I have to say that reading about Walter (the paraptrooper) was agrivating because i felt his annoyance with being out of the action. After having his father fighting in the army and growing up in the philipines with this same profession as his goal, it must be terrible being stranded on Hollandia with nothing to do. Its good he gets to drop into the Baliem valley to help save MAggie McCollom and Decker, but it is still not the kind of action that he had always wished for. I hope that later in his life during the war he gets the chance to fight like he wants to.
I actually don't like Walter all that much. He seems like he is still a misfit that wanted to honor his father. Although that is honorable, his crdentials don't support a search and missue mission of that calibur. His character also takes away from the protagonism of McCollom and Decker. I could definitely go without him.
ReplyDeleteJeeze. Crudentials* and search and rescue*
ReplyDeleteCredentials?* :)
ReplyDeleteI have respect for anyone who has the courage to go and try to save others in a jungle where no one knows much about the natives, or the land. Give the guy props for something!I don't think I'd do so well getting "dropped into the Baliem valley"..
Hahah thank you! This is one of his first important missions, and he's only a captain. And yeah its honorable for him to do such a mission, but I don't like him or feel any connection with his character emotionally.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Zuckoff says, on pg. 175, that since the mountain air is thinner, the medics will fall faster. BUT WE ALL KNOW WHAT RATE OBJECTS FALL TO THE EARTH AT!!! hehe
at about 9.8 m/s/s! although we also know that something will keep speeding up till it reaches an air resistance that will equal the gravitational pull...which in thinner air means faster!! but back to english,I disagree about not feeling connected to Walter. After growing up in the philipines in a time where filipinos and americans hated eachother, then having to come to america to go to school, he musta had a crazy time! he seems like he would have alot of life stories to tell. I think hes honorable for waiting to go into action and extrememly brave for tehn volunteering to drop into the Baliem valley where death by Japanese or native head hunters is quite a possibility.
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