Dialectical Journals Books 7 & 8

Chapter 30, 12/2/08
"Odd as it sounds, the feeling within that cozy copse evoked a hearth of home, a haven. One could still smell that deery smell, the gamy scent of their coats. None of the party spoke, yet each, I will wager, was thinking the same thought: how sweet it would be, right now, to lie down there like the deer and close one's eyes. To allow all fear to depart one's limbs. To be, just for a moment, innocent of terror."
~Page 321

I chose this quote because I thought it was amazing the way the author described the way this part of the story. It shows that even though the warriors are Spartans, they still feel fear. I could imagine how they feel because of this paragraph, how they want to just be free of war. Be free of the worries of dying and battle. It also struck me because I have felt like this before. Many times when I make the top 4 or 2 in a tournament, I always just want to lay down and let go the worries of "What if I lose this bout?". But I always persevere, just like the soldiers of Sparta.

Chapter 32, 12/2/08
"The Persians within the tent fought just as their fellows had in the pass and at the Narrows. Their accustomed weapons were of the missile type, javelins, lances and arrows, and the sought space, an interval of distance from which to launch them. The Spartans on the other hand were trained to close breast-to-breast with the foe. Before one could draw breath, the locked shields of the Lakedaemonians were pincushioned with arrow shafts and lanceheads. One heartbeat more and their bronze facings slammed into the frantically massing bodies of the foe. For an instant it seemed as if they would utterly trample the Persians. I saw Polynikes bury his eight-footer overhand in the face of one nobleman, jerk its gore-dripping point free and plunge it into the breast of another. Dienekes, with Alexandros on his left, slew three so quickly the eye could barely assimilate it. On the right Ball Player was hacking like a madman with his throwing axe, directly into a shrieking knot of priests and secretaries cowering upon the floor."
~Pages 337-338

I chose this quote because it shows the distinctions between the Persian and Spartan warfare. The Persians were more formal while the Spartans were more ferocious and beast like. The Persians had more long range weapons, whilst the Spartans had more close range weapons like the xiphos to slash away at opponents. I also chose this quote because of the way the battle is described. I could really see many Spartans such as Dienekes and Alexandros hacking and jabbing away at the Persians so quickly that the eye could not process it fast enough.

Chapter 35, 12/3/08
"'Do you hate them Dienekes?' the king asked in the tone of a comrade, unhurried, conventional, gesturing to captains and officers of the Persians proximately visible across the oudernos chorion, the no-man's-land.

Dienekes answered at once that he did not. 'I see faces of gentle and noble bearing. More than a few, I think, whom one would welcome with a clap and a laugh to any table of friends.'

Leonidas clearly approved my master's answer. His eyes seemed, however, darkened with sorrow.

'I am sorry for them,' he avowed, indicating the valiant foemen who stood so proximately across. 'What wouldn't they give, the noblest among them, to stand here with us now?'"
~Pages 360-361

I chose this quote because it shows how honorable the Spartans are. Dienekes shows that even though the Persians are the enemy that want to take over all of Sparta and Athens, he would still invite him in for a drink. I think this is because he knows that many of the soldiers that are fighting for Xerxes don't want to be there and would invite the Spartans over for a drink as well if they were not fighting in a war.

Chapter 36, 12/3/08
"'As when a wildfire upon a hillside at last consumes itself and flares no more, so my fit of grief burned itself out. A peace settled clemently upon me, as if gift not alone of that strong arm which clasped me yet in its embrace, but of some more profound source, ineffable and divine. Strength returned to my knees and courage to my heart. I rose behind the king and wiped my eyes. These words I addressed to him, not of my own will it seemed but prompted by some unseen goddess whose source and origin I could not name.
'"'Those were the last tears of mine, my lord, that the sun will ever see.''"
~Pages 373-374

I chose this quote because it is a very powerful quote at the end of the book. This is when Lady Paraleia is talking about Alexandros' death after word is reached that the 300 lost at Thermopylae. It is just so powerful the way that she relates her grief to a wildfire. Wildfires are very strong forces that often takes very long to stop. The fact that her grief is this strong is very interesting. I also chose this quote because I felt very strongly toward this quote. I had a very important in my life die once and I felt exactly this way. Yes the pain gradually grew weaker, but there was always that last dying spark of the wildfire of grief that still hung on.

What I am Thankful For

(<---That's Hannah)
I am thankful for a lot of things that I have that I take for granted everyday. The first thing that I am grateful for are my two best friends, Hannah and Lilia. They are always there for me, ya I know it sounds cheesy but its true, when I need them. They both are there whenever I need a hug or someone to talk to about girl troubles. Both of them have also been very supportive of my Olympics dream, always bringing it up when I'm feeling down and feeling like I won't be able to get there. I love them to death and are practically sisters to me, as I am practically a brother to them.

Another thing that I am thankful for are my parents. As this goes without saying, they have always been there for me in good times and bad. They are very supportive of my fencing dream and do anything they can to help me reach this goal. Both of them drive me to fencing and back every night, I am very thankful for that. They also buy me all the fencing equipment I need for tournaments and practice, which I will always be thankful for because fencing gear can add up really fast =/. But I love my parents, and will always be thankful for them.

Of course, these two things aren't the only two things that I am thankful for. I am thankful for my house, food to eat, and a wonderful school to go to everyday. I think that sometimes we take everything we have for granted. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday because the things that we take for granted come into the spotlight as we give thanks for them.

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.

Dialectical Journals

Can you guess what this is? I'll give you a hint, it's Greek. Still don't know what it is? Well it's written on the letter. It's called a Lambda, or a lower case Alpha. According to page 15, Onaximandros argues that all Spartan shields carry this symbol to represent their country, Lakedaemon. I chose it because it represents how proud the Spartans are to fight for their country. It also shows that they are very courageous and noble to fight in battle with one another. I think that this is like everyone in the United States wearing a United States pin, a flag. It shows that even though we are 50 states and many citys and towns in between, we are all one country and are united against anything that threatens us.


Chapter 4, 10/26/08
"This is how I learned then: There is always fire."
~Page 21

I just thought that this was a very powerful quote to start a chapter off with. I felt a lot of power coming from this quote and what it means. I think that to this boy, it means that he is finally learning what the real world is like. I think that when he watched the drills that his father and many other fathers did, he thought that they were just for fun. But now since he has been exposed to this killing and death and battle, he knows what it means to be a warrior and what a war is all about. I also made a connection to this quote and the title, Gates of Fire. Now that I have read this quote, I think that fire will be a recurring symbol that will follow this boy throughout this book. Thermopylae means Gates of Fire in Greek, but that is only because of the hot springs that surround the landscape. The fire the author talks about now is fire of death and battle. I like how he combines literal fire with the philosophical fire he talks about in the title of the book.

Chapter 5, 10/26/08
"Two summers later subsequent to this incident, in Lakedaemon, I witnessed a different kind of ordeal: a Spartan boy beaten to death by his drill instructors."
~Page 32

This goes back to one of my first quotes about how brutal the kids were trained when they went though the agoge. I am 14 right now and I cannot imagine the things that the Spartan boys went through when they were training to be a Spartan warrior. When I read things like this it makes my nuisances of today seem petty and small, such as when a piece of technology fails to work for me. I also chose this quote because it really struck me in the core. Words fail me when I try to think about describing what those poor kids went through just to become a Spartan warrior and fight for their country. Even army training programs today don't take in 13 year old boys and whip and even kill them. They don't even kill the recruits that do join the army. This quote just really woke me up to what a part of Spartan civilization is like.

Chapter 6, 10/26/08
"A man without a city is not a man. He is a shadow, a shell, a joke and a mockery."
~Page 39

This is another quote that I felt just had a lot of power. I think that this really shows Bruxieus' emotions during the speech that he gives. I chose this quote though because it really dives deep down into the ego and dignity of what it means to be a Spartan warrior, at least that is what I think this quote means deep down. It shows that without his companions or fellow warriors, a Spartan warrior is nothing. I also thought of the idiom "It takes a village to raise a child" when I read this quote. I connected that quote with this one because even though a child has one pair of parents, his/her friends will contribute to his/her personality and how they act.

Political Blog Post

Well, I chose a topic that concerns everyone no matter what party they are from, be it Republican, Democrat, Green, or Independent. I have chosen to write about the voting age. There is much controversy over what the legal voting age should be. Some say that 16 year olds could handle voting for themselves, as they a large percentage already do their own income taxes and have a job. Others say that 16 year olds are too young, some even say that 18 is too young, defending their decision by saying that they are still kids and they will only vote for the person that their parents want them to vote for.

I personally think that 16 year olds should be allowed to vote, if they are paying income tax, shouldn't they be able to vote on what that tax money is used for? Yes there is the obvious argument that 16 year olds are too young, which is why I don't think that all 16 year olds should be allowed to vote. I think that 16 year olds should have to complete a test that shows that they know why they are voting for a certain person, proving they are competent enough to vote. If they pass the test, than they should be registered votes. But as a 14 year old right now, I feel more than capable of voting for the person that I think would make the best decisions for this country.

But then there are the groups that say even 18 is too young. They think that kids are too immature, thinking about driving a fast car, or getting new shoes or a new outfit. A lot of people think that young people at that age have a clouded mind and do not know who or what to vote for. Another argument that they put out is that a very large percentage of young people are democrats, which would in turn weight elections toward the democratic candidate. But the problem with these theories is that it is a generalization of the population. There are 18 year olds that are much more mature for fast cars or flashy outfits. Another problem with the theory is that even though there are many young democrats, the life expectancy is much higher than it used to be. This means that the population of the older, more senior republicans is higher than what it used to be.

All in all, I think that 16 year olds should be allowed to vote. But in order to register to vote, they must prove that they are competent enough to vote, such as listing some reasons as why they are voting for who they chose, or why they are for/against proposition they are voting for.

Scott Rodgers

This is a picture of Scott Rodgers (he is the fencer near us). I like this picture not only for its fencing aspect (I'm a fencing nerd, I know), but because of just the moral aspect. This shows how far people can go if they set their mind to it. Despite a huge loss of mobility in both of his legs, Scott has been to the paralympics 3 times. Another reason I like this picture is because the way this picture was taken. It was taken in the middle of parry, making this a very cool action shot. I also like the way the photographer integrated all the colors into the shot. The black background complements the white uniforms of the fencers.

Hero Blurb

Just because he gave me one lesson doesn't make him a hero. Ashok Pathi is my hero because of all the encouragement and help that he gives me to become the best sabreist that I can be. On or off the strip, I respect Ashok because of the amazing friend he is to me. He is my sabre teacher.