Imagine, it is 1940, Nazi bombs are raining from the sky in what seems like a never-ending hailstorm, not only smashing your city, but crushing your countrymen’s hope for survival as well. You are filled with a sense of trepidation and can hardly see through the rubble and smoke that has become the normality of your weary home, but as this acrid smoke clears you see a figure. A man who, until recently, had a tarnished reputation that seemed beyond repair, a man that inspires hope and faith into your heart: Churchill.”Churchill the Unexpected Hero” shows that Winston Churchill was by no means always considered the perfect hero that he can be made out to be in today’s history books; he had huge political and social setbacks that could have made him quit, however, he persevered. We see a similar situation in the news article “Wes Moore and Barbie”, a story of two men who were both named Wes Moore and who were raised in difficult situations. One man turned his life around, refusing to give up, pursuing his dreams, and became a Rhode scholar, and an adept author. The other man was not as successful and ended up in prison for a “botched robbery” in which a policeman was gunned down. “Churchill the Unexpected Hero” by Paul Addison, is very much an analytical book about the life of Winston Churchill. It’s chapters take you through the chapters of Churchill’s life, from the very beginning to the end. All along it show the differing opinions of Churchill. A clear example of this would be when the poet Sitell, a popular artist of the time wrote in a mock voice of Churchill’s, “Only 3 years ago/ I was allowed to waste/ a million lives in Gallipoli”(Addison 105). This shows the country’s view of him several years after what is considered to be his most famous military fiasco. It gives us an idea as to the negative opinions of him, and the general agreement that he had squandered lives in a carless manner. This harsh judgment shows how difficult his obtaining popularity would be in the future. While this book quotes many sources of clear opinions like the one above, the author himself lacks zeal when recounting the life of Churchill. He seems to be more a historian then a raconteur. This is a stark contrast to the new article about the two Wes Moore men. The author, the successful Wes Moore, writes about his past with a passion and intensity that is almost palpable. From both of these stories, I learned about the importance of never giving up, even when situations seem hopeless.
We see many times when Churchill failed: in school and at a point, the military, but, these failures did not discourage him to continue his career; they only encouraged him to try harder. When he was informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor and of America’s sub sequential decision to join the war effort he said, “So we have won after all.” This quote shows that he might have felt disheartened about the way the war was going, but he never let it show to the British people. He never let these feelings affect his leading or his determination to win. The same can be said for the Wes Moore that was a Rhode Scholar. He may have grown up without a father, and he may have been arrested before he was even a teenager, still he did not allow these past problems to influence his future.
“Churchill the Unexpected Hero” is a detailed account of the great British politician’s life. “Wes Moore and Barbie” is a story showing the incredibly different paths a life can take based on your decisions. The former of these two stories is and inspiring and informative onethat I would recommend to my friends, but the latter is one that seems to have more emotion within its short pages. They help show that people from any background can have an amazing future. You could be born into a family with a horrible reputation, or a family of meager means; that does not have to affect what you do with your life. Both of these show the importance of not letting obstacles, as big as they might seem to you at the time, get in the way of your future. As Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” As this statement so accurately points out, you may have many failures in your lifetime, but to be truly successful, you must not let them negatively affect your future. You, not these past events, decide what is in store for you.
Winston Churchill was a man with many challenges to overcome, starting as early as his birth. He was born into a family with a tarnished reputation, and to parents that were extremely critical of him; later in life he struggled with school and politics. Despite the many forces working against him, he managed to become a man who is considered by many to be England’s most infamous and great political figure of the 20th century.
Winston Churchill, one of England’s most motivating and beloved public figure, was not always considered to be such a victorious individual He failed many times in both his academic and political career. Despite his many critics that would often publicly abase him, he continued to persevere. Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” This is a concept he seemed to live by. Ultimately, this attitude led him to be such an inspiring political leader. Churchill, a simple name that stands for much more: victory, freedom, strength, and definitely achievement. . In the book “Churchill: the Unexpected Hero,” much is revealed about this leader whose role in World War Two was vital to England’s victory an mental stability. With the reverence that surrounds his name, it surprised me that Churchill was unsuccessful at achieving many goals in his past. He was less then average at many subjects in school, his poorest subject being math. He received all kinds of behavioral warnings. This man who is idolized by millions has a track record that made him out to seem like a child delinquent. Still, while all of these obstacles would discourage some, he fought on and became a brilliant war hero and Prime Minister. It’s inspiring for me to know that one doesn’t have to excel in everything; it can take only one success to put you in the history books.
After having watched “The Postman”- a movie centered around Mario, a lower class working man and Pablo Naruda, the infamous poet- I was awestricken by how many hidden messages and life truths this movie was able to reveal. The film didn’t portray just one aspect or event in someone’s life. There were stages and moments that were built upon to form and intricate web of actions and lessons to be learned from them. It was beautifully done, with great class and style. Some people said that the pace of the plot was too slow for them, but such is often the case with older movies, movies that I love. To me, the slow nature allows for the moods, the beautiful settings, and the characters to make a lasting impression in my head. It helps me grow attached to what’s being depicted and perhaps feel some of the emotion that the people on screen felt.
In this film, love is a common theme. One of the movie’s many points about love is that patriotism can inspire the most beautiful and passionate actions and ideas. It can encourage art and unify groups of people. We see patriotism bring Mario hope and purpose as he decides to take a more active role in his community’s government. He stood up to the politician that was traveling around his village, making empty promises about getting running water to them. His first real poet is written when he is over come by patriotism, when he wants to show the world, especially Naruda, just how beautiful “his sea” and his people are. It is for patriotism that Mario dies, when he went to a protest to support a cause that he believed would better his country.
This movie exemplified that people of higher class often only are nice to people of lower class when they need the less titled person for something. This was obviously shown when the politician promised the village running water and even started the building process, in order to get their vote. Once he had it, he no longer had use of the villagers so he left them and the project. We see another case of this in a more personal area. Mario may not think that Pablo had much use for him, but in fact Mario served as an ego booster for Naruda. Pablo loved attention, and we see that as he reads his fan mail and later as he travels throughout the world. When he was exiled, he wasn’t noticed as much but he has Mario. Mario always complimented Pablo and looked up to him with adoration. I feel that Naruda used those feelings to make himself feel superior and make himself feel like he was being self-sacrificing person for giving such attention to a lower class person. Once Naruda was no longer exiled, he left and didn’t seem to spare much thought for Mario because he had plenty of adoring people surrounding him.
“The Postman” illustrates how poetry is not just for the brilliant or well off, but how it can be used in everyday life to enhance your emotions and amplify your feelings. Narudo made poetry his career, but Mario wrote many metaphors just to capture and reveal his feelings and thoughts. Similes and metaphors were used in common speech simply to add to their feelings. The mother of Beatrice used metaphors even as she cursed the wicked nature of poetry and Mario. She later said them as she expressed her anger at people who use others and then discard them saying,“the birds have eaten all the seeds and flown away.”
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