matterhorn

Nick Delia- Person A,D

Dan Fridliand- Person B

Kevin Sinisi- Person C

Questions

1. Why do you think Mellas was forgetting everyones name?

A- I believe Mellas forgot everyones name because he is in the middle of the Vietnam at the risk of dying and there are 100 people in his squad it is almost impossible to remember names

2. Explain why there is so much fighting between the marines on the matterhorn?

A- There is a lot of racism on the Matterhorn and there is constant fighting between races.

3. Explain bass's attitude toward the rest of the squad?

A- Bass is very full of himself and he acts as of he owns the squad and tells everyone what to do even though he is a lower rank than Mellas.

4. Explain the first fight between the marines and the NVA? why did the amount of confirmed kills change so much?

A- Realistically it was unsuccessful because they had a thirty man patrol and could not take down three to four NVA soldiers and the kills started at 2 confirmed and one probable, but after a lot of complaints saying there cannot be confirmed kills without probables they changed it to 5 kills 2 probables and it eventually altered to 10 10 kills and 1 probable.

Response

The main character in this book is Mellas. Mellas is a young lieutenant who has to guide his men through the gruesome, gory trenches of Vietnam. This book shows the actions of a young terrified soldier who is struggling to lead his mean throughout the war. What makes Mellas interesting is that if he stayed in America and didn't enter the war he would have had a bright future. Mellas had an Ivy League education. He is also a great leader because he has to lead his platoon. Most of his platoon are consisted of teenagers and young adults.

Quotes-

1. "Jesus! Get the squid! Get Doc Fredrickson!" 2. "Fisher's got a leech right smack up the hole of his cock." 3. "Here's to fucking leeches." 4. "Your getting out of the bush. Get your ass up to the LZ."

Summary-

During our meeting we discussed the overall plot of this book. Since I am new to these war books, I had trouble understanding the beginning of this. My group members helped me understand and explained the beginning to me. We didn't bring any food so we would sometimes ramble off into other conversations, but we talked about the first part of the book we read. Hopefully this book gets better as we read.

Week 2

Kevin Sinisi- A & D

Dan Fridland- C

Nick Delia- B

Response

Coming into week 2 I did not expect what to think of the book after the 1st week with its odd language. There was a lot of war language and slang, but there is a translator in the back of the book that explains all of the language. almost every other word is a curse word, but since it is a war book of course it is going to have profane language. There is a lot of racism in this book being that the whole squad is segregated and constantly fighting amongst themselves. Overall this is a pretty difficult read and the language is very advanced.

Questions- Why do you think that the soldiers use terms like Negro and other racist terms. -The war took place in the 1960's, therefore people were still racist and the blacks did not have as many rights as they do today.

Why do think the mood was like throughout these chapters. - The mood was very glum and many people were on the edge. The soldiers are fighting and trying to survive, therefore they are scared.

Could you sense any tension while they were waiting in the rain? If so, was it serious or minor? -Yes they were very tense. Many people were tired and wondering what would happen. They were all wet too. The tense level was seroius.

What do you think the one thing the soldiers were thinking about? -I believe the one thought on the soldiers mind's was that they wanted to go home and see their families.

Quotes

"He was in no mood to talk about wildlife. Ambushes could go wrong, and they'd be way outside the lines alone in the dark."

"Fitch remained quiet, knowing that there was no way out, but Hawke had to have a chance to let everyone know that he disagreed."

"It was oddly bent piece of bamboo about ten meters down the trail that caused the rush of dread that saved him."

"Mallory suddenly threw his heavy M-60 machine gun into the brush and flung himself down, holding his temples."

"When they moved out in the darkness the next morning, Goodwin's platoon was on point."

Week 3

Person A & D- Dan

Person B- Kevin

Person C- Nick

Response-

The mood in these chapters is very gloomy and sad. The soldiers don't know if they are going to make it through the rest of the week so they are stressed and tense at all times. But sometimes, they manage to have some fun together and joke around. This book truly describes the effects of war and how it effects the soldiers in it. As we read on we learn more and more about the characters and their personalities.

Questions-

1. How do you think Mellas's platoon felt while they were climbing the mountain? A. They must have felt discomfort because they were worried about getting shot at and were worried their equipment might have fell.

2. Why do you think Mellas couldn't let his troops kill the man in the forest? A. Since the man was helpless and could cause no harm, Mellas believed that it was murder to kill him.

3. Do you think Mellas has belief in his platoon's new leader? A. Yes because their new leader made a good impression with Mellas' old men.

4. How do you think Mellas reacts when they talk strategy with the other group leaders? A. Mellas talks with passion because he is still worried about his troops even though he is leaving them.

Week 4

Nick Delia- A and B

Kevin- C and D

Response

There are many themes and images that portray the book __Matterhorn__. When I picture the book I think of images and clips that I have seen from war movies. Whenever they mention something about the Matterhorn or mountains I get the image in my head of a man climbing the mountain, similiar to Mount Everest. They also talk about weapons in the book. I can imagine the different types of guns in my head.

Quotes

"Friendlies, friendlies! It's Scar and Russell."

"I-always wondered how I'd die."

"Sir, I got Twenty-Four Regiment's assistant Three here wondering why we're not flying. Over."

Questions

1. After further reading who is now your favorite character?

2. How can you see the matterhorn age over time?

3. Who wins the battle?

Kevin- A

Dan- B & C

Nick- D

Summary

This is a great book, its so realistic it feels like your fighting along side mellas and his squad. Anyone who really likes war books, like me, should read this book. Anyone who cant handle gore and violence shouldn't read this book. I think this book should be added to and upper class men rotation of books because it is very gruesome.

Quotes-

“Roger, Bravo Six. I want a full body count and after-action report. We have your medevac birds standing by. That zone of yours safe yet? Over.”

“He’s got both of his legs blown off. Over.”

“ You obey orders, Lieutenant, or I’ll have your ass on report.”

“Only the shadows themselves could change.”

Summary-

Since this was the last week of book club we discussed the ending of the book and cleared up any questions we had regarding the overall summary of the book. Matterhorn is one of the most realistic book that I have ever read and I received a strong visual image regarding war and the mysteries that are from it. We had a little bit of a shortened period because we had to do a survey but with the remaining time we discussed the book. We had no snacks, throughout the marking period, so as always we were hungry. We all agreed that there was a strong message in this book and the overall concept was amazing. This book has convinced me to look up more war books and I couldn't have been more happy throughout the marking period.