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Sunrise Over Fallujah Essay

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Sunrise Over Fallujah Essay
This summer, I read Sunrise Over Fallujah. It was an incredible book. The book tells the tale of an aspiring soldier, fresh out of boot camp and ready to face the combat he’s heard plenty about. The soldier goes by the name Robin Perry, or just Robin, as the book refers to him as. The setting is as shown in the title, Fallujah, Iraq. The deadliest place in Iraq for US Marines and personnel in the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Robin’s relation with his squad is the primary theme that the book revolves around. The author, Walter Dean Myers, portrays the plot as a confusing, desolate scenario, from Robin’s point of view. The book echoes the thoughts and emotions of every soldier in Iraq at that time. It casts a shadow on the opinion that …show more content…
In the beginning, they fight constantly and continuously insult each other or make mocking jokes towards each other. As the book progresses, they get more and more comfortable with each other and due to multiple combat situations, depend on each other to survive. It finalizes as a full fledged friendship. It is shown how they become dependable on each other and can maintain a shoulder to lean on by entrusting each other. In war, soldiers have to worry about several thoughts, but the most worrisome topic for them is what is happening back home to their loved ones, and if he or she is cheating on them. Multiple times I have related this book to the movie Jarhead, due to its thematic similarities and comparisons on the topic of the psychological aftermath of being deployed into combat as a Marine. Both the movie and the book have their main characters, US Marines, fighting in foreign territory and suffering traumatic experiences or struggles, both mentally and physically. In both titles, the characters come to the same conclusion and the fallout is just as difficult to cope with for them. In Jarhead, the main character finalizes his experience by saying the now famous quote “We will always be jarheads, and we are still… in the desert”. In Sunrise over Fallujah, Robin finalizes the novel by hugging his squadmate and saying “Did we actually do anything out

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