Loss of Hope

Author's Note: This is a theme essay on loss of hope. I did it on the Hunger Games, the Bourne Identity, and Life of Pi.

Ever feel lost, sad or just feel like there is nothing you can do? You feel hopeless and yet somehow things turn around. Many characters in books feel this way but somehow they find a way to change it. I found this in these three books the Bourne Identity, The Hunger Games and Life of Pi.

In the Bourne Identity the main character Jason Bourne is completely hopeless. He has just ended up in a drunk doctors house being nursed back to health. He's been shot in multiple places and can't remember a thing of his past. Jason has no idea what's happening to him, what happened to him and what's going to happen. There is nothing but his past skills and a piece of film surgically implanted into his hip. The film reveals something though, a bank account in Zurich. From this he begins the have flashes of the past and pieces everything together to find his true identity.

Another character who is clueless is Katniss from the Hunger Games. She has a moment of great hopelessness when she volunteers for the hunger games. All she can think of is the fact that she is going to die. She is scared, confused and feels weak. She has no options but to fight to the death. Then she comes to her senses and realizes she can win and makes it her goal to come home and see Prim again.

Life of Pi is the same thing except that instead of fighting to the death Pi is fighting against death. He is stranded in the middle of the ocean with a huge Bengal tiger. Food running low he losses his fight and can't seem to think. All hope fails and he is left to fight for life in agony. Although he somehow finds food and begins to adapt himself to life at sea. He finds a way to barely stay alive throughout the entire voyage and somehow makes it the coast of mexico.

These books teach that even though it doesn't seem like there's hope you can find your way out of it. Even thought these characters feel hopeless they overcome it and make the story interesting. People can learn from this, even though there is a down time it has to get better at some point.

Night of Redemption

Author's Note: In this piece I used imagery and figurative language like similes and metaphors to really set the mood of suspense. 

The steel glinting in the gloved hand of a killer. The black trench coat holding death inside. Was this it, was the man was to finish my like this. I try to run but my feet are cement blocks. I try to swing but my arms are dead weight. There is nothing to do but accept death. The man swings the dagger in an arc driving it deep into  my chest. Blood pouring out of me like rain. Leaving it there for me to suffer. I collapse to the ground trying to keep my grip on life as death tries to pull it away. I pull the dagger out of my body knowing I have only seconds left. Dagger in hand I throw it with all the life I have sticking it into the back of the killers head. Death drags me away as I watch the man fall like a stone.

Gun Control

There have been huge arguments lately on the topic of gun control laws. People say make it hard for everyone to get a gun. You can't only do that you have to take other things into consideration. If you want to reduce gun violence in the US you need to test mental health, control the black market, and monitor the
AR-15 style rifles very closely.

A big pattern that is occurring with these shootings is a persons mental stability. Many of the shootings lately have been by people who are just crazy. They feel like it would be cool to shoot people and cause tragedy. There should be tests in place that test the mental stability of the customer buying a gun. Just having background checks isn't enough. The thing is, usually these shootings are done be people who could easily pass a background check. They aren't felons until they start shooting.

If a felon wanted a gun they usually don't walk into a gun shop. They know they won't pass a background check. When they want a gun they go to the black market or buy one off of a friend. If the government can control these exchanges and underground businesses there wouldn't be as many of these guns being passed around causing mayhem. The guns are easy to get and usually cheap. Why wouldn't they go there?

The next thing that the government needs to do is monitor the AR-15 type guns that are causing these shootings. In my opinion these AR-15's should only be used in law enforcement. Yet there is always the collectors. There are these people who have huge collections of guns. They can sell them to anyone they want. The government should keep track of who owns assault weapons and have regular checks on where they are.

The shootings we've had lately have rocked our country. We can figure out ways to solve many of these problems without banning guns completely. All this country has to do is sit back and think.

Winter

When winter hits it drives us inside
but not for long as
it breaths fall a cold goodbye
the days are short
the nights are long
the snow starts falling down
a warm fire is built
hot chocolate is made
and snowmen pop up too
the ski hills begin to open
people zooming down
kids build forts
and stash their snowballs
waiting for someone to come around
everyone is merry
ice fishers on the lake
people say that winter is bad
but I say that's a mistake

Point of View

Single Combat

“Hold your ground men it’s about to get bloody,” I yelled.

“Sir, Paris of Troy has called for anyone to take him on in single combat,” said my lieutenant.

Hearing this I roused my horses and powered to the frontline to see the scoundrel’s surprised face. I watched him sink back into his lines as I leaped out of my chariot.

“Is he afraid to fight me for what is truly mine”

“He is not afraid of a man who isn’t worthy to be a king,” shouted Hector from the Trojan lines

“What then, did he see a field mouse”

Hearing this my entire frontline burst out laughing. Then Paris emerged from the Trojans with armor that barely fit him.

“ What are the conditions Sir Paris”

“If I win your army leaves to where they came”

“And if you lose”

“Helen is yours”

“Fair enough”

“Hold on we must make it true to the gods, bring two lambs from the city and build an altar,” said Hector

 Then he pulled out his sword and began to draw the fighting area. My men built the altar and the lambs were sacrificed. Hector put our names in a helmet to decide who had the first cast of the spear. Paris’s name was picked. He cast his spear. It sped towards me, heading straight at my chest. It would have easily killed me if I hadn’t raised my shield. The point of his spear was blunt and harmlessly bounced off.

“Great Zeus! Grant me my rightful vengeance on this man who did me foul wrong, even while he ate my salt and slept beneath my roof!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Then I cast my spear with all my might at the man who stole my wife. It pierced his shield like butter, broke through his breastplate and came to a halt just before it pierced skin. My spear should have gone straight through him but as I threw he had dived to the side saving a fatal wound and leaving a spear head stuck in his tunic.

I was mad and not just mad but furious. I pulled out my great sword and swung at his head. As my sword met the bronze comb of the lucky kid’s helmet it shattered into four pieces. Paris became dazed by the blow so I pounced on him in rage and drug him by the helmet to our lines to finish him. Then the helmet strap broke by some kind of magic and I flung the helmet into my men but when I turned to finish him he was gone.

“Has he become afraid. Does the little boy not want to fight any longer.” I beckoned to the Trojan lines.

“Does this mean a Greek victory?” Asked my lieutenant aloud.

But we were answered by the sound of armor being fastened.  

The Beach

The waves stop you.
The soft sand holds down your feet.
the warm breeze stunts you
The crimson horizon captures you.
You can't escape the beach
It can't escape you

Who Said You Were in Charge

Author's Note: this is a theme essay about the theme of government takeover in three books. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Fahrenheit 451 

Government takeover is a theme used in many books. Many authors use it to create action or adventure stories about rebellion. I found that this theme was in the Hunger Games, Divergent and Fahrenheit 451.

 There is an obvious theme of Government takeover in the Hunger Games. No one is free unless you live in the Capital. The government controls everything and everyone in the districts. Not to mention that every year they terrorize the districts by taking away their children. Then they go make them fight to the death on national television. President Snow is the driving force behind this. He thinks of not even having the hunger games and just executing the tributes on the spot. All to make the districts bow down to him and give him anything he wants.

Unlike making their people fight to the death, in Divergent they have a different system. Everyone has a faction and that faction determines what you do with your life. Even though people have the choice of their faction, if they choose to change factions they never get to see their family again. You only have a small amount of job choices. Not to mention that the government tries to keep the people in the city, when they say they are trying to keep evil out.

Fahrenheit 451 has the same theme but with a different twist. The government has major control. They create strict rules on what people can and can’t have. Particularly books. If someone gets caught with books, they are sent to jail and their books are burned. The government has the power to modify any situation, like at the end of the book. They send a search for Montag and when they don’t find him they kill random man walking down the street to avoid embarrassment.

All of these books have the same theme but they warn us too. They give us signs to watch for and if we see them some of these events in the books could possibly happen to us. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I would like watching people fight to the death on TV.