The Harlem Hellfighters is recognized as a graphic novel that author, Max Brooks use to balance historical accuracy with vivid storytelling to publicize the story of those who served with the 369th, in the War to End All Wars. As Brooks stated in the novel before the story started, the story was a fictionalized account of the 369th Infantry Regiment in World War I. However, it “brings to life a long forgotten piece of American history.” - Spike Lee
Even though this story is fictionalized, majority of the events portrayed was either direct historical accounts or fictionalized versions of them. As figured, some of the characters in this story are fictional, such as Dave, Mark, and Edge. However, characters such as, Desmond Scatliffe and Sergeant Mandla were inspired by actual historical figures. Scatliffe’s character was inspired by several Caribbean-born Hellfighters, and Mandla’s character was based on the story of an actual full-blooded Zulu who served with the 15th New York. On the contrary, characters such as: Colonel William Hayward, Captain Arthur W. Little, Captain Hamilton Fish, Sergeant Noble Sissle, General Henri Gouraud, James Reese Europe, “The King of Jazz”, Eugene Jaques Bullard, who was a boxer, a nightclub owner, an activist, a pilot, and a veteran of both World Wars, and Henry Johnson, who was the first American (black or white) to receive the French Cross of War, were all nonfictional.
Throughout this entire story, Brooks emphasizes the way those who
The 369th Infantry Regiment otherwise known as the Harlem Hellfighters was the first all-black US combat unit that was shipped during WW I and was crucial in the WWII battles in Hawaii and Okinawa. These members who were skilled and very proud were shipped to Hawaii and protected the Hawaiian islands with antiaircraft from Japanese attack. William De Fossett was one of the main leaders of the 369th regiment, who joined it due to the regiments fame from the waning days of World War I. The original Harlem Hellfighters fought with the French Army and were awarded for their excellent service. De Fossett made the highly selective and demanding requirements of the 369th regiment. He grew up in the highly cultured
Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull are all noble Indian warriors of the recent past. Each warrior symbolizes courage, hope, and bravery in battle. The mighty warriors proved themselves in battle time and time again. These men were looked up to with the highest regards of their people. Indian children grew up with stories of these brave warriors being passed down from generation to generation. A great respect is seen for the legendary warriors of the past. As times change and the days of Indian and cowboy battles are behind us; how is it possible for a warrior to still be relevant in the modern day? Sherman Alexie expresses this idea of a modern-day warrior in his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Many times,
Escape Fire, having the forethought and intuitive capacity in a time of crisis to embark on a decision that logistically seems impossible. As such, the current healthcare system is in a period of crisis and changes must be made. Additionally, the health system needs the inherent capacity of logical, capable and intuitive healthcare leaders to identify a break in the emerging threat. If the healthcare system continues in the direction that it is traveling, devastating results are sure to occur. While considering the titling of the movie and this assignment it appeared oddly connected to a healthcare course. However, after viewing the film the urgency of the situation depicts a comparable circumstance that the firefighters experienced in a time of uncertainty and risk (Heineman, Froemke, & Scott, 2012).
In the story, “The Fighter” by Walter Dean Myers, the main conflict of the story is that Billy, the main character, needs to earn more money for him and his family in order for them to live a nice life. Billy is running low on money, so he needs to do boxing which is the only way he earns money, but his wife does not agree with him because she doesn’t want him to get hurt. Therefore, he is torn between either upsetting his wife to earn money or living in poverty until he could get the right education to get a good job. In the beginning of the story it says Billy is going out, though it doesn’t say where, it is to somewhere his wife does not want him to go. I know this because on page 27 it states,“Billy Giles told his wife that he was just
“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.” - Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. In Sherman Alexie’s collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, we read stories of Native American struggles for survival in an American society designed to keep Native Americans locked in the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Alexie illustrates the importance of rejecting intergenerational trauma as a method of survival, by isolating the two main causes intergenerational trauma becomes inescapable and giving examples that showcase the impact of attempting to survive the cycle. Through the interpretation of multiple sources, it becomes clear that the inescapability of intergenerational trauma is the outcome of internalized oppression and pessimism.
The poem "The Harlem Dancer" is specifically about a women who dances. This is evident from the first two lines "applauding youth laughed with young prostitutes and watched her perfect, half clothed body sway." Despite the fact that the woman is a dancer the speaker finds beauty in her. He compares her voice to "blended flutes" given her an elegant qualities that seems to contradict the environment she is in. The speaker notices the way in which she carries herself on stage, with grace and calm. Even though she's a dancer she carries her self with pride, and in a way this shines more of her beauty. In line 10 reality finally sets in for the speaker when he acknowledges the "tossed coins in praise". He had been so mesmerized by the woman's elegance
In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of
Boyz N the Hood, displays the challenging upbringing of adolescents who have to live with harsh conditions around not only their home but also their surrounding town. The film compares the differences between the lifestyles of Tre Styles and his friends’, Darren and Ricky Baker. Darren and Ricky are half-brothers who are nothing alike. Singleton demonstrates the importance of male leadership in a home in the ghetto of Los Angeles by comparing the difference between the lifestyles of Tre and his friends. While many adolescents in the hood have close friendships, some form close relationships by assembling gangs and create a world of violence due to alcohol abuse, which together ultimately breeds discrimination.
Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldiers Home” is about a young man named Krebs who is learning to adjust to society after his experience in Europe during World War I. Hemingway’s purpose for writing this story can be confusing and also very telling. I believe Krebs was not a soldier at all and in fact, deceives his family, his friends, and his community into believing he was an experienced soldier in World War I. At first glance, Krebs may be seen as a war hero. However, by observing the characteristics such as Kreb’s background, actions, motivation, and the author’s Implied Evaluation, we see that he is not a war hero at all.
War forces young soldiers to grow up quickly. In Stephen Crane’s Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is no exception. He is faced with the hard reality of war and this forces him to readjust his romantic beliefs about war. Through the novel, the reader can trace the growth and development of Henry through these four stages: (1) romanticizing war and the heroic role each soldier plays, (2) facing the realities of war, (3) lying to himself to maintain his self-importance, and (4) realistic awareness of his abilities and place in life. Through Henry’s experiences in his path to self-discovery, he is strongly affected by events that help shape his ideology of war, death,
The Red Badge of Courage, written by Stephan Crane in 1895 gives a detailed, yet, fictional account of Henry Fleming, a farm boy who joins the Union Army in the American Civil War. Before Henry is battle-tested, he ponders his courage and questions whether he will be able to fight the urge to flee from battle. Henry does indeed end up deserting his comrades however he ultimately overcomes his guilt and becomes one of the best fighters in his regiment. In order to depict a realistic and relatable war scene, Crane includes Henry’s realistic thought-process and emotion in his struggles to maintain courage. The narrative simply revealed war in a manner that was divergent to all prior forms of literature in the 19th century. Previous novels predominately entailed the glorious and romantic aspects of war rather than the tedious, gritty, and gruesome details of close combat. Instead, Crane broke the barriers of literary norms in war-related literature; the novel depicted a pragmatic experience of combat from the eyes of an inexperienced and frightened youth. In the Red Badge of Courage, Stephan Crane primarily uses religious and gory imagery as well as symbolism to contrast the romantic conceptions of war versus the reality of experiencing battle.
Throughout “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” the theme of resilience is deliberately presented. Native Americans past and present continue to face stifling issues such as racism, alcoholism, isolation and suicide. Sherman Alexie makes it his obligation in his stories and poems to show Native American resiliency through humor. By using his characters to show resiliency through humor Alexie presents humor as an integral part of Native American survival.
Several characters are introduced throughout this memoir, some were very close friends others he did not care too much for, but he fought for all of them the same; as soldiers. Having performed his duty in
Many tragic stories are extremely powerful and because their impact is strong, they are often presented solitarily. Harlem Duet (Djanet Sears, 1996) however combines two powerful strategies of stories. With the use of media performance text, Djanet Sears presents Billie’s personal tragedy of Othello and Billie resisting each other's thoughts, actions, and wants by the use soundscape of Martin Luther King’s speech, dialogue referencing to Oppositional Gaze, and the handkerchief to combine these two stories. The reader can identify the combination of these two stories in Harlem Duet by Martin Luther King’s speech playing in the background, which becomes a tragedy. Resistance comes forward with the assist of Martin Luther King’s speech as Othello denies that the two races are different, the dialogue and reference to oppositional gaze in which Othello expresses a very sexist and racist view between White and Black women because Othello informs Billie that White women are desirable because they are easier, which becomes the tragic insecurity for Billie, and resistance to Billie and Black woman. Additionally, the most important combination of tragedy is when Billie is going insane and resistance happens. She decides to curse the handkerchief and resist Othello and Mona’s love.
Analysis of Sherman Alexie's 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven' and 'Smoke Signals'