Thursday, March 11, 2010

Marcus Luttrell Rubric and Sample Essay.

Marcus Luttrell Rubric and Sample Essay.
25 Perfectly flowing and constructed 5-paragraph article critique that answers author’s intent, how he shows it, and whether it works.
20 Minor flaws should have been seen, but as a whole, your article critique was sound.
15 Excessive flaws should have been seen, and minor issues existed with your article critique.
10 Excessive structural flaws, you didn’t answer what I was looking for, you didn’t have enough details, and other related issues.
5 Your wrote a biography
0 There was no evidence that you read the story or you just didn’t comprehend it AND / OR you wrote something that wasn’t even close to what I need from an article critique.

Marcus Luttrell wrote Lone Survivor about his time spent in a Navy training session, which was known as Hell Week. Here, he was forced to confront the toughest challenges that could have possibly been presented to him in an effort to weed out those who didn’t have what it took to be a Navy Seal from those people that did. In writing this story, he wanted people to see that the only option for a person is to give his or her all to be the best that he or she can be because this will show that the meaning of life is pride in accomplishment and not quitting on the opportunity for excellence.
The first thing that Luttrell wanted the reader to see is that he was training with some of the hardest and toughest guys around. These were guys who were being trained to be Special Forces commandos. They had trained for this moment for their entire lives, and now, the things that were happening in their minds were either going to keep them moving or allow them to ring the bell and quit. Luttrell describes various men who just gave up after repetitious cold water training, log carrying, boat rowing, pushups, runs, and other mental intimidations. In this, he shows that while they could physically do this, their minds kept focusing on tasks that hadn’t happened yet, and as a result, these men gave up on themselves. Luttrell and the other Navy Seals that had made it through this training would know forever that they did what they had to do and can wear the pride of accomplishment as an eternal badge of success while those men that had quit will always wonder “what if?”
In addition, Luttrell looks at the mental preparation that goes into creating a warrior that will be forced to endure some of the toughest terrains and environments known to man while he is being sent to destroy evil and to avoid being killed by it. To this, Luttrell reasons that a person who can’t perform in sub 60 degree water in San Diego would never survive if he was surrounded by the assault rifles of the Taliban. In the end, Luttrell wears a badge of pride that says he has completed the same training as his heroes, and while some of these people were viciously killed in foreign lands, he takes pride in knowing that they gave all to be the best of the best and to protect America with what made them stand out from those who weren’t quite as exceptional as they were.
Finally, Luttrell wants people to understand that life is about how we bear up under challenges. There is a universal in a group of tired and weary sailors holding a log above their heads for excessive amounts of time and that is to do what one needs to do to succeed. Failure is not an option. In this, completing homework assignments and essays is not any different than succeeding at Coronado. There will be long nights without sleep. There will be sacrifice. There will be blood, sweat, and tears, but when a weary body marches to the finish line and says, “I did this,” then it’s all worthwhile.
As a result, Luttrell succeeds in showing what it takes to be great. In this, the confidence course that is Navy Hell Week serves as the birthplace of the American hero that Luttrell truly has become. More importantly, the lessons learn transcend the military and provide examples of leadership and self determination that can apply to any challenge that comes before people in life.

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