Poetry Project
This project was about poetry. This project included learning about poetry and learned how to read and write it. At first we chose to mesmerizing a poem that we found intersecting to us and recited it in front of the class. This was getting us ready for our actual poem that we would write about and recite in front of a public audience. This was a really fun project and I learned so much about poetry.
The Real Truth Max Ickes
We only hear it in stories, the death, the fear, and we just hope we aren't in it.
But we don't know anything, except that the soldiers are killers and how they change as a people?
But we don't really know what goes on in war.
How they are are molded like clay to kill.
How they change to adapt to the horrors of war.
Still we just think it's not a big deal.
That soldiers put it all on the line.
But I assure you it's very real.
All this isn't happy and fine.
Knowing this might be their last meal.
The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.
Blood runs through the dirt like sweat as mangled bodies are trampled by the stampeding soldiers.
This is where the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.
Only in the midst of it you will realize it.
Fear and death fills your lungs, stopping your ability to exhale.
Destroying you from the inside.
There's no escape for a soldier caught in the bloody battle, the only thing they can do is lie and wait. Like an abandon animal left to die.
This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.
With blood on their faces and dirt in their hearts.
The brave soldiers fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.
We only hear it in stories, the death, the fear, and we just hope we aren't in it.
But we don't know anything, except that the soldiers are killers and how they change as a people?
But we don't really know what goes on in war.
How they are are molded like clay to kill.
How they change to adapt to the horrors of war.
Still we just think it's not a big deal.
That soldiers put it all on the line.
But I assure you it's very real.
All this isn't happy and fine.
Knowing this might be their last meal.
The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.
Blood runs through the dirt like sweat as mangled bodies are trampled by the stampeding soldiers.
This is where the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.
Only in the midst of it you will realize it.
Fear and death fills your lungs, stopping your ability to exhale.
Destroying you from the inside.
There's no escape for a soldier caught in the bloody battle, the only thing they can do is lie and wait. Like an abandon animal left to die.
This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.
With blood on their faces and dirt in their hearts.
The brave soldiers fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.
Project reflection Max Ickes
My poem's perspective communication has changed so much through my writing process. From my first draft to my final draft I have made a lot of changes to make my poem better. At first, I just wanted to write about the experience's of soldiers in war, but then I realized that it doesn't have a message and it's kind of bald with devices and other stuff. I then realized that I can add what us as spectators don't know anything of what actually happens in war. This can tie in with the experience of the soldiers and help add a big message in my poem. This was part of my first draft were it is only one the soldiers perspective.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
And they are pushed along like a herd of sheep.
Blood runs through the dirt like a river as mangled bodies are shipped away.” This was a huge section of my poem and it didn't have any detail and was very short. I felt that I had to add more because I felt like without detail it's not really a good poem and my poem didn't seem to mean a whole lot at that point. So when I added the part with us as spectators it added a better message and added a lot of stuff to write about. This is a part of my poem that conveys the two perspectives.
“This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.” This is part of the message of how us as spectators don't know anything about war and this perspective really effected how my poem is told added way more to the poem. this also helped my poem because it really made my poem's message go more in depth.
There are many changes that I made to my poem but there are a few that was very important to my poem. The first big change was adding detail through metaphors and figurative language. Through the first drafts I didn't really have any figurative language which made my poem a little bald with detail. When I added figurative language it helped the people who read it or listened to it see what I was saying in their minds and helped them connect more to the poem.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
And they are pushed along like a herd of sheep.” I felt that I had to change this because this was the part with the most figurative language in my poem and I had to change this because I needed to make my poem deeper with figurative language and I wanted to make the audience really get engaged with my poem though my figurative language.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.” This is just one part of all the figurative language that I added to my poem. With these parts I added detail to parts that needed it and tried to add metaphors to help add imagery to the audience. What I did was see ways were I could add more. I took each line and tried ways to add more. After a while I stated to add more and more to my lines and soon it all came together in my final draft. These changes helped my poem a lot. I really changed the metaphors to add more to them and to add more though out my poem. At first I maybe had one or two metaphors and now at my final draft I now have around eight to ten metaphors through out my poem. This impacts my poem by giving it a better feeling with every metaphor and helps my poem go more in depth with my message and makes my message stronger. I think this helps with the emotional part because it really emphasizes the emotion with everything. This change helps my poem because it adds more to it making it more like a poem and makes it very detailed.
Another change I made to my poem was separating the lines apart to help the poem be more smooth and calmer instead of all bunched into one long paragraph. What I did from the my few first drafts to my final draft was space out the verses and separate the lines.
“Blood runs through the dirt like sweat on a overweight man as mangled bodies are shipped away.
This is were the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.” This was part of my poem that seems like it wasn't baronesses to keep all this bunched up. It felt rushed and like an essay. So I spaced out everything and made it smoother and more mellow.
“The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.
Blood runs through the dirt like sweat as mangled bodies are trampled by the stampeding soldiers.
This is where the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.” This is one of the parts were I got to separate. These parts keep the poem together and helps the reader keep the rhythm instead of just reading it like a essay. I feel like it adds emotional elements to my poem because with my poem spread out like this it adds a tone which adds emotion to it.
The last big change I did to my poem was organization everything. My poem had to go through a lot of organization parts and I needed to make it flow more. At first my poem was a little bunched together and didn't keep a consistent rhyming beat.
“Blood runs through the dirt like a river as mangled bodies are shipped away.
This is something we hear about but never want.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
But there’s more than just that, from brave to scared they fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.” This hear had rhyming parts but they didn't keep a consistent beat. With some revelations I was able to fix it.
“There's no escape for a soldier caught in the bloody battle, the only thing they can do is lie and wait. Like an abandon animal left to die.
This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.
With blood on their faces and dirt in their hearts.
The brave soldiers fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.” Here, I separated the rhyming parts with the other parts. This is a lot more organized then before and it gives a nice tone. I also organized different parts that had the different perspectives, I would put the soldiers experiences in one verse and the spectator’s in another.
“We only hear it in stories, the death, the fear, and we just hope we aren't in it.
But we don't know anything, except that the soldiers are killers and how they change as a people?
But we don't really know what goes on in war.
How they are are molded like clay to kill.
How they change to adapt to the horrors of war.
Still we just think it's not a big deal.
That soldiers put it all on the line.
But I assure you it's very real.
All this isn't happy and fine.
Knowing this might be their last meal.
The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.” This part separates the perspectives and organizes my poem very well. This helps my poem a lot because it really gave my poem a rhythm and helps the people read it and understand it better.
My poem's perspective communication has changed so much through my writing process. From my first draft to my final draft I have made a lot of changes to make my poem better. At first, I just wanted to write about the experience's of soldiers in war, but then I realized that it doesn't have a message and it's kind of bald with devices and other stuff. I then realized that I can add what us as spectators don't know anything of what actually happens in war. This can tie in with the experience of the soldiers and help add a big message in my poem. This was part of my first draft were it is only one the soldiers perspective.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
And they are pushed along like a herd of sheep.
Blood runs through the dirt like a river as mangled bodies are shipped away.” This was a huge section of my poem and it didn't have any detail and was very short. I felt that I had to add more because I felt like without detail it's not really a good poem and my poem didn't seem to mean a whole lot at that point. So when I added the part with us as spectators it added a better message and added a lot of stuff to write about. This is a part of my poem that conveys the two perspectives.
“This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.” This is part of the message of how us as spectators don't know anything about war and this perspective really effected how my poem is told added way more to the poem. this also helped my poem because it really made my poem's message go more in depth.
There are many changes that I made to my poem but there are a few that was very important to my poem. The first big change was adding detail through metaphors and figurative language. Through the first drafts I didn't really have any figurative language which made my poem a little bald with detail. When I added figurative language it helped the people who read it or listened to it see what I was saying in their minds and helped them connect more to the poem.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
And they are pushed along like a herd of sheep.” I felt that I had to change this because this was the part with the most figurative language in my poem and I had to change this because I needed to make my poem deeper with figurative language and I wanted to make the audience really get engaged with my poem though my figurative language.
“The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.” This is just one part of all the figurative language that I added to my poem. With these parts I added detail to parts that needed it and tried to add metaphors to help add imagery to the audience. What I did was see ways were I could add more. I took each line and tried ways to add more. After a while I stated to add more and more to my lines and soon it all came together in my final draft. These changes helped my poem a lot. I really changed the metaphors to add more to them and to add more though out my poem. At first I maybe had one or two metaphors and now at my final draft I now have around eight to ten metaphors through out my poem. This impacts my poem by giving it a better feeling with every metaphor and helps my poem go more in depth with my message and makes my message stronger. I think this helps with the emotional part because it really emphasizes the emotion with everything. This change helps my poem because it adds more to it making it more like a poem and makes it very detailed.
Another change I made to my poem was separating the lines apart to help the poem be more smooth and calmer instead of all bunched into one long paragraph. What I did from the my few first drafts to my final draft was space out the verses and separate the lines.
“Blood runs through the dirt like sweat on a overweight man as mangled bodies are shipped away.
This is were the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.” This was part of my poem that seems like it wasn't baronesses to keep all this bunched up. It felt rushed and like an essay. So I spaced out everything and made it smoother and more mellow.
“The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.
Blood runs through the dirt like sweat as mangled bodies are trampled by the stampeding soldiers.
This is where the truth of war comes out, like a shadow emerging from the shade.” This is one of the parts were I got to separate. These parts keep the poem together and helps the reader keep the rhythm instead of just reading it like a essay. I feel like it adds emotional elements to my poem because with my poem spread out like this it adds a tone which adds emotion to it.
The last big change I did to my poem was organization everything. My poem had to go through a lot of organization parts and I needed to make it flow more. At first my poem was a little bunched together and didn't keep a consistent rhyming beat.
“Blood runs through the dirt like a river as mangled bodies are shipped away.
This is something we hear about but never want.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
But there’s more than just that, from brave to scared they fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.” This hear had rhyming parts but they didn't keep a consistent beat. With some revelations I was able to fix it.
“There's no escape for a soldier caught in the bloody battle, the only thing they can do is lie and wait. Like an abandon animal left to die.
This is something we hear about but never want.
Blinded by lies we choose to ignore it.
All we think about is how it will come to haunt.
That from the battlefield to home the soldier's light will never be lit.
Like a ghost trapped and left to taunt.
With blood on their faces and dirt in their hearts.
The brave soldiers fight.
Not knowing when the end will come.” Here, I separated the rhyming parts with the other parts. This is a lot more organized then before and it gives a nice tone. I also organized different parts that had the different perspectives, I would put the soldiers experiences in one verse and the spectator’s in another.
“We only hear it in stories, the death, the fear, and we just hope we aren't in it.
But we don't know anything, except that the soldiers are killers and how they change as a people?
But we don't really know what goes on in war.
How they are are molded like clay to kill.
How they change to adapt to the horrors of war.
Still we just think it's not a big deal.
That soldiers put it all on the line.
But I assure you it's very real.
All this isn't happy and fine.
Knowing this might be their last meal.
The sound of bombs explode in the distance. Destroying their humanity with every devastation blow.
They open the train door and the stench of death fills the air.
The smell of blood and gun powder fills their nostrils.
And they are pushed along like a herd of pigs awaiting their brutal fate.” This part separates the perspectives and organizes my poem very well. This helps my poem a lot because it really gave my poem a rhythm and helps the people read it and understand it better.
Globalization Project
Social Media And It's benefits Max Ickes
A man named Josh Rose sat down at a coffee shop and got a text from his 10 year old son saying that he's going to a birthday party. They communicate through Yak, a little communication app so they can talk. He says “The amount of calming satisfaction it gives me to be able to communicate with him through technology is undeniably palpable and human.”(Josh Rose. "How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web.) All this gives him happiness and satisfaction to speak to his son even though he's not there with him.
People think that social media is destroying people lives, that social media makes people not exercise and not hang out with their friends, but it gives people information and gives people a way to communicate with others from great distances. It helps our everyday lives and makes our lives easier.
People use social media everyday, and is used all over the globe. From the U.S.A to Japan, everyone seems to use it. With a growing culture with social media, there are going to be people who think bad about it. People say that social media has separated or disconnected people form the world. Krystle Song, a student at the university of California says “For some people, the main appeal of the iPod is that it preoccupies you so that you do not have to deal with the uncontrollable factors of everyday life,” she calls it “Attack of the iZombies.”(Diana Bang."How Technology Affects Us." N.p., n.d. Web.) Although this is may be correct for some people, it's not a swarming disease. People can see the different parts of the world and can learn about different cultures and people through social media. That doesn't sound like a killing disease.
People can see how the world works and what happens through social media. They can see what their friends from Italy are doing and see what it's like there. People can learn though experiences on social websites and apps, but the sad thing is that people may not be able to see experiences through their own eyes which is important; but we are living in a growing world, with friends and family all over the globe. So with this growing world people need a way to communicate, and social media has helped with that. This is happening all over the world, were people from the U.S.A can chat with people from Russia or China.
In 2011 50% of Canada used social media, and 86% of them had facebook accounts in America it was the same thing too. In Asia 60% of people were social media users and are considered addicted or hooked on it.("Social Networking Popular Across Globe." Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project RSS. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012) It sounds bad that people are addicted to this stuff but a new thing is coming though all this. People have began to learn new languages though their experiences on their social media accounts. People in the Philippines have learned English, Spanish, Japanese, and their native language through social media. Though this people all over the world have been learning new languages though social media.(Christian Arno."How to Approach Different Cultures via Social Media - Owen Clark." Owen Clark. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.)
Social media can keep up with news and important events happening in the world. It can show people what is happening in countries or what problems that are happening. This can help with school and can help with papers that people need to write for other things like articles and news.
With the increase of social media over the years, and smart phones have helped people access their facebook and their twitter so they can get the latest news were ever they are. The U.S, Britain, Russia, China, and Mexico are the highest users of social media through their smart phones.("Popular Social Networks in Other Countries." Yahoo Small Business Advisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.) These have helped people keep in tough with people and check what is happening around the world. College students are starting to use these a lot more. It helps them with homework, keeping in touch with their families, and seeing what's happening with their friends.
Even in adult hood, social media is being used for employment and is used to make working days easier. 90% of workers said that they would use social media to employ new people into their business and to have help around work. Workers can share papers, designs for their business, and ideas though social media. Social media can also connect big companies from across the world so they can work together to make their companies thrive.
In Singapore, a math teacher named Kgee Ann asked the students to solve a question and tweet it to her and it will show up in the screen at the front of the class room. She says that this can be the future of schools. The government of Singapore says that in 10 years, this method would be in schools across the world.(Josh Rose."How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web. )
People that argue against social media in schools do have a good point, with safety issues, kids that are off task, and money issues but there are so many more reasons that social media is a good thing to use in schools. Even though people say that social media is a bad thing, it is not going away anytime soon, so instead of fighting it we should embrace it. Students and teachers are starting to use social media every day. College students and professors use them in class to teach and to learn. In school, teachers are supposed to tech students skills to succeed in their later lives in the real world. Well, social media is also a skill for the real world.
So even though people think that social media is taking over people's lives, they help people know more about the world, about places they've never been, and what their family and friends are doing across the nation or across the world. From as small as a farther communicating with his son though a little app, to companies communicating across the world to make products, social media has helped people in many different ways. So lets think, is social media really a killing virus or a gift to help our world evolve.
Work Cited
Christian Arno. "How to Approach Different Cultures via Social Media - Owen Clark." Owen Clark. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Diana Bang. "How Technology Has Changed Our Culture." N.p., 16 May 2012. Web.
Garst, Kim. "4 Reasons Why Social Media Should Be Taught in Our School Systems."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 May 2013. Web. 24 May 2013
"How Technology Affects Us." N.p., n.d. Web.
Josh Rose. "How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Popular Social Networks in Other Countries." Yahoo Small Business Advisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
"Social Networking Popular Across Globe." Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project RSS. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012
"TECHNOLOGY and GLOBALIZATION." TECHNOLOGY and GLOBALIZATION. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Uttara Manohar. "How Does the Media Affect Our Culture." N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web.
A man named Josh Rose sat down at a coffee shop and got a text from his 10 year old son saying that he's going to a birthday party. They communicate through Yak, a little communication app so they can talk. He says “The amount of calming satisfaction it gives me to be able to communicate with him through technology is undeniably palpable and human.”(Josh Rose. "How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web.) All this gives him happiness and satisfaction to speak to his son even though he's not there with him.
People think that social media is destroying people lives, that social media makes people not exercise and not hang out with their friends, but it gives people information and gives people a way to communicate with others from great distances. It helps our everyday lives and makes our lives easier.
People use social media everyday, and is used all over the globe. From the U.S.A to Japan, everyone seems to use it. With a growing culture with social media, there are going to be people who think bad about it. People say that social media has separated or disconnected people form the world. Krystle Song, a student at the university of California says “For some people, the main appeal of the iPod is that it preoccupies you so that you do not have to deal with the uncontrollable factors of everyday life,” she calls it “Attack of the iZombies.”(Diana Bang."How Technology Affects Us." N.p., n.d. Web.) Although this is may be correct for some people, it's not a swarming disease. People can see the different parts of the world and can learn about different cultures and people through social media. That doesn't sound like a killing disease.
People can see how the world works and what happens through social media. They can see what their friends from Italy are doing and see what it's like there. People can learn though experiences on social websites and apps, but the sad thing is that people may not be able to see experiences through their own eyes which is important; but we are living in a growing world, with friends and family all over the globe. So with this growing world people need a way to communicate, and social media has helped with that. This is happening all over the world, were people from the U.S.A can chat with people from Russia or China.
In 2011 50% of Canada used social media, and 86% of them had facebook accounts in America it was the same thing too. In Asia 60% of people were social media users and are considered addicted or hooked on it.("Social Networking Popular Across Globe." Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project RSS. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012) It sounds bad that people are addicted to this stuff but a new thing is coming though all this. People have began to learn new languages though their experiences on their social media accounts. People in the Philippines have learned English, Spanish, Japanese, and their native language through social media. Though this people all over the world have been learning new languages though social media.(Christian Arno."How to Approach Different Cultures via Social Media - Owen Clark." Owen Clark. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.)
Social media can keep up with news and important events happening in the world. It can show people what is happening in countries or what problems that are happening. This can help with school and can help with papers that people need to write for other things like articles and news.
With the increase of social media over the years, and smart phones have helped people access their facebook and their twitter so they can get the latest news were ever they are. The U.S, Britain, Russia, China, and Mexico are the highest users of social media through their smart phones.("Popular Social Networks in Other Countries." Yahoo Small Business Advisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.) These have helped people keep in tough with people and check what is happening around the world. College students are starting to use these a lot more. It helps them with homework, keeping in touch with their families, and seeing what's happening with their friends.
Even in adult hood, social media is being used for employment and is used to make working days easier. 90% of workers said that they would use social media to employ new people into their business and to have help around work. Workers can share papers, designs for their business, and ideas though social media. Social media can also connect big companies from across the world so they can work together to make their companies thrive.
In Singapore, a math teacher named Kgee Ann asked the students to solve a question and tweet it to her and it will show up in the screen at the front of the class room. She says that this can be the future of schools. The government of Singapore says that in 10 years, this method would be in schools across the world.(Josh Rose."How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web. )
People that argue against social media in schools do have a good point, with safety issues, kids that are off task, and money issues but there are so many more reasons that social media is a good thing to use in schools. Even though people say that social media is a bad thing, it is not going away anytime soon, so instead of fighting it we should embrace it. Students and teachers are starting to use social media every day. College students and professors use them in class to teach and to learn. In school, teachers are supposed to tech students skills to succeed in their later lives in the real world. Well, social media is also a skill for the real world.
So even though people think that social media is taking over people's lives, they help people know more about the world, about places they've never been, and what their family and friends are doing across the nation or across the world. From as small as a farther communicating with his son though a little app, to companies communicating across the world to make products, social media has helped people in many different ways. So lets think, is social media really a killing virus or a gift to help our world evolve.
Work Cited
Christian Arno. "How to Approach Different Cultures via Social Media - Owen Clark." Owen Clark. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
Diana Bang. "How Technology Has Changed Our Culture." N.p., 16 May 2012. Web.
Garst, Kim. "4 Reasons Why Social Media Should Be Taught in Our School Systems."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 May 2013. Web. 24 May 2013
"How Technology Affects Us." N.p., n.d. Web.
Josh Rose. "How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Popular Social Networks in Other Countries." Yahoo Small Business Advisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
"Social Networking Popular Across Globe." Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes Project RSS. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012
"TECHNOLOGY and GLOBALIZATION." TECHNOLOGY and GLOBALIZATION. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Uttara Manohar. "How Does the Media Affect Our Culture." N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web.
Project Reflection
This Project was about globalization, and we chose a topic that relates to globalization. Mine was the effects of social media. This was a very informational project and it was very fun as well. We research all about our topic and we write all about it.
My new understanding of this project is with many things, I know so much about globalization now and I know so much about social media and all kinds of globalization. This has helped me learn about all kinds and i know so much about what the world is.
Since the first draft of the cartoon I've changed as a cartoonist a lot. I've began to add detail into my drawings instead of just drawing the basics. I have to see if it looks like the thing that I'm trying to make. All the cartoon warm ups have been a huge help during this process and it has helped with all the things that go into a political cartoon.
I think y op-ed is a good start to the new semester and one of my better writings. It's together and is more professional than my other writings. I learned form this writing is how to write a persuasive argument in a paper. Also, how to make my writing better than ever before.
My new understanding of this project is with many things, I know so much about globalization now and I know so much about social media and all kinds of globalization. This has helped me learn about all kinds and i know so much about what the world is.
Since the first draft of the cartoon I've changed as a cartoonist a lot. I've began to add detail into my drawings instead of just drawing the basics. I have to see if it looks like the thing that I'm trying to make. All the cartoon warm ups have been a huge help during this process and it has helped with all the things that go into a political cartoon.
I think y op-ed is a good start to the new semester and one of my better writings. It's together and is more professional than my other writings. I learned form this writing is how to write a persuasive argument in a paper. Also, how to make my writing better than ever before.
Vietnam Project
Gulf of Tonkin Writing Max Ickes
Even though North Vietnam attacked the U.S.S Maddox and it showed that they were unprovoked, there is evidence to show that they were in fact provoked and were only attacking in self defense.
When the Maddox was attacked America quickly made the decision that North Vietnam was unprovoked and they wanted to start this war. They would keep saying that they were a danger to us and we need to come there and fight. They would also say that they were unreasonable and they fired on us, they need to be hit with all power of the U.S. With this accusation they went really fast with everything and showed no interest on finding why except the fact that we were attacked. This was shown in document 1, American activity in Vietnam. You can see that the date and the time period puts a big bias in this piece of work. Since it was made of the year of the event, they were probably thing to get followers on their side and to make there side look good. You can also see the bias in the author as he wrote this piece. He words parts of the document that shows his bias in this argument; he says that the “Vietnamese have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United states naval Vessels.”
America made the accusation that it's all North Vietnam's fault. They kept trying to hide what was on the other side of this event. In documents it doesn’t say why the Vietnamese attacked and what was happening in Vietnam. It is shown that the Maddox was pushing it boundaries and taking the Vietnamese resources. The Vietnamese was provoked and attacked to get them out of there. With that America bombed and destroyed a lot of stuff. This was found in document 8 were there perspective and were it was sourced made a big point in the document. It was made in Vietnam and was bias to the American's side. With all of the confusion of the event the writer was trying to get people to understand what was really happening in the situation. The author had some good detail on the Vietnamese’s side on the event. It seems really interesting that even the attackers would say that it was in defense. It seems that other attacker stand up to it if they really meant to but whats different about this is that they said that they did it in defense. Witch is different than a lot of situations. This all shows how the different opinions on the event is different on each side, one side giving one strong reason and one with more detail and shows a different story.
What U.S didn't say about was what they did right away. They said they stayed there but didn't attack. There's actually more to that then just falling back to deeper waters. Short after the event, the U.S used war ships and planes to disintegrate the land around the gulf of Tonkin. They dropped spy commandos in North Vietnam and U.S agents to see whats happening. They governed the south and took control of the situation in south Vietnam. Document 9 showed all this well and showed the true reactions from the U.S government. The government pushed back the Vietnamese into a great struggle, intimidating the fishermen and the people of Vietnam; trying to finally get them to go to war with us. When they actually stood up for themselves, the U.S declared on war with Vietnam. Even though North Vietnam attack our ship. We didn't need to get involved and cost the lives of so many American men.
Even though North Vietnam attacked the U.S.S Maddox and it showed that they were unprovoked, there is evidence to show that they were in fact provoked and were only attacking in self defense.
When the Maddox was attacked America quickly made the decision that North Vietnam was unprovoked and they wanted to start this war. They would keep saying that they were a danger to us and we need to come there and fight. They would also say that they were unreasonable and they fired on us, they need to be hit with all power of the U.S. With this accusation they went really fast with everything and showed no interest on finding why except the fact that we were attacked. This was shown in document 1, American activity in Vietnam. You can see that the date and the time period puts a big bias in this piece of work. Since it was made of the year of the event, they were probably thing to get followers on their side and to make there side look good. You can also see the bias in the author as he wrote this piece. He words parts of the document that shows his bias in this argument; he says that the “Vietnamese have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United states naval Vessels.”
America made the accusation that it's all North Vietnam's fault. They kept trying to hide what was on the other side of this event. In documents it doesn’t say why the Vietnamese attacked and what was happening in Vietnam. It is shown that the Maddox was pushing it boundaries and taking the Vietnamese resources. The Vietnamese was provoked and attacked to get them out of there. With that America bombed and destroyed a lot of stuff. This was found in document 8 were there perspective and were it was sourced made a big point in the document. It was made in Vietnam and was bias to the American's side. With all of the confusion of the event the writer was trying to get people to understand what was really happening in the situation. The author had some good detail on the Vietnamese’s side on the event. It seems really interesting that even the attackers would say that it was in defense. It seems that other attacker stand up to it if they really meant to but whats different about this is that they said that they did it in defense. Witch is different than a lot of situations. This all shows how the different opinions on the event is different on each side, one side giving one strong reason and one with more detail and shows a different story.
What U.S didn't say about was what they did right away. They said they stayed there but didn't attack. There's actually more to that then just falling back to deeper waters. Short after the event, the U.S used war ships and planes to disintegrate the land around the gulf of Tonkin. They dropped spy commandos in North Vietnam and U.S agents to see whats happening. They governed the south and took control of the situation in south Vietnam. Document 9 showed all this well and showed the true reactions from the U.S government. The government pushed back the Vietnamese into a great struggle, intimidating the fishermen and the people of Vietnam; trying to finally get them to go to war with us. When they actually stood up for themselves, the U.S declared on war with Vietnam. Even though North Vietnam attack our ship. We didn't need to get involved and cost the lives of so many American men.
Project Reflection
Vietnam Project reflection Max Ickes
This project was about the truth of Vietnam, this is were we got to learn about Vietnam and got to see the real stories from veterans. We got to interview our own veteran and we filmed the interview for at least 30 minutes. I got to be the man who films and was the video maker of this project. I got to film the veteran and put it onto three DVD's. One for our veteran, one for our teacher, and one for the group. In this project I also had to write a paper on the gulf of Tonkin. I wrote this paper off of documents on the event and showed it at the exhibition.
For the veteran history part of the project my role was the tech guy. I filmed and got all the tech ready to go for the interview. I succeeded in this role because I like to film for school and with my friends this role fit me really good. I could have been more prepared for this role. I could have been more organized with my tech stuff. If I could pick my role again I don't think I would change my role. I liked this role and I don't think I would have been very good at the other roles. Something that sticks with me from this interview was how different war was from my perspective. My perspective has changed a lot from the beginning of this project. At the beginning of this project, I didn't think war was so emotional and devastating. My veteran made me see how emotional it was even as a plain maker in the air force. It still had a great impact on him. They were bombed every night and saw dead bodies daily.
My historical thinking skill that I struggled with in this project was close reading. This was a struggle because I couldn't really relate to the text as much and I couldn't find the parts of the document that stood out as evidence. I tried to overcome this by reading really hard and trying to analyze all the import parts of the documents. The historical thinking skill that came easiest for me was contextualizing. This came easy for me because I could really see the bias in the text and the date of the document. I improved this skill by always looking for the date and really paining attention to the text and seeing the bias in the text.
Two revisions that I did to my paper in critique process was to have other people critique my paper. This helped me because they helped me see the mistakes I made. I also read through it myself and I got to see the grammar and small mistakes I made in this paper. When I got people to critique me I revised the big things in my paper such as not enough evidence or not enough analysis. This helped me a lot because it made my paper more interesting and made so that everything fit with everything. For my critique for small errors I got to fix spelling errors, grammar errors, and punctuation errors. This helped me make my paper stronger and made my paper make sense at some parts.
This project was about the truth of Vietnam, this is were we got to learn about Vietnam and got to see the real stories from veterans. We got to interview our own veteran and we filmed the interview for at least 30 minutes. I got to be the man who films and was the video maker of this project. I got to film the veteran and put it onto three DVD's. One for our veteran, one for our teacher, and one for the group. In this project I also had to write a paper on the gulf of Tonkin. I wrote this paper off of documents on the event and showed it at the exhibition.
For the veteran history part of the project my role was the tech guy. I filmed and got all the tech ready to go for the interview. I succeeded in this role because I like to film for school and with my friends this role fit me really good. I could have been more prepared for this role. I could have been more organized with my tech stuff. If I could pick my role again I don't think I would change my role. I liked this role and I don't think I would have been very good at the other roles. Something that sticks with me from this interview was how different war was from my perspective. My perspective has changed a lot from the beginning of this project. At the beginning of this project, I didn't think war was so emotional and devastating. My veteran made me see how emotional it was even as a plain maker in the air force. It still had a great impact on him. They were bombed every night and saw dead bodies daily.
My historical thinking skill that I struggled with in this project was close reading. This was a struggle because I couldn't really relate to the text as much and I couldn't find the parts of the document that stood out as evidence. I tried to overcome this by reading really hard and trying to analyze all the import parts of the documents. The historical thinking skill that came easiest for me was contextualizing. This came easy for me because I could really see the bias in the text and the date of the document. I improved this skill by always looking for the date and really paining attention to the text and seeing the bias in the text.
Two revisions that I did to my paper in critique process was to have other people critique my paper. This helped me because they helped me see the mistakes I made. I also read through it myself and I got to see the grammar and small mistakes I made in this paper. When I got people to critique me I revised the big things in my paper such as not enough evidence or not enough analysis. This helped me a lot because it made my paper more interesting and made so that everything fit with everything. For my critique for small errors I got to fix spelling errors, grammar errors, and punctuation errors. This helped me make my paper stronger and made my paper make sense at some parts.
WW1 Creative Historians Project
This project was were we studied WWI and put all of our information into our own Historical Fiction story. This was a lot of fun because I got to write about a cool WWI experience in my own words. My story was about a french man named Adam and his dog named Rover getting stuck in the middle of the battle of Verdun. The plot of the story is for Adam to get back to his story or die trying. Rover is an awesome character in the story and the story is crazy.
Project Reflection
This project was writing a historical fiction on WW1 we had to get information on the great war and add some of the information in our story, Lori helped us out by teaching about WW1 so we could write our story. This was a great project and I learned a lot about WW1. For the story, I researched the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle ever recorded in history. I researched the weather, the climate, the weapons, and the people there. With all this in my story, it added a good WW1 effect.
With the literary elements we studied, I think historical integration was my strongest in the story I wrote. This was the best in my story because this story had to have a lot of historic weapons and people. This gave the story a bit more life within it. “All I hear is bomb shells exploding and making the ground rumble with their destruction.” “I see machine guns and ammo in one part of the tent and muskets on the other side. Then I see a weapon that I haven’t heard of before. I looked at it, it was a jar of metal; with weird air coming out.” These are strong because it shows the weapons that were used in WW1 and how they can be used and what they were. Plus in WW1 they added a few weapons in these battles. They are also used in my story.
With strong parts in my story, there's weaknesses too. In my story it was show don't tell. This was hard for me writing the story because It was really hard to see if I was missing showing the story. I would read it a lot but I couldn't find the areas even though I knew they were there. This is hard for me because I can't describe stuff so deeply that well. I also can't see were to go into detail or to write about the plot more. I tried to over come it by reading my story out load, it helped me see were some the bad ones stood out.
“I close my eyes and say “This is for my family!” Then I put my bloody hands on my knife and pull the knife out of him as hard as I can then thrust down again at his heart. I stand back up with the knife in my hand. I felt different, my emotions went away as I looked down at the dead soldier. It seems like my fears of becoming a soldier has came.” For this revision I added more feeling within this part of the story. I added him starting to become a soldier which plays a big role in the story. Plus, the revenge for his family with is also a big part in the story. This also affects the reader in suspense on what he becomes at the end. “I look through the smoke from the explosions to see my house. My heart drops and I fall to my knees with what I see, everything is gone. My house has crumbled to the ground and is engulfed in flames. I look down and try to hold in my tears. All my hope has faded, I know my family is gone and all I have is Rover; I look down at Rover to see him whimper. I close my eyes and think of how I can get revenge.” I revised this part by adding detail in the action and more emotion in the death of his family. Plus with this revision, the story has a better plot then before with him getting revenge. All this will be great for the reader.
With the literary elements we studied, I think historical integration was my strongest in the story I wrote. This was the best in my story because this story had to have a lot of historic weapons and people. This gave the story a bit more life within it. “All I hear is bomb shells exploding and making the ground rumble with their destruction.” “I see machine guns and ammo in one part of the tent and muskets on the other side. Then I see a weapon that I haven’t heard of before. I looked at it, it was a jar of metal; with weird air coming out.” These are strong because it shows the weapons that were used in WW1 and how they can be used and what they were. Plus in WW1 they added a few weapons in these battles. They are also used in my story.
With strong parts in my story, there's weaknesses too. In my story it was show don't tell. This was hard for me writing the story because It was really hard to see if I was missing showing the story. I would read it a lot but I couldn't find the areas even though I knew they were there. This is hard for me because I can't describe stuff so deeply that well. I also can't see were to go into detail or to write about the plot more. I tried to over come it by reading my story out load, it helped me see were some the bad ones stood out.
“I close my eyes and say “This is for my family!” Then I put my bloody hands on my knife and pull the knife out of him as hard as I can then thrust down again at his heart. I stand back up with the knife in my hand. I felt different, my emotions went away as I looked down at the dead soldier. It seems like my fears of becoming a soldier has came.” For this revision I added more feeling within this part of the story. I added him starting to become a soldier which plays a big role in the story. Plus, the revenge for his family with is also a big part in the story. This also affects the reader in suspense on what he becomes at the end. “I look through the smoke from the explosions to see my house. My heart drops and I fall to my knees with what I see, everything is gone. My house has crumbled to the ground and is engulfed in flames. I look down and try to hold in my tears. All my hope has faded, I know my family is gone and all I have is Rover; I look down at Rover to see him whimper. I close my eyes and think of how I can get revenge.” I revised this part by adding detail in the action and more emotion in the death of his family. Plus with this revision, the story has a better plot then before with him getting revenge. All this will be great for the reader.
Stuck in the Battle
“This day is a going to be a good day.” I said as I get out of bed. Before I go downstairs I look outside to see snow falling everywhere.
My wife and my new baby girl are lying on the couch with my favorite dog in the world named Rover laying right next to them. “Good morning Adam.” says my wife as I walk down the wooden staircase, as I got to the last step there was a knock at the door. I open the door to see my dad standing there with a gun in his arms. He loves to go hunting, and has been trying to get me to go but shows great disappointment when I refuse to go; but today I'll give hunting a shot.
“Hello Adam, are you ready to go hunting for your first time?” said my dad. I nod and go up to get ready for the hunt. This hunt might finally put my dad and I together after so long. After I'm ready he hands me a gun. its cold and rusty, it feels like it will break in my hands. I say goodbye to everybody and put Rover on a leash and we head out the door.
We arrive at the forest and head to my dad's hunting hut. We used to come here all the time when I was a kid. My dad would lecture for hours about the killing of others. Still to this day I always remember how dreadful it was to come out here to learn about hunting, I have hated my dad ever since for that. It doesn't take long before my dad starts talking about the war. He talks about the war all the time, his eyes light up when ever there is a tiny chance of me signing up for the army but is soon dimmed when I refuse. “I'm now 25 and I have a great family father, I don't want to join the French army” I said to him as he turns to look at me.
All he does is shake his head and says, “The only reason I took you out to hunt is to get ready for war.” he turns around and just keeps walking. We are now in the middle of the forest, I see the little hut in the distance.
When we get there I give Rover a bowl of food and water and get ammo for my rifle. The gun clinks and rust scrapes off with every bullet I put into it. After Rover and I are ready to go my dad starts talking about the war again. We get into this argument for about ten minutes but are stopped by Rover's excited loud barking. I raise my rusty gun and look around through the thick snow fall.
“Look at you, your getting ready for battle.” my dad says
“Shut up father.” is said quietly.
He looks and me and says,“You are a pathetic little pe-” before he could finish his sentence my dad disappears into a huge blast of dirt and is gone! With the explosion Rover and I are blown back about twenty feet. I look up to see more explosions right in front of me; Rover bites my shirt and takes me to a tree and licks me until I look up and hug him. I get up and run with Rover right behind me but we are soon stopped with more explosions and a tree falling right in front of us.
Running through the forest, snow keeps falling with ash from the trees with little visibility. Everywhere I look there’s bomb shells exploding. I see another hunting hut that someone has built and Rover and I take shelter in it for a few minutes before I realize what happened to our hunting hut. We get out of there as fast as we can and we keep running. Snow begins to fall faster and its getting harder to move through the snow as we run. We are both out of breath so we hide in a bomb shell hole next to a tree and I pray that the shrieking sound doesn't lead to us.
After 30 minutes the bomb shells calm down just a bit so our ears can have little rest. My heart is racing and my mind is going crazy with the experience of almost getting blown up. I get up and we start running again; after a bit I see German planes fly by to scout out France's positions to counter Germany's attack. What I didn't know was that these planes had guns on them, they had Germany's flag symbol on the wings. They fly low to see whats on the ground, they see us and shoot right in front of us and miss us by inches. Rover starts barking at the planes as they come back around; I pick up Rover and run as I fast I can to the next bomb shell. The planes shoot again but not getting anywhere close to us. I look up as the snow and ash hit my sweaty face to see the planes disappear in the snowy fog. I can barley move from the horror that I just witnessed I can't bring myself back to reality from all the horrible thoughts going through my head; I just close my eyes and go to sleep.
I wake to the stench of dog breath with dead animal and rotting flesh floating through my nose and warm wet slobbery licks cover my cheek. I look up to see that Rover has dragged me about 100 feet before getting too tired to do more. I get up sluggishly and try to catch my balance. I look at the sky to see how late it is but can hardly see through the smoke and snow falling down. I look just a bit longer to see a glimpse of sunlight and see that I've been asleep for a while. I look down at poor Rover with his exhausted face and droopy tired eyes as he lays down to rest in the cold snow, so I pick him up and start walking, not knowing what was really behind me.
I walk till I can't walk any more; my legs ache and my arms are ready to fall off with exhaustion from carrying Rover. We're almost out of the forest and I can almost see the town of Verdun. I can see smoke coming from Verdun, I use my last bit of strength and push forward. My muscles are starting to freeze and loose strength with every step I take but I have to push on.
Snow is falling with less intensity and the fog is clearing up just a bit. Finally I reach the end of the forest and I can see the city in the distance across from a big meadow. My house is off to the side of Verdun. All I can think about is my family, and pray that they got to safety. I start walking through the meadow but the bomb shells have started again and Rover and I are an easier target out in in the open field like this. We don't get far before bomb shells block our path; I turn around as fast as I can and run back to the shelter of the forest. But all this is to much for me to handle so I start to stumble and begin to loose the strength to keep going. I make it to the first big tree and lay by it. I look at Rover then towards my house to see if it's still in contact. I look through the smoke from the explosions to see my house. My heart drops and I fall to my knees with what I see, everything is gone. My house has crumbled to the ground and is engulfed in flames. I look down and try to hold in my tears. All my hope has faded, I know my family is gone and all I have is Rover; I look down at Rover to see him whimper. I close my eyes and think of how I can get revenge.
All I hear is bomb shells exploding and making the ground rumble with their destruction. Rover has gained some of his energy back and is trying to get me to move; but I don't let him, with all of his strength he just keeps trying. Rover suddenly stops pulling on my jacket and starts barking. It wasn't a excited bark, it was different bark; one I haven't heard before. It had a sense of urgency and a bit of whimpering in it. I look up to see men with guns are walking up to us. I grab Rover and run, one man sees me and starts shooting. I hear the cold air of the bullet race by my neck. The other men start running in my direction. Since Rover hunts animals, he has the experience to stay low and find a hiding place. They continue shooting another round at me; one bullet goes through my jacket and one through my saggy pants. Luckily they missed my body by inches. Waiting for the shooting to stop, I run behind a bunch of rocks and hide.
I look up to see if they are coming to finish the job but to my relief they keep moving towards the city and have forgotten about Rover and I. There’s no way to get back to the city now so I scout the area to see if there's any place to hide for a while. To my surprise there was a hill with an overhang coming over it for shelter and big tall rocks all around it to hide in. It was the perfect spot to hide and stay for a bit till Rover and I have a chance to escape. I will stay low, keep quiet and let them pass. I pick up Rover and find that he is cold; his belly has no more warm feeling to it and his fur is getting covered in snow. I set him down so he can rest.
It has gotten dark and I have to feed Rover. He looks at me with eyes that make me feel guilty for not feeding him. I give him food from my backpack. I look at the rest of the food and see that we don't have much left, I may just have enough for one more meal for Rover. I would hunt for food but I dropped my gun in fear when the bomb shells went off and if I did have my gun, I wouldn't dare shot it knowing the enemy camp is right next to us. I make a decision to rest for the night and we get food in the morning. We'll search the forest but if it fails, we have to sneak our way to the camp for food.
In the morning I wake to the sound of Germans walking right above us. They push snow on Rover and I, the snow slips down my back with a extreme cold sensation as it creeps down me. I push back into the little cave with Rover so the cold snow wouldn't keep falling down my back. I give Rover the last bit of food and just watch as he devours it. After a bit I look out of the overhang to see if there is any Germans; with no Germans nearby we head out to look for food. With the battle going on animals are nowhere in site; I fear that we might have to go into the enemy camp and get food it seems like our only choice.
I plow through the thick snow as Rover stays behind me to scout if there's anyone behind us. The closer we get the more activity of Germans there are. We stick to the trees for hiding when a enemy passes. My heart has never been pumping this hard. As we reach the camp gun shots go off in the distance to what seems like the French army trying to fight back; with all the gun shots the camp is abandoned with only a few troops to guard. This is our chance to get into the camp, I take my knife that I would use for hunting but is about to be used for something much different from skinning animals.
I grab Rover's leash and run into the camp. A soldier walks into my path, I freeze I can't move, he turns his head towards me; my heart drops and I close my eyes. Just then Rover slips the leash and runs towards the man. The man sees Rover and raises his gun to shoot but Rover jumps up before he can and bites his neck and tackles him. I run to Rover to see that he has killed the soldier, I can not believe what has just happen but all I do is kneel down and hug and kiss Rover until he tries to break free. Knowing that there will be more troops I hurry and take the dead body and drag it into the tent. The body was gushing with blood. The man's face was blank and his body felt like it was spaghetti falling through the fork.
I take him into the tent and put him into the back. I look to see that this was the ammo stash. I see machine guns and ammo in one part of the tent and muskets on the other side. Then I see a weapon that I haven’t heard of before. I looked at it, it was a jar of metal; with weird air coming out. I touch the jar only to feel a sensation of extreme pain. I look down at my hand to that my flesh is burning. I freak out and shove it in the cold snow. After the burning pain is gone I take it out to see; my finger has a big green line going down my hand. I go back to looking around I take a musket with ammo and head out.
I keep sneaking around the camp trying to look for the food tent. Rover looks like he is sniffing the ground for the stench of food so I follow. We finally find the food tent and we go into it making sure no one sees us. This a smaller tent then before but has what we are looking for. Rover jumps into a pile of meat and starts eating like crazy. I look around and find some beans and vegetables. I find a bag and put some frozen meat in it. Rover is still eating by the time I've packed up and have eaten. I put the bag by the door and wait for Rover to be done.
I hear footsteps by the entrance of the tent; I take out my hunting knife and look at the entrance. Before I can react a soldier bursts in and tries to stab me. I raise the knife and stab him in the chest. He drops his knife and falls down. I look down to see that he's still alive; my hands begin to shake of all the intensity as I look down at them. They are covered in blood; I don't know what to do, I look at Rover to see that he's still eating the meat as happy as can be. I kneel down and put my hand on my knife. His eyes are starting to close, I know what I have to do; I didn't want to come to this but I must put him out of his misery. I close my eyes and say “This is for my family!” Then I put my bloody hands on my knife and pull the knife out of him as hard as I can then thrust down again at his heart. I stand back up with the knife in my hand. I felt different, my emotions went away as I looked down at the dead soldier. It seems like my fears of becoming a soldier has came. My head gets dizzy as I lay down. “I hope your happy now dad.” I said to my self.
Rover smells people near by so I grab the bag of food and ammo and run out. We get out of the camp just in time, it seems like the troops from the earlier battle has come back from a counter attack from France. Rover and I run as fast as we can through the snow tell we are back at the hiding spot. Now that we are safe I take out some food and eat some. With every bite my stomach grumbles with hunger but is soothed with the sweet taste of meat.
When my stomach is full I decide to make another little hiding spot; so I take my rifle and go look for some burned sticks. These will give us cover from snow make the place warmer. I look around to see that there's more Germans then yesterday and they seem to be on the alert for something. They're looking around like they are hunting something; maybe it's Rover and I because we went it their camp and killed two people. I look to see if there's any more troops to my right but instead I see a random big pile of sticks. Without thinking of the German troops all around me I get up and run through the snow as fast as I can to get the sticks. A soldier sees me running and aims to shoot. I look strait down the barrel of his musket; but before he could shoot, there was a loud shriek. In a blink of an eye the soldier is torn apart by a shell bomb.
I jump into the thick snow and hope the bomb shells don't hit me. I look around to see that Rover is not next to me, I get up and start running towards him. I can hear his barks for help. I jump into the little cave right as a bomb shell went off. The roof of our hide out is starting to fall apart; all I can think of is to get back as far as we can go. Then the dirt above us collapses, we are buried by all of the dirt. Rover and I were buried within a heart beat. I can't see anything, I can’t breathe, the dirt is consuming my lungs when I try to breathe. I start digging up; My air supplies is dying out quickly. I reach my hand through the dirt and out to the fresh air. I pull myself out of the dirt. The taste of fresh air has never been so good but I need to save Rover. I dig down as fast as I could. Dirt flies in my face and in my mouth. I see Rover's head and I pull him out with all of my strength. To my relief he's okay and he rewards me with wet dog licks of thankfulness.
The bomb shells have stopped and the earth is quiet. I look at our hideout but only a bit is still in contact. More dirt has buried part of it and fire has engulfed the other part. This is not a good place any more. I look for the bag of food but I can't find it. It must have been buried in the dirt or have been inflamed. All the food that survived was two steaks and some cans of beans. I must save the meat for Rover and keep the beans for me. Snow falls yet again and we have no shelter to keep warm from it. I remember the sticks that I dropped if I get enough of them we can make a stick shelter. I go out in the what's left of the forest after the bomb shells and get the sticks and branches. I bring them back with Rover carrying some in his mouth.
I put the sticks and branches as a triangle tent. I dig so that we can actually sit in it and put dirt on the top so that its not to out in the open. Rover and I rest for a bit; I decide to go to the German camp to see what happened when the bombs went off. When we got to the place of the camp it was all gone. I look around to see if I was in the wrong place; with the all of the action back here, they probably moved somewhere else or the Germans are pushing the French back and are winning. I take Rover's leash and we start following the trail of the Germans.
We follow the trial for about two miles; by the time I can see the camp in the distance my fingers were ready to freeze off. My toes have lost feeling from walking in the snow and my heal is in pain with all of the weight on it. I sit down in the snow while Rover kept guard. I had to think of what to do, go find a hiding spot or to go in and get supplies. With it getting late I get up and sneak around the camp. It seems like the Germans have almost reached the city. They have already captured a lookout post. I go for the first tent I see with no soldiers seeing me. To my luck it is the food tent, I take some meat for Rover and some more beans and vegetables for me.
We had to get out of there soon before another man gets killed. I look out to see if there's any soldiers walking by. I don't see anyone so I get Rover and get out of the tent. I see the way out but I hear people coming by. I hurry and jump into another tent before they can see us. To my surprises it was yet again the weapons stash. I hear them walking right by us; I take Rover and jump in the back as they open the tent. They see nothing and walk away. I see the jars of air again. I decide to take four; they might come in handy later on.
With a bag of food and those jars in my hand, we head off to find a new place to hide for the night. We tread through the snow with snow blowing in our faces. The snow is falling faster and the winds are picking up. I look for rocks and hills to hide at but all I find is trees and snow. My hands are getting tired of carrying these heavy jars and my back aches with pain from carrying the back pack full of food. Rover has started to lead the way to find shelter. He looks all around but doesn't find anything; we just keep walking. The snow is up to m knees and is past Rovers belly. He struggles to keep going and is getting tired; but as we start to give up I see in the distance is a hill with rocks on each side.
I get up and encourage Rover to get up and follow. When we finally get to the rocks Rover lays down and falls asleep. I hurry and put the food and the jars in the corner of all the rocks and put the rest of the sticks that I have and put them above us. Sadly the sticks aren’t enough; I look around for anymore things to put above us but there's nothing. I then think of digging the snow out so we are further into the hill and we will be out of the snow. Start digging, and I dig pretty deep into the snow on the hill to were we were way out of the snow's path. Being done with the shelter I give Rover his dinner meat. He takes it and devours it; he then looks at me with a loving look as I get out my food. I finish eating then we go to sleep.
In the morning I give Rover some food and check out the new area that we are hiding in. I still see our tracks from last night but they are almost gone from all of the snow last night. I think once again if I should try to get out of the forest and into a good place besides here. I think of what to do and reach a decision; if we can sneak into the German camp and get a car or a motorcycle, we can get out of there in a heart beat. There is one bad thing thing about this plan though; is that its insane, but I can't think of anything else. If we walk out of the forest then we would get shot and if we stay out here, we'll freeze to death. So with this plan, Rover and I head to the German camp.
We arrive there within thirty minutes; Rover is already tired of walking so I look around the camp for any vehicles. I look around the whole camp and see no vehicles, all I see is German soldiers talking and playing board games. After ten minutes a big supplies truck pulls up; it had food and weapons in the back. The man who was driving the truck left it to go play with the other soldiers. I start to think of how I'm going to get to the truck when I remember that I have the jars of air. These must do something since it burned my hand. I put Rover far away from me so he doesn't die if something goes wrong. I look at it one last time, it's steams in my hand as I close my eyes and hold my breath I through it towards the camp. It hits the frozen ground right next to a group soldiers and releases its yellow mist that swarms around every man in site. I can't see through the mist but I can hear the men screaming and coughing. Some come out of the mist and cough up blood as they fall to the ground. They hold their chest as if there was a fire in there; their eyes lite up with fire and their skin turned orange. With the sudden event more soldiers come to see whats happening but get helplessly sucked into the poisonous air. I keep saying to myself “payback” over and over again as I see them die.
When the mist clears there's no one in site; I get Rover and run to the truck. I look in the back for any thing that can be good for defense against the Germans. I see the usual muskets, machine gun, and the poison jars I grabbed a machine gun and put it by the front of the truck and put a long strip of bullets into it. I now thank my dad for telling me how a machine gun works. Rover looks at the camp and starts growling. As Rover growls a shot comes from no were and hit the side of the truck. Missing me by inches. I take Rover behind the truck and start loading my musket. When I'm done loading my musket I look up to see German soldiers running towards the truck. I hear my dad's voice in my head saying “Shoot, shoot!”
I shake my head and aim my musket at a soldier and pull the trigger; it hits him right in the heart and he falls down with a thump. I shoot again and hit another soldier right in the forehead; I could see his eyes roll back as he falls to the ground. With the shooting more troops come racing to the truck. I look down at the machine gun and dive at it. I grab the handle and I start shooting at the German soldiers. They fall down like dominoes but more keep coming. I keep shooting an it seems like every bullet hits a man but with each man dead, more come to fill his place. I start to feel no emotion in doing this, I don't feel guilty that I'm murdering normal men. I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a soldier. I shake my head and say to myself, “I will never become someone like this, I will never become a soldier.” but with the situation I keep shooting. I'm almost shot a few times, and with that I have to be more careful about what I'm doing. Over all of the guns firing I hear trotting foot steps behind me; I look back to see Rover running to the side of the tents. “ROVER!!!!” I yell. He turns his head and gives me a look that says goodbye my friend. Then he takes off into the crowd of soldiers and starts attacking them. I switch to my musket so I don't shoot Rover. He attacks any man he can get, killing them with one bite to the neck. I help him by shooting some that he doesn't see.
I shoot till I'm out of ammo in my gun; I look up to see Rover still going crazy but his killing spree has come to an end. A soldier comes up and shoots Rover in the leg. Rover falls to the the ground as the soldier aims at his face. A huge rush of fear surge through me and I get up and run towards Rover, I take out my knife and yell at the top of my lungs as I run through dead bodies. Everything starts to go in slow motion, Rover's moans of pain seem slower and my legs move with less intensity. With Rovers life on the line I lung with all my might at the man. I sink my knife in his leg as he pulls the trigger and falls to the ground. I raise my knife again to finish the job; I stab him in the head and I leave the knife there.
I turn to Rover to see if he's okay but I see him laying down with blood on his fur and his head tucked into his paws. I get to my knees and put my hand on Rover. There's no heart beat and no breathing. Clutch my fists and start crying “ ROVER COME BACK, PLEASE WAKE UP!” I put my head on Rovers stomach and start crying. As I cry on his stomach I feels a warm sensation on my cheek. I look up to see Rover's face staring right at me; he licks my face again, I pick him up and hug him. I start to cry again but with joy. How could this have happened? I search his body for any bullet wounds besides the leg. There are none, he must have passed out in fear or adrenalin. We start to rejoice but the rejoicing made me wonder, where has the soldiers bullet had gone; I check my surroundings to see nothing of a bullet hole, a big rush of fear strikes my chest as I look down at my stomach. A great pain fills my stomach. I lift up my jacket to see that there's blood coming out. The bullet has hit me right in center of my stomach. I start to feel wussy and my head starts spinning as the pain from the bullet fills my thoughts. I know what must be done, I pick up Rover and head to the truck. I need to get Rover out of here just in case I die. I put Rover in the passenger’s seat and I start the truck.
I drive straight through the camp hitting everything in site. My hands shake as I drive with pain and fear. I drive out of the forest and into the field where a battle is going on. I close my eyes and run over all the Germans in my path. I hear screams and crunching of bones, my heart aces with the pain of suffering of others but I keep driving. After that I drive into the French’s side, I show hand movements to have them get out of the way. I pass the trenches and I move to the French's camp. I take Rover and give him to a medic; People help me out and attend to my wound. After a week of being in the medic center, Rover and I are ready to go. Right as we are about to leave a man in a nice uniform comes up to me and shakes my hand. “Sir, if it wasn't for you and your dog we wouldn't never been able to stop the Germans from advancing into our city.” the man says. “With your help we are able to push Germany back to their starting position and we might be able to win this battle.”
“Thanks sir, Rover an I are happy to help.” I said proudly.
“For your bravery I got a little surprise for you” the man says as he points to the door.
Some one comes in with a baby in their hand. I look closer to see that it was my wife and my baby. I dropped all of my stuff and run over as fast as I can. We meet and hug and hug until we can no longer breathe. After that I look down at my daughter see her happy face as I kiss he forehead. Rover soon joins in on the rejoice and licks all of our faces. The man comes up and says “I saw your wife stuck under a fallen tree in the street when the bomb shells were going off so I hurried pulled her and your baby out as fast as I could and drove off as fast as I can. They were the only ones that survived in that area.”
“Thank you so much sir” I say. After a rejoice we get ready to go. Before I leave the man comes up to me and says,
“With your bravery we would sure like you to join the army.”I look up at the sky knowing my farther is watching, I take my knife and look at it, with dried blood on it I through it on the ground,
“No more killing for me sir.”
he nods his head and gives me a handshake, then he walks away.
With this experience my mind might never recover from what I have seen and done; but with my family reunited I can finally feel happiness once again. I know that what I have done has made my farther proud; I've seen death and I know that I am stronger. With my family reunited and my wound healing, we leave the medic camp we head out of Verdun and into a safer place so we can life a happy life from here on out.
My wife and my new baby girl are lying on the couch with my favorite dog in the world named Rover laying right next to them. “Good morning Adam.” says my wife as I walk down the wooden staircase, as I got to the last step there was a knock at the door. I open the door to see my dad standing there with a gun in his arms. He loves to go hunting, and has been trying to get me to go but shows great disappointment when I refuse to go; but today I'll give hunting a shot.
“Hello Adam, are you ready to go hunting for your first time?” said my dad. I nod and go up to get ready for the hunt. This hunt might finally put my dad and I together after so long. After I'm ready he hands me a gun. its cold and rusty, it feels like it will break in my hands. I say goodbye to everybody and put Rover on a leash and we head out the door.
We arrive at the forest and head to my dad's hunting hut. We used to come here all the time when I was a kid. My dad would lecture for hours about the killing of others. Still to this day I always remember how dreadful it was to come out here to learn about hunting, I have hated my dad ever since for that. It doesn't take long before my dad starts talking about the war. He talks about the war all the time, his eyes light up when ever there is a tiny chance of me signing up for the army but is soon dimmed when I refuse. “I'm now 25 and I have a great family father, I don't want to join the French army” I said to him as he turns to look at me.
All he does is shake his head and says, “The only reason I took you out to hunt is to get ready for war.” he turns around and just keeps walking. We are now in the middle of the forest, I see the little hut in the distance.
When we get there I give Rover a bowl of food and water and get ammo for my rifle. The gun clinks and rust scrapes off with every bullet I put into it. After Rover and I are ready to go my dad starts talking about the war again. We get into this argument for about ten minutes but are stopped by Rover's excited loud barking. I raise my rusty gun and look around through the thick snow fall.
“Look at you, your getting ready for battle.” my dad says
“Shut up father.” is said quietly.
He looks and me and says,“You are a pathetic little pe-” before he could finish his sentence my dad disappears into a huge blast of dirt and is gone! With the explosion Rover and I are blown back about twenty feet. I look up to see more explosions right in front of me; Rover bites my shirt and takes me to a tree and licks me until I look up and hug him. I get up and run with Rover right behind me but we are soon stopped with more explosions and a tree falling right in front of us.
Running through the forest, snow keeps falling with ash from the trees with little visibility. Everywhere I look there’s bomb shells exploding. I see another hunting hut that someone has built and Rover and I take shelter in it for a few minutes before I realize what happened to our hunting hut. We get out of there as fast as we can and we keep running. Snow begins to fall faster and its getting harder to move through the snow as we run. We are both out of breath so we hide in a bomb shell hole next to a tree and I pray that the shrieking sound doesn't lead to us.
After 30 minutes the bomb shells calm down just a bit so our ears can have little rest. My heart is racing and my mind is going crazy with the experience of almost getting blown up. I get up and we start running again; after a bit I see German planes fly by to scout out France's positions to counter Germany's attack. What I didn't know was that these planes had guns on them, they had Germany's flag symbol on the wings. They fly low to see whats on the ground, they see us and shoot right in front of us and miss us by inches. Rover starts barking at the planes as they come back around; I pick up Rover and run as I fast I can to the next bomb shell. The planes shoot again but not getting anywhere close to us. I look up as the snow and ash hit my sweaty face to see the planes disappear in the snowy fog. I can barley move from the horror that I just witnessed I can't bring myself back to reality from all the horrible thoughts going through my head; I just close my eyes and go to sleep.
I wake to the stench of dog breath with dead animal and rotting flesh floating through my nose and warm wet slobbery licks cover my cheek. I look up to see that Rover has dragged me about 100 feet before getting too tired to do more. I get up sluggishly and try to catch my balance. I look at the sky to see how late it is but can hardly see through the smoke and snow falling down. I look just a bit longer to see a glimpse of sunlight and see that I've been asleep for a while. I look down at poor Rover with his exhausted face and droopy tired eyes as he lays down to rest in the cold snow, so I pick him up and start walking, not knowing what was really behind me.
I walk till I can't walk any more; my legs ache and my arms are ready to fall off with exhaustion from carrying Rover. We're almost out of the forest and I can almost see the town of Verdun. I can see smoke coming from Verdun, I use my last bit of strength and push forward. My muscles are starting to freeze and loose strength with every step I take but I have to push on.
Snow is falling with less intensity and the fog is clearing up just a bit. Finally I reach the end of the forest and I can see the city in the distance across from a big meadow. My house is off to the side of Verdun. All I can think about is my family, and pray that they got to safety. I start walking through the meadow but the bomb shells have started again and Rover and I are an easier target out in in the open field like this. We don't get far before bomb shells block our path; I turn around as fast as I can and run back to the shelter of the forest. But all this is to much for me to handle so I start to stumble and begin to loose the strength to keep going. I make it to the first big tree and lay by it. I look at Rover then towards my house to see if it's still in contact. I look through the smoke from the explosions to see my house. My heart drops and I fall to my knees with what I see, everything is gone. My house has crumbled to the ground and is engulfed in flames. I look down and try to hold in my tears. All my hope has faded, I know my family is gone and all I have is Rover; I look down at Rover to see him whimper. I close my eyes and think of how I can get revenge.
All I hear is bomb shells exploding and making the ground rumble with their destruction. Rover has gained some of his energy back and is trying to get me to move; but I don't let him, with all of his strength he just keeps trying. Rover suddenly stops pulling on my jacket and starts barking. It wasn't a excited bark, it was different bark; one I haven't heard before. It had a sense of urgency and a bit of whimpering in it. I look up to see men with guns are walking up to us. I grab Rover and run, one man sees me and starts shooting. I hear the cold air of the bullet race by my neck. The other men start running in my direction. Since Rover hunts animals, he has the experience to stay low and find a hiding place. They continue shooting another round at me; one bullet goes through my jacket and one through my saggy pants. Luckily they missed my body by inches. Waiting for the shooting to stop, I run behind a bunch of rocks and hide.
I look up to see if they are coming to finish the job but to my relief they keep moving towards the city and have forgotten about Rover and I. There’s no way to get back to the city now so I scout the area to see if there's any place to hide for a while. To my surprise there was a hill with an overhang coming over it for shelter and big tall rocks all around it to hide in. It was the perfect spot to hide and stay for a bit till Rover and I have a chance to escape. I will stay low, keep quiet and let them pass. I pick up Rover and find that he is cold; his belly has no more warm feeling to it and his fur is getting covered in snow. I set him down so he can rest.
It has gotten dark and I have to feed Rover. He looks at me with eyes that make me feel guilty for not feeding him. I give him food from my backpack. I look at the rest of the food and see that we don't have much left, I may just have enough for one more meal for Rover. I would hunt for food but I dropped my gun in fear when the bomb shells went off and if I did have my gun, I wouldn't dare shot it knowing the enemy camp is right next to us. I make a decision to rest for the night and we get food in the morning. We'll search the forest but if it fails, we have to sneak our way to the camp for food.
In the morning I wake to the sound of Germans walking right above us. They push snow on Rover and I, the snow slips down my back with a extreme cold sensation as it creeps down me. I push back into the little cave with Rover so the cold snow wouldn't keep falling down my back. I give Rover the last bit of food and just watch as he devours it. After a bit I look out of the overhang to see if there is any Germans; with no Germans nearby we head out to look for food. With the battle going on animals are nowhere in site; I fear that we might have to go into the enemy camp and get food it seems like our only choice.
I plow through the thick snow as Rover stays behind me to scout if there's anyone behind us. The closer we get the more activity of Germans there are. We stick to the trees for hiding when a enemy passes. My heart has never been pumping this hard. As we reach the camp gun shots go off in the distance to what seems like the French army trying to fight back; with all the gun shots the camp is abandoned with only a few troops to guard. This is our chance to get into the camp, I take my knife that I would use for hunting but is about to be used for something much different from skinning animals.
I grab Rover's leash and run into the camp. A soldier walks into my path, I freeze I can't move, he turns his head towards me; my heart drops and I close my eyes. Just then Rover slips the leash and runs towards the man. The man sees Rover and raises his gun to shoot but Rover jumps up before he can and bites his neck and tackles him. I run to Rover to see that he has killed the soldier, I can not believe what has just happen but all I do is kneel down and hug and kiss Rover until he tries to break free. Knowing that there will be more troops I hurry and take the dead body and drag it into the tent. The body was gushing with blood. The man's face was blank and his body felt like it was spaghetti falling through the fork.
I take him into the tent and put him into the back. I look to see that this was the ammo stash. I see machine guns and ammo in one part of the tent and muskets on the other side. Then I see a weapon that I haven’t heard of before. I looked at it, it was a jar of metal; with weird air coming out. I touch the jar only to feel a sensation of extreme pain. I look down at my hand to that my flesh is burning. I freak out and shove it in the cold snow. After the burning pain is gone I take it out to see; my finger has a big green line going down my hand. I go back to looking around I take a musket with ammo and head out.
I keep sneaking around the camp trying to look for the food tent. Rover looks like he is sniffing the ground for the stench of food so I follow. We finally find the food tent and we go into it making sure no one sees us. This a smaller tent then before but has what we are looking for. Rover jumps into a pile of meat and starts eating like crazy. I look around and find some beans and vegetables. I find a bag and put some frozen meat in it. Rover is still eating by the time I've packed up and have eaten. I put the bag by the door and wait for Rover to be done.
I hear footsteps by the entrance of the tent; I take out my hunting knife and look at the entrance. Before I can react a soldier bursts in and tries to stab me. I raise the knife and stab him in the chest. He drops his knife and falls down. I look down to see that he's still alive; my hands begin to shake of all the intensity as I look down at them. They are covered in blood; I don't know what to do, I look at Rover to see that he's still eating the meat as happy as can be. I kneel down and put my hand on my knife. His eyes are starting to close, I know what I have to do; I didn't want to come to this but I must put him out of his misery. I close my eyes and say “This is for my family!” Then I put my bloody hands on my knife and pull the knife out of him as hard as I can then thrust down again at his heart. I stand back up with the knife in my hand. I felt different, my emotions went away as I looked down at the dead soldier. It seems like my fears of becoming a soldier has came. My head gets dizzy as I lay down. “I hope your happy now dad.” I said to my self.
Rover smells people near by so I grab the bag of food and ammo and run out. We get out of the camp just in time, it seems like the troops from the earlier battle has come back from a counter attack from France. Rover and I run as fast as we can through the snow tell we are back at the hiding spot. Now that we are safe I take out some food and eat some. With every bite my stomach grumbles with hunger but is soothed with the sweet taste of meat.
When my stomach is full I decide to make another little hiding spot; so I take my rifle and go look for some burned sticks. These will give us cover from snow make the place warmer. I look around to see that there's more Germans then yesterday and they seem to be on the alert for something. They're looking around like they are hunting something; maybe it's Rover and I because we went it their camp and killed two people. I look to see if there's any more troops to my right but instead I see a random big pile of sticks. Without thinking of the German troops all around me I get up and run through the snow as fast as I can to get the sticks. A soldier sees me running and aims to shoot. I look strait down the barrel of his musket; but before he could shoot, there was a loud shriek. In a blink of an eye the soldier is torn apart by a shell bomb.
I jump into the thick snow and hope the bomb shells don't hit me. I look around to see that Rover is not next to me, I get up and start running towards him. I can hear his barks for help. I jump into the little cave right as a bomb shell went off. The roof of our hide out is starting to fall apart; all I can think of is to get back as far as we can go. Then the dirt above us collapses, we are buried by all of the dirt. Rover and I were buried within a heart beat. I can't see anything, I can’t breathe, the dirt is consuming my lungs when I try to breathe. I start digging up; My air supplies is dying out quickly. I reach my hand through the dirt and out to the fresh air. I pull myself out of the dirt. The taste of fresh air has never been so good but I need to save Rover. I dig down as fast as I could. Dirt flies in my face and in my mouth. I see Rover's head and I pull him out with all of my strength. To my relief he's okay and he rewards me with wet dog licks of thankfulness.
The bomb shells have stopped and the earth is quiet. I look at our hideout but only a bit is still in contact. More dirt has buried part of it and fire has engulfed the other part. This is not a good place any more. I look for the bag of food but I can't find it. It must have been buried in the dirt or have been inflamed. All the food that survived was two steaks and some cans of beans. I must save the meat for Rover and keep the beans for me. Snow falls yet again and we have no shelter to keep warm from it. I remember the sticks that I dropped if I get enough of them we can make a stick shelter. I go out in the what's left of the forest after the bomb shells and get the sticks and branches. I bring them back with Rover carrying some in his mouth.
I put the sticks and branches as a triangle tent. I dig so that we can actually sit in it and put dirt on the top so that its not to out in the open. Rover and I rest for a bit; I decide to go to the German camp to see what happened when the bombs went off. When we got to the place of the camp it was all gone. I look around to see if I was in the wrong place; with the all of the action back here, they probably moved somewhere else or the Germans are pushing the French back and are winning. I take Rover's leash and we start following the trail of the Germans.
We follow the trial for about two miles; by the time I can see the camp in the distance my fingers were ready to freeze off. My toes have lost feeling from walking in the snow and my heal is in pain with all of the weight on it. I sit down in the snow while Rover kept guard. I had to think of what to do, go find a hiding spot or to go in and get supplies. With it getting late I get up and sneak around the camp. It seems like the Germans have almost reached the city. They have already captured a lookout post. I go for the first tent I see with no soldiers seeing me. To my luck it is the food tent, I take some meat for Rover and some more beans and vegetables for me.
We had to get out of there soon before another man gets killed. I look out to see if there's any soldiers walking by. I don't see anyone so I get Rover and get out of the tent. I see the way out but I hear people coming by. I hurry and jump into another tent before they can see us. To my surprises it was yet again the weapons stash. I hear them walking right by us; I take Rover and jump in the back as they open the tent. They see nothing and walk away. I see the jars of air again. I decide to take four; they might come in handy later on.
With a bag of food and those jars in my hand, we head off to find a new place to hide for the night. We tread through the snow with snow blowing in our faces. The snow is falling faster and the winds are picking up. I look for rocks and hills to hide at but all I find is trees and snow. My hands are getting tired of carrying these heavy jars and my back aches with pain from carrying the back pack full of food. Rover has started to lead the way to find shelter. He looks all around but doesn't find anything; we just keep walking. The snow is up to m knees and is past Rovers belly. He struggles to keep going and is getting tired; but as we start to give up I see in the distance is a hill with rocks on each side.
I get up and encourage Rover to get up and follow. When we finally get to the rocks Rover lays down and falls asleep. I hurry and put the food and the jars in the corner of all the rocks and put the rest of the sticks that I have and put them above us. Sadly the sticks aren’t enough; I look around for anymore things to put above us but there's nothing. I then think of digging the snow out so we are further into the hill and we will be out of the snow. Start digging, and I dig pretty deep into the snow on the hill to were we were way out of the snow's path. Being done with the shelter I give Rover his dinner meat. He takes it and devours it; he then looks at me with a loving look as I get out my food. I finish eating then we go to sleep.
In the morning I give Rover some food and check out the new area that we are hiding in. I still see our tracks from last night but they are almost gone from all of the snow last night. I think once again if I should try to get out of the forest and into a good place besides here. I think of what to do and reach a decision; if we can sneak into the German camp and get a car or a motorcycle, we can get out of there in a heart beat. There is one bad thing thing about this plan though; is that its insane, but I can't think of anything else. If we walk out of the forest then we would get shot and if we stay out here, we'll freeze to death. So with this plan, Rover and I head to the German camp.
We arrive there within thirty minutes; Rover is already tired of walking so I look around the camp for any vehicles. I look around the whole camp and see no vehicles, all I see is German soldiers talking and playing board games. After ten minutes a big supplies truck pulls up; it had food and weapons in the back. The man who was driving the truck left it to go play with the other soldiers. I start to think of how I'm going to get to the truck when I remember that I have the jars of air. These must do something since it burned my hand. I put Rover far away from me so he doesn't die if something goes wrong. I look at it one last time, it's steams in my hand as I close my eyes and hold my breath I through it towards the camp. It hits the frozen ground right next to a group soldiers and releases its yellow mist that swarms around every man in site. I can't see through the mist but I can hear the men screaming and coughing. Some come out of the mist and cough up blood as they fall to the ground. They hold their chest as if there was a fire in there; their eyes lite up with fire and their skin turned orange. With the sudden event more soldiers come to see whats happening but get helplessly sucked into the poisonous air. I keep saying to myself “payback” over and over again as I see them die.
When the mist clears there's no one in site; I get Rover and run to the truck. I look in the back for any thing that can be good for defense against the Germans. I see the usual muskets, machine gun, and the poison jars I grabbed a machine gun and put it by the front of the truck and put a long strip of bullets into it. I now thank my dad for telling me how a machine gun works. Rover looks at the camp and starts growling. As Rover growls a shot comes from no were and hit the side of the truck. Missing me by inches. I take Rover behind the truck and start loading my musket. When I'm done loading my musket I look up to see German soldiers running towards the truck. I hear my dad's voice in my head saying “Shoot, shoot!”
I shake my head and aim my musket at a soldier and pull the trigger; it hits him right in the heart and he falls down with a thump. I shoot again and hit another soldier right in the forehead; I could see his eyes roll back as he falls to the ground. With the shooting more troops come racing to the truck. I look down at the machine gun and dive at it. I grab the handle and I start shooting at the German soldiers. They fall down like dominoes but more keep coming. I keep shooting an it seems like every bullet hits a man but with each man dead, more come to fill his place. I start to feel no emotion in doing this, I don't feel guilty that I'm murdering normal men. I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a soldier. I shake my head and say to myself, “I will never become someone like this, I will never become a soldier.” but with the situation I keep shooting. I'm almost shot a few times, and with that I have to be more careful about what I'm doing. Over all of the guns firing I hear trotting foot steps behind me; I look back to see Rover running to the side of the tents. “ROVER!!!!” I yell. He turns his head and gives me a look that says goodbye my friend. Then he takes off into the crowd of soldiers and starts attacking them. I switch to my musket so I don't shoot Rover. He attacks any man he can get, killing them with one bite to the neck. I help him by shooting some that he doesn't see.
I shoot till I'm out of ammo in my gun; I look up to see Rover still going crazy but his killing spree has come to an end. A soldier comes up and shoots Rover in the leg. Rover falls to the the ground as the soldier aims at his face. A huge rush of fear surge through me and I get up and run towards Rover, I take out my knife and yell at the top of my lungs as I run through dead bodies. Everything starts to go in slow motion, Rover's moans of pain seem slower and my legs move with less intensity. With Rovers life on the line I lung with all my might at the man. I sink my knife in his leg as he pulls the trigger and falls to the ground. I raise my knife again to finish the job; I stab him in the head and I leave the knife there.
I turn to Rover to see if he's okay but I see him laying down with blood on his fur and his head tucked into his paws. I get to my knees and put my hand on Rover. There's no heart beat and no breathing. Clutch my fists and start crying “ ROVER COME BACK, PLEASE WAKE UP!” I put my head on Rovers stomach and start crying. As I cry on his stomach I feels a warm sensation on my cheek. I look up to see Rover's face staring right at me; he licks my face again, I pick him up and hug him. I start to cry again but with joy. How could this have happened? I search his body for any bullet wounds besides the leg. There are none, he must have passed out in fear or adrenalin. We start to rejoice but the rejoicing made me wonder, where has the soldiers bullet had gone; I check my surroundings to see nothing of a bullet hole, a big rush of fear strikes my chest as I look down at my stomach. A great pain fills my stomach. I lift up my jacket to see that there's blood coming out. The bullet has hit me right in center of my stomach. I start to feel wussy and my head starts spinning as the pain from the bullet fills my thoughts. I know what must be done, I pick up Rover and head to the truck. I need to get Rover out of here just in case I die. I put Rover in the passenger’s seat and I start the truck.
I drive straight through the camp hitting everything in site. My hands shake as I drive with pain and fear. I drive out of the forest and into the field where a battle is going on. I close my eyes and run over all the Germans in my path. I hear screams and crunching of bones, my heart aces with the pain of suffering of others but I keep driving. After that I drive into the French’s side, I show hand movements to have them get out of the way. I pass the trenches and I move to the French's camp. I take Rover and give him to a medic; People help me out and attend to my wound. After a week of being in the medic center, Rover and I are ready to go. Right as we are about to leave a man in a nice uniform comes up to me and shakes my hand. “Sir, if it wasn't for you and your dog we wouldn't never been able to stop the Germans from advancing into our city.” the man says. “With your help we are able to push Germany back to their starting position and we might be able to win this battle.”
“Thanks sir, Rover an I are happy to help.” I said proudly.
“For your bravery I got a little surprise for you” the man says as he points to the door.
Some one comes in with a baby in their hand. I look closer to see that it was my wife and my baby. I dropped all of my stuff and run over as fast as I can. We meet and hug and hug until we can no longer breathe. After that I look down at my daughter see her happy face as I kiss he forehead. Rover soon joins in on the rejoice and licks all of our faces. The man comes up and says “I saw your wife stuck under a fallen tree in the street when the bomb shells were going off so I hurried pulled her and your baby out as fast as I could and drove off as fast as I can. They were the only ones that survived in that area.”
“Thank you so much sir” I say. After a rejoice we get ready to go. Before I leave the man comes up to me and says,
“With your bravery we would sure like you to join the army.”I look up at the sky knowing my farther is watching, I take my knife and look at it, with dried blood on it I through it on the ground,
“No more killing for me sir.”
he nods his head and gives me a handshake, then he walks away.
With this experience my mind might never recover from what I have seen and done; but with my family reunited I can finally feel happiness once again. I know that what I have done has made my farther proud; I've seen death and I know that I am stronger. With my family reunited and my wound healing, we leave the medic camp we head out of Verdun and into a safer place so we can life a happy life from here on out.