Mitch Rapp American Assassin

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Lacrosse, although a brutal sport, is not ordinarily associated with an assassin. However, Mitch Rapp, a former lacrosse all-star at Syracuse University, proves to be an extraordinary paradigm. In American Assassin, Vince Flynn depicts the story of an irate Mitch Rapp who is pursuing vengeance for his late girlfriend, Mary. Rapp aims his wrath toward Islamic radicals who shot down a plane that was carrying Mary. Coincidentally, Rapp is recruited to join secret Special Ops forces whose current mission is to eradicate terrorists and their links in the Middle East. Rapp puts forth a meritorious effort in training and proves to be a viable option for the task. Next, Rapp sojourns to Istanbul to jettison his first target, Hamdi Shariff. In contrast …show more content…

Rapp speaks of his anger towards the men who shot down his girlfriend’s plane: “That every single night before he went to sleep he thought of the network of faceless men who had plotted to bring down Pan Am Flight 103, that he saw himself on this very journey…Enemies needed to be killed.” (Flynn 10-11). This quote shows that Mitch Rapp is searching for a way to gain peace within his mind. Rapp is still as agitated as a horse on a stormy night (☺ - simile) over his girlfriend’s death. Although he is not in a melancholy state, he is in an incensed mood that drives him to slaughter. To clarify, he looks to appease his rage by assassinating the men who committed a mass murdering of innocent civilians. Further, while Rapp’s approach may seem shallow, it has a deep seeded motivation. To explain, any person alien to Rapp’s personality will think that Rapp’s girlfriend’s death affected Rapp’s psychology in a way that he now has a mental disorder. However, Rapp’s character is such that he immediately tries to recover from an unsettling event. For example, just one week after his sweetheart’s passing, Mitch impeded his mourning and commenced his hunt for revenge. This shows that Mitch is not one to keep his guard immobile for an extended period of time. He is comfortable solely when he is in control of himself and his actions. Otherwise, Rapp feels exposed to the world, a situation where he could be violated. Additionally, Rapp favors controlling his own destiny, instead of blindly following wherever the world takes him. Indeed, this is rooted in Rapp’s search for peace: he cannot forgo the remainder of his lifetime with the knowledge that he did not endeavor to solve the issue of terroristic attacks against noncombatants. Therefore, Mitch, promptly following his lovers’ loss, joins the Special Ops forces. This allows him to inaugurate his search for peace while also aiding his nation in the fight against

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