Dialectical Journals 8-11

I chose a picture of a laughing person because during Chapter 8, it speaks of how the troops kept making such crude jokes that kept even Leonidas on his knees laughing.

Chapter 8, 10/30/08
"The sight of his native Hellas being reduced by the overmastering numbers of the imperial forces caused the man severe distress and seemed to fire his will to commit to record as much of his tale as he could, as expeditiously as possible."
~Page 65

I chose to write about this quote because I really thought about it after reading the chapter. I was just imagining how distressed the man had to have been in order to feel obligated to record the tale of the battle. But at the same time I made a connection to this quote. When I first started playing Halo 3, I really wanted to write down every even that happened in game because the story was just so enveloping, I never wanted to forget it. Because of this, I led to writing an epic about it when the assignment arose. I think this connection helped me feel how he was feeling during this time and the obligation to write down all the events that transpired.

Chapter 9, 10/30/08
"A spasm of the lungs seized Alexandros; his throat constricted, he began to choke. My punch hesitated. A three-foot switch burned my back. 'Hit him!' I obeyed; Alexandros dropped to one knee. His lungs had frozen, he was helpless. 'Pound him, you whore's son!' a voice shouted from behind me. 'Finish him!'"
~Page 82

I chose this quote because this one of the quotes that I literally reacted to. When I put my book down to write this quote into my blog, I found I was actually gripping the sides of my book extremely hard, hard enough to make my fingertips white. I just felt such a power from this quote, a voice yelling Finish him! in the background. A choice between saving a friend or becoming a warrior. This quote made me feel very mixed inside. It made me think about what would I do if I was faced with this same situation. How would I react? What would I do? Would I kill my friend and become a warrior? Or risk exile and then take my own life after sparring his? This quote just made me think about a lot of things.

Chapter 10, 10/30/08
"The mind plays tricks in conditions of such extremity. I cannot tell how much I spoke aloud to Alexandros over the succeeding hours and how much simply swam before memory's eye as we labored endlessly toward the shore that refused to come closer."
~Page 91

I chose this quote because I can make a direct connection to this quote. I know what he is talking about, the sense of paranoia that makes your mind fall into chaos before confronted with an extreme situation. I get this every time I go paintballing or am at the gold medal bout during an important tournament. I know exactly how he is feeling right now because of these real life experiences. I think this helped me picture the boat, and Alexandros trying to comfort him, while they were riding to the shore.