect to the book as well, which is an appealing feeling for most readers. For example, when Luttrell is describing the impact of 9/11 on his life, he uses an allusion: "I was there on 9/11, and little did I realize the massive impact those terrible events in New York City would have on my own life." This line from the text alludes to the incident that almost everyone in the world knows about. 9/11. It gives the reader a feeling of pride in his involvement in the Navy SEALs. It also follows on to the plot, and the reason for why Luttrell joined the SEAL team. This was part of the reason Luttrell admired the Navy SEAL team so much. He loved the way they showed patriotism and perseverance throughout all missions. He follows the same principles and can quite definitely consider himself a Navy SEAL.

Blog Post #5 (3rd Trimester)

In my current book, The Lone Survivor, I really like how the author describes each and every scene using various literary techniques. The author, Marcus Luttrell, uses connotation and denotation to display the feelings of the main character, himself. For example, when describing the difficulty of the knot in the test, "In my case, I decided to hastily that the knot in my line was impossible, gave them the signal, ditched my tanks over my shoulder, and floated up to the surface." This line from the text shows negative connotation, using the word "hastily". This gives a negative feeling because it gives the impression that he was rushing and didn't think through exactly what he was doing. Luttrell also uses the word "ditched" to emphasize how quickly he decided to leave the test. Instead of using a general word like "left", he used the word "ditched" to give the reader a feeling of how Marcus quit his test. The use of connotation gives the reader a sense of feeling in the book. This in turn adds to the reader's overall experience in reading the book. Luttrell uses this literary device because he wants to make his book more interesting, and he succeeded. The book makes you want to keep reading because it tells a fascinating story of a Navy SEAL and a difficult mission.

Blog Post #4 (3rd Trimester)

Four days ago, I began a new book called The Lone Survivor. For now, I am not completely sure about what the book will be about, other than what is written on the back of the book. But from what I have gathered in the first seventy pages of the book, I predict the book will mostly describe the way Navy SEALs are recruited and selected into the program. As for where I am now, Marcus Luttrell really describes each and every scene well, using "Navy" language such as "Hooyah!", meaning "Yes, sir!". This really adds on to the tone and overall quality of the book because it gives the reader a sense of being in the book. The setting of the book, which is a SEAL training camp, cooperates with the overall meaning of each sentence in the book. The author, Marcus Luttrell, describes each and every scene well. For example, "We had lost ten men during the nine hours that had passed since Hell Week began; nine hours since those yelling, shooting gunmen had driven Class 226 out of their classroom, nine hours since we had been dry and felt more or less human." This sentence from the book really gives a feel for where the character was at this time. Marcus Luttrell uses repetition to embellish the text. He repeats "nine hours" at the beginning of each phrase to further add focus to the short time in which many events occurred.