Homework due in class on Thursday, Jan 9th

I hope you enjoyed watching Saving Private Ryan, and were able to look at it with deeper meaning.  Your homework assignment (two parts) will be a byproduct of the notes you took during the film.

First Part:

You must choose one of three characters from the film, and write a letter home to someone special, either a family member, best friend, or loved one (1-2 pages, double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font).  Depending on which character you choose, certain information must be contained within your letter.  The list of characters (and their respective criteria) are as follows:

Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks): If you are writing as this character, the letter you are writing would come directly after Wade (the medic) died, and you finally opened up and told your men about who you were before the war.  Hint: you would want to include the DDay invasion and attack, parts of the mission and your thoughts about it, and explanation why you finally opened up.

Private Richard Reiben (played by Edward Burns): If you are writing as this character, the letter you are writing would come directly after the death of Captain Miller (after the close of the Battle of Ramelle Bridge).  Hint:  You would want to include how the mission has changed you and the way you feel about the war and about death, as well as you feeling towards being the only survivor of your group of Rangers (Cpt Miller, Pvt.'s Carparzo, Mellish, Jackson, and Wade the medic).

Corporal Timothy Upham (played by Jeremy Davies):  If you are writing as this character, the letter you are writing would come directly after the death of Captain Miller also (after the close of the Battle of Ramelle Bridge).  Hint:  You would want to include you feelings and experiences in combat, and how it measured up to the Emerson quote, and also about the German that you fought to set free and eventually 'finishing what you stopped'.

Part Two:

Choose two of the four questions that I asked you to answer while watching the film, and type your answers at the end of your letter.  Each answer must be at least 3-4 complete sentences.  Points will be taken off for insufficient amount of sentences.  The questions are as follows (choose two to answer):

1. Why does Cpt. Miller not reveal his pre-war identity to anyone until absolutely necessary?

2. What does the character of Cpl. Upham symbolize in the film?

3. What does the Pvt. Ryan, and the mission to get him out of the war, symbolize for Cpt. Miller and his men?

4. What is the main theme/message/purpose of this film?

New Homework Lateness Policy

Effective immediately, late homework assignments for my class will be given a series of expiration dates. 

1. If a homework is not handed in on the due date, it must be handed in by the next class period to receive a 70 at best. 

2. If it is still not handed in, it must be submitted by the second class period directly  after the original due date to receive a 50 at best.

For the January intersession, this means that if a homework is due on a film day, then the next film day will be the first expiration, and so forth.

Example:  Homework that is due Tuesday is not handed in, it must be submitted by the class period on Thursday to receive at most a 70.  If it is still not handed in, then it must be submitted by the following Tuesday class period to receive a 50 at best.  If it is not received by that second class period after... it will be a zero.

Email me if you have any questions.

Due at the beginning of class on Tuesday January 7th

Write a 1-2 page essay, DOUBLE SPACED with 12pt Times New Roman font, completing the tasks below.

1. Analyze the two quotes, and extract the meaning that the two separate authors are attempting to convey.  (The quotes are below)

2. Evaluating these two quotes, determine your own view about warfare within the context of the authors' opinions.  Which quote best symbolizes your view of warfare?  Use information/evidence to explain and support your argument (specific wars, lessons learned in history...etc).

3. Using your knowledge and experience of the film industry's depiction of warfare, in your opinion, which quote best exemplifies how war is depicted in films?  Cite specific movies you have seen or heard about to support your argument.

This assignment should require three paragraphs, and remember to cite the authors of the quotes, and use parts of the quote to best explain your answers.  Points will be taken off for contractions, mis-spellings, and grammar/punctuation mistakes. Make sure to re-read your work.

Quotes:
"War educates the senses, calls into action the will, perfects the physical constitution, brings men into such swift and close collision in critical moments that man measures man."    ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands, and fathers ... it is only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated ... that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation."      ~William Tecumseh Sherman