Blog Review

http://sethsreadingblogmhs.blogspot.com/2015/03/post-14.html


The above link best exemplifies my ability to analyze the deeper meaning and theme behind a scene presented in the book American Sniper by Chris Kyle. The blog analyzes a scene from the book when Kyle is forced to take the life of an Iraqi woman in order to keep her from committing a suicide attack against U.S. soldiers Kyle is protecting. I go on to analyze a quote from Kyle that states his view on the killing. "My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman's twisted soul."(Kyle, 3)". The quote shows that Kyle puts the protection of his fellow soldiers first and foremost on the battlefield and that he wants to prevent their deaths. I go on to analyse the quote in a similar fashion and state my opinion of American Sniper. Overall my blog was used to analyse the theme and meaning of the scene and show how it applied to the book.

Throughout the year, I have had my ups and downs with blogging. One of my main struggles was trying to balance having my blogs on time with homework and studying from other classes. This issue was especially prevalent throughout the first semester, and I didn't want it to happen again. I managed to solve this issue by setting alarms and notifications so I would remember to blog. A strength that I had was once I remembered to post, I would have no shortage of topics to post about. I always like to talk about what I read, and the blog gave me a great opportunity to do just that.

Post 16

For this post, I am going to do a letter to the author and main character of American Sniper, Chris Kyle.

 Mr Kyle,
 First off I'd like to thank you for your service to this country and it's armed forces. Because of your service countless military personnel, Iraqi civilians, and others are alive. Although you later lost your life trying to help another veteran with severe PTSD, your service is still helping people to improve their lives, as well as the lives of others. All this is due to the sacrifice of your time, marriage, and ultimately your life. So thank you for your work in the name of the greater good.

Sincerely,
Seth Gerus

Post 15

 So I guess we have to do another post for some reason, so I'm not going to procrastinate this for once. Will I enjoy it? No. Do I have to do it? Yes.

For this post I'm back to American Sniper by Chris Kyle, and it's theme, duty. Kyle about how he loves his country and that it is his duty to protect America and it's people from terrorists several times throughout the book and shows how he is committed to doing this (aka keeping terrorists from killing American troops). An example of how Kyle feels about his service to the country can be found when he talks about his regrets from his service. "My regrets are the people I couldn't save - Marines, soldiers, my buddies. I still feel their loss. I ache for my failure to protect them" (Kyle 378).

  That's all for this blog right now. If you want to see more, feel free to look at some old blogs because I'm not making any more right now. Thanks for reading and good bye.

Post 14

 For Post 14 (they're back), I'm reading American Sniper by Chris Kyle. The book goes into detail about his early life, his decision to join the Navy SEAL's, and his military career from 1999 to 2009. American Sniper was also made into a movie which was released in 2014.

 The book begins with a scene from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that also doubles as a moral dilemma. U.S. Marines are in a convoy traveling down a street in a small Iraqi town. Chris Kyle is a sniper covering the convoy. The street is empty, save for a woman and some kids. The woman pulls out a grenade and advances towards the troops, intending to kill them and herself in the process. Kyle is forced to make a decision and kill the woman before she can kill ant American soldiers. Kyle goes on to describe  his role in the shooting, saying " My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman's twisted soul."(Kyle, 3). Kyle shows that he is willing to make tough decisions and take their consequences in order to protect American troops.

Overall, American Sniper seems to be a very interesting book so far. I want to see what happens later on and be able to share more, but I'm not going to be able to post for another 2 weeks, so feel free to stop by then.

Satire Post

 The example of satire I chose compares the biases of American news and it's priorities to BBC, a British news channel. It shows CNN's seemingly neutral slant, Fox's right leaning slant and MSNBC's liberal/leftist viewpoint. On the other hand, BBC is shown to report real news. The satire is Horatian Satire because the voice is "... indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty." The main ridicule comes from MSNBC declaring that all who oppose it's claim that Pepsi is better than Coke are racist. MSNBC has been criticized for using that label before. BBC on the other hand talks more relevant news and makes the other channels look petty in comparison.

Krista Ramsey Column

Krista Ramsey Column

 The column I chose to blog about is Krista: T.Y. Hilton is a good player, great dad by Krista Ramsey, a former columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer. The article is about Hilton's care and love for his newborn daughter, Eugenia, and how he is a great example of a great father and husband in the NFL, where there have been recent domestic abuse cases against players.


  The best written line of the article is "But it was Hilton's vulnerability, his heart-on-his-sleeve love for his daughter, that made a nation of boisterous football fans stop their partying and take notice" (Ramsey). This shows the reader that T.Y. Hilton is a great football player, but also a kind and loving father. The diction of this line shows that Ramsey wrote how Hilton expresses his feelings when it  was described as "... his heart-on-his-sleeve..." (Ramsey). The syntax of this article is well done and it forms great sentences and paragraphs.
 
Ramsey's writing style is very argument like, presenting an opener, a claim, and then solid evidence or quotations to support the claim. A good example of one of Ramsey's openers can be found in her article Ramsey: For better vision, kids need time outdoors . She states, "You see it all the time. Your teenager at the dinner table, waiting for his checkup at the orthodontist's office, sauntering to his car- continually hunched over his smartphone or iPad" (Ramsey). An example of Ramsey's claims can be found in her article Ramsey: Super Bowl QB's score points for great style. She claims, "After watching New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick slouch off the field in his cutoff hoodie, it's been heartening to see players like Wilson show up perfectly groomed for a post-game interview" (Ramsey). Evidence Ramsey uses to support her claims can be found in her article Krista: T.Y. Hilton is good player, great dad. In the article, Ramsey quotes Hilton when he says, "Very much a big game for me. A little bit of rest. Been up since 4 o'clock. I just gave it my all. I ain't got no pulse in my body today. I been with my baby girl that whole time. I just wanted to give it my all and play the game for her" (Ramsey).  

 Three questions I would ask Ramsey are:

1. Growing up, did you want to be a journalist?

2. How do you get ideas for your articles?

3. What do you need to study in college to be a writer?

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/11/27/krista-ramsey-ty-hilton/19581307/