The Assassin
I sneaked towards the enemy tent, careful not to make a sound. My life and honour depended on the success of this mission. If I fail, I will die along with hundreds of thousands innocent civilians, and I will be forever remembered as the idiot of an agent who failed to stop a mad terrorist leader.
Beads of sweat ran down my face, and the silent emptiness that was around me nearly drove me crazy. I gripped the cold, metallic handle of my assault rifle to remind and reassure myself that I had not come unprepared. My nerves calmed a little, and I continued on.
The terrorists were very smart. They housed their leader in a tent in the most unsuspecting place – in an ordinary village. It was only by mere chance that a spy from our side spotted the leader. The good thing was that the terrorists had grown arrogant from their past successes and let their guard down. Now it was up to me to terminate the terrorist leader.
I crept closer to the tent; my heart was pounding now. I could hear it pumping in my chest, as if wanting to break free.
“Concentrate!” I muttered under my breath, this was the crucial part, I had to keep a steady hand and drive that sacred bullet straight into that ugly terrorist’s head. I stopped for a moment, checking that my silencer was still attached properly, even though I had just checked moments before.
I gently prodded open the tent, just enough so that I can look inside. There was the terrorist leader, pacing around the tent somewhat nervously, as if he had been expecting me. I felt a chill down my spine. I started doubting myself. What if I couldn’t do it? What if I fail? What if it was a trap?
I gathered myself once more, this time I was determined. I fired the shot.
The terrorist leader fell without a sound, I had succeeded. I entered the tent in hope of finding papers or plans of their next attack. Suddenly I heard a noise, the piercing clank of an empty cartridge hitting the ground, I ran and dived out of the tent, but it was too late.
The bullets of a dozen machineguns, rifles, and pistols tore through the tent, reducing it to tatters.
Quickly, I make my way to the waiting Blackhawk helicopter. Even with my full combat load strapped to my back the rotor wash threatens to push me over. My face is pelted with grass and other debris; motivation and determination makes me run harder. As I reach the Blackhawk the Black-shirt directs me to one of four repel lines anchored to the aircraft. I wrap the line through my d-ring and climb into the cabin. I wait, crouched in the doorway, for my three other comrades to finish their hookup. The Black-shirt completes his check of our hookups and gives the pilot the thumbs-up. Abruptly, the helicopter lifts into the air leaving my stomach somewhere below.
Throughout Richard Wright’s book Black Boy, which represented his life, Richard used great emotion to show us how he was and what he may have been feeling. He also referred the book to his own life by using examples and making them as evidence in the book. His techniques and diction in this book gave a fire to his writing and a voice towards how it was for him growing up.
“I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of the hunger for life that gnaws in us all, to keep alive in our hearts a sense of the inexpressibly human.” (Richard Wright) In 1945 an intelligent black boy named Richard Wright made the brave decision to write and publish an autobiography illustrating the struggles, trials, and tribulations of being a Negro in the Jim Crow South. Ever since Wright wrote about his life in Black Boy many African American writers have been influenced by Wright to do the same. Wright found the motivation and inspiration to write Black Boy through the relationships he had with his family and friends, the influence of folk art and famous authors of the early 1900s, and mistreatment of blacks in the South and uncomfortable racial barriers.
“ Language is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: It reveals the private, and connects, or divorces one from the larger public or communal identity.” The stories in Black Boy are original and captivating. It identifies Richard Wright as a writer and a person of incredible substance. The language identifies the books time frame and era. And most importantly shows Richard’s journey through social and personal acceptance.
In Richard Wright’s Black Boy, you see not only the transformation of a young boy going into adulthood, but a fascinating story of a hero on a journey to discover his true identity and his part in society. “Heroism is not about rising to the top, fighting for one's rightful place in society, but rather about making one's society and one's self whole. There is, however, also the notion that the right person can solve even global problems single-handedly. If the right person attempts such a feat, it will usually be successful” (Haberkorn). Wright goes from an ordinary world of struggles with hunger and poverty to a life of unfair treatment due to the color of his skin. This only leads Wright to take on the world with his head held high and ready to outstand anything that comes his way. His challenges makes him the activists he is meant to be and to defend his belief of how society should really be; equal and fair for everyone of any race. In his story Black Boy, Richard Wright goes through a series of obstacles on his hero journey to self-knowledge and ends up learning more about him self and society then he ever bargains for.
The conflicts between man and bigotry have caused casualties within man, which caused them to become victims. In the novel Black Boy Richard Wright explores the struggles throughout his life has been the victim of abuse from his coworkers, family, and his classmates, due to this he is able to return his pain and he becomes a victimizer.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, exactly at 9:22 a.m., I woke up to start my day and turned my television on. Instantly, Fox News had reported that a commercial plane had smashed into the Twin Towers of New York City, just minutes earlier. While the story was certainly shocking, I wanted to know more and watched the horrific aftermath unfold, as it continued to happen. I remember an incredible feeling of sadness that I could do nothing to help the people in these buildings, as well as a great concern that more attempts could be made to create further tragedy elsewhere.
“Hey mom, look how low that plane is flying!”. “Oh my, that is dangerously close! Wait, that can’t be right. Why is it flying so low... and fast? Something must be wrong! Oh my God! It looks like it's about to crash into th…”. Ever wondered what the sound of anguish was like? If you were walking the streets of downtown New York City on September 11th, 2001, then you heard the sound of the desolation of a nation. On that day of despair, the US went through a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by 19 members of the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda (9/11 Attacks). Over 3,000 civilians were killed as a result from two hijacked planes flying into the World Trade Center in NYC, and another hijacked plane flying into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. (9/11 Attacks).
I moved in on the front gate and crouched. I waited for the two men to come into sight then jumped up shot the man on the right in the chest, turned and shot the man on the left in the head. I took two steps forward and jumped over the fence. To my left Abraham had just shot two Nazis on patrol. To my right Zelda had shot a man in the head then turned to his left just in time to see a bullet slam into him right below his ribs. I looked over at him he let out a scream then waved his hand twice which was the signal to go on without him. I rushed to meet Abraham behind what looked like a base for the Germans inside the camp. I met Abraham behind the base, we were both panting like our dogs back at home after we ran early in the morning.
Back a few miles from the front line, the officers make plans to attack the enemy. 250 miles away, comes the air support knowing that their men are okay and that the enemy are still there, like sitting ducks. The officers’ room is badly lit and the bulb is constantly flickering on and off from the shaking walls. There are maps and dossiers scattered all over the table in the centre of the room. The dossiers contain vital information in them, n...
Buzz, buzz, buzz, the alarm clock sounded off again, trying to get my attention. Awaking from a deep sleep, I remembered that today I would learn about shooting an M-16 rifle. I arose quickly, not wanting to be late, dressed hurriedly in my camouflage utilities and raced out of the door to my car. I could not get to the rifle range fast enough. As I was driving, my thoughts raced and my stomach turned as I wondered if I would be able to hit the target. Would the rifle be too heavy? Would I pass the test? Round and round my thoughts whirled the entire drive.
One of the most definitive things ever said regarding the nature of intelligence was that intelligence is whatever IQ tests measure. The IQ test has been in use throughout the 20th century and serves as an accepted measure of a person’s intelligence. It is used by institutions such as schools and the army to screen people’s level of intelligence and decisions are made based on that. The IQ test consists of a series of questions regarding certain skills such as vocabulary, mathematics, spatial relations. The scores that a person gets on these tests depend on the amount of questions that a person answers correctly. The actual score that a person gets is dependant on how others in that age group do on those particular questions.
A young African American boy named Richard was the protagonist of Black Boy. Growing up, Richard did not know the meaning of “black” and “whites” (Black). In his young days, Richard heard about a “black” boy who was beaten by a “white” man. In Richard’s world, only the fathers beat their sons, so he thought that this is what happened, but because he was young at the time, nothing made sense, so this was one of the few situations of racism he actually heard, but he experienced it after a group of white men murdered his Uncle Hoskins which ended up causing his family to move (Black). However, in Native Son, Bigger Thomas, the protagonist, already had a known hatred for white people (Native). Whites had many privileges that African Americans could not have, so it was only natural for Bigger to hate white people (Native). These experienced
Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
The Oxford Dictionary defines intelligence as “the ability acquire and apply knowledge and skills.” Many people are born naturally intelligent, able to grasp and understand concepts easily, with little work. In children, it is easy to separate those born with higher intellectual ability from the rest, because they easily excel in learning. This skill is often lost by those born with it, and through a great deal of work others attain it. In order for an individual to have true intelligence into her adult years, she must foster what gifts she is given, and strive to better her self academically. Even as early as elementary school, many who are born with natural talent begin to fall behind intellectually. These students are often not