Year of the Hangman - Post Reading

         As I was reading Year of the Hangman, one quote stood out to me. “The course of history often hinges of very small events”. This is because I often realize this while watching a documentary or reading a book. If some small event in history had happened differently, then everything would be different.

For example, the plot in Year of the Hangman is is based on the idea that the Americans lost the Revolutionary war. If this had happened, then most of the more modern world history would change. If we lost the war, many other countries would not have tried to gain their own independence. In reality, other countries saw that we could win our freedom, and were convinced to fight for theirs. If we had lost the Revolutionary war, the exact opposite would have happened: countries that had any ideas of becoming free would have abandoned them. 

If America was not free, it is likely that our Civil War would have never taken place. The fight for freedom and racial equality would have progressed much slower, if at all. America would never have become the superpower that it is today, and the outcomes of both of the World Wars would have been different.

If the Axis had won the Second World War, then they would certainly have continued conquering Europe. The shapes and borders of many European countries would have been different today.

In conclusion, if America had not won its freedom from England, the history of the world would have been very different. This is proof that the statement made in Year of the Hangman, “The course of history often hinges on very small events”, is true in the real world as well as in fiction.

Year of the Hangman - Pre Reading

Wars are fought for countries to gain rights or land. Sometimes it is fair, like if a country’s land was taken away in a previous war, or if another nation is too harsh on them. Most of the time, however, a nation will wage war so that they can gain more land to open up trade routes or to get access to resources.

The American Revolution, for example, was a war in which the objective was to gain freedom. Still, in the political sense, the British were right. They had established a colony, like other European countries did at that time. Their colony (America) wanted to be free. Since we live in the United States of America, most people tend to think the British were cruel and that we wanted to be free of heavy taxes (a fraction of what our own government taxes us today). It is often said that history is written by the victor. This means that the victor of a war will write the history of that war in their opinion.

World War Two started the same way. Some countries wanted more land. Hitler wanted to take over all of Europe and establish one “superior” race. The Americans entered the war only when they were forced to do so, fighting against their attackers, the Japanese. Other wars in history were fought for religious reasons. Still others are fought in areas of unrest, where there always seems to be a war.

Wars do serve a purpose: they warn people of the danger of wars. During the American Civil War, Robert E. Lee said, “It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we should grow too fond of it”. War can accomplish things, but it is never good. Unless a war killed no one, it can not be called good.

However, wars do serve some good purposes. They can help build an economy. Even though Roosevelt’s New Deal helped create new jobs, the need for war equipment created many more. 

War also creates technological advances. For example, in WWII, the Chance Vought F4U-1 Corsairs (American fighter planes) became the first single-propeller plane to reach over 400 mph, or 347.5905 nautical miles per hour. However, the plane still had some faults: the enormous power that the engine produced led to the plane’s tendency to roll. This, as well as the long nose, made the Corsair relatively difficult to fly. Also, it was difficult to make landing gear struts long enough that the large propeller could clear the ground. Their solution was the inverted gull wing shape, which made the Corsair difficult to land because of a tendency to bounce after carrier landings. However, in the later models (F4U-2, -3, and -4) these problems were fixed. If this plane was not made during a war, it is likely that manufacturers would have simply abandoned production of the “Bent-Winged Bird” rather than fix errors. This was because of the need for weapons. If the manufacturers had stopped production of the Corsair, the Pacific front would've looked very different: the plane was so feared it was known as “Whistling Death” by the enemy.

In conclusion, while some products of wars can be beneficial, they are bloody and result in the deaths of many people. The wars themselves should never be considered good, but, as humans are sinful, it is impossible to stop fighting.

Touching Spirit Bear - Post Reading

“Life is a circle and every part of a circle is a beginning and an end.” This quote from Touching Spirit  Bear is very true. It means, if you begin something, it changes things from how they were before. If something changes, things cease to be how they were before the change. For example, if you got a new pet, it is the beginning of life with your new pet. However, it is also the end of life without that pet. To start something, you have to end something else. This can either be beneficial, or not.

In Touching Spirit Bear, the change was both good and bad. To Cole, the change seemed bad, but after he got used to it, the change made his life better. Cole lived a life of anger and fear. He was afraid of his father, who beat him, and angry with him for doing it. When Cole beat up a schoolmate, he was sent to an island to live by himself for a year. He was mauled by a bear, and rescued. He later returned to the same island by choice. This may have seemed bad, but being hurt gave him time to think and realize things. Returning to the island and building a shelter gave him work to do so that he wouldn’t fall back into his previous pattern of life.

If “life is a circle and every part of a circle is a beginning and an end,” it is important to realize this and accept new opportunities. However, it is also important to remember that things cannot stay the same forever in life.

Touching Spirit Bear - Pre Reading

Trust:

The definition for the word trust is the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”.  Most of the time, it is very difficult to earn someone’s trust. Usually, it doesn’t happen overnight. It can take months, or even years, to gain someone’s trust. The person becomes able to trust you over time by small things that you do, like keeping secrets, sticking by them, or giving advice. Sometimes, however, trust is earned very quickly. This is usually the result of a dramatic event. For example, in “Touching Spirit Bear”, Cole begins to trust the others and himself, but only after he is nearly killed in a fight when he is mauled by a mysterious white “Spirit Bear”. It takes still longer for the others to trust Cole because of his previous record. The more times someone betrays your trust, the harder it is to trust them again.
There are many circumstances where it is difficult to trust someone. Either they have treated you poorly in the past, or someone else has. Gaining someone’s trust is slow work. If you seem too forward, a cautious person will think you want something from them and trust you even less. In this method, there is no absolute point where the person suddenly  decides to trust you. They gradually begin to see that they can trust you. Even starting this process will take time. When something horrible happens, people that usually would not be friends are brought together. This can be seen all the time in today’s news. When an event, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or disease strikes an area, the inhabitants seem to band together to get through it. People who didn’t know each other the day before are suddenly looking out for each other, living in the same shelter with each other, and sharing food and stories with each other.
If someone breaks your trust, it is only natural that you will be wary to trust them again in the future. I can remember this movie quote, “You crossed ___. You are willing to cross ___. Why should I expect any different?” Even if the person did not betray your trust, if they have betrayed someone else, you still have reason to not trust them. It is even harder to trust someone if the betrayal is personal. Some people are more forgiving than others, but what I have learned from reading “Touching Spirit Bear” is that it is difficult to forgive people, but if you do, you will trust them as well. 

In conclusion, trust is not a word to be used lightly. Trust is not to be given lightly, either. There is always the risk that someone will break your trust. Trust is either gained very slowly, or very rapidly. After trust is broken, it is extremely difficult to gain back. In “Touching Spirit Bear” there are at least five different times when people have trouble trusting, and many more in the main character’s past.