Critical Book Review: "Forgotten Fire" by Adam Bagdasarian

Matthew E. Barnes was a firefighter who could be called many things including a hero, a friend, a husband, a father and even an angel. The story begins like many 9/11 stories do, with the planes being hijacked, he was one of the men working that day in the New York City Fire Department that would go into the World Trade Center, but would never come out. The 37-year old resident of Monroe, New York was a father to three boys and the husband to Ms. Susan Barnes; he would spend all his available time with his family, somehow slipping out of chores and such just to go fishing with his boys. Two years before the 9/11 he had saved two twins, Isabella and Jacob Kalodner from a fire in their mother, Linda Kalodner’s apartment, by climbing up a 100-foot aerial ladder to the 10th story to save the 6 week old twins.

had to wear some old shoes that he had at home. Gold did not like this

This book is about the Spartans warrior culture and how it ties into the Marine Corps values, and the present day warrior culture of our Marine Corps.

Throughout the 16th century, as there was a demographic collapse of the indigenous population, there was now a new demand for slave labor in Latin America. In Brazil, the Portuguese needed a large workforce to cultivate sugar plantations. As a result, numerous slaves from Africa were imported to work on large plantation fields. In various plantations, rural slaves experienced harsh working and living conditions. Few slaves had a high life expectancy. Robert Edgar Conrad in “Children of God’s Fire,” shares some primary sources that dealt with the types of environments and conditions many slaves faced and encountered in Brazil. The sources also gave insight into the regulations and economics/business of the slave trade. Conrad states that rural Brazil was “a hell for blacks” (Conrad 54). Many slaves dealt with extremely harsh conditions just to keep the European market in Latin American growing and profitable. This paper will analyze how rural slaves lived and worked on Brazilian sugar plantations.

This is a very important part of the book because it shows the reader that the

In 1915, Vahan Kenderian, a twelve year old boy lives with his family in Armenia. His family was wealthy and during the time World War 1 had been happening. In Forgotten Fire, Vahan Kenderian is caring and has determination shown by events in the book.

In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, fire is a recurring idea. Bradbury used the main character, Guy Montag, to present the fire motif throughout the story. Montag, a fireman, had doubts about his career and society. He sought answers and enlightenment to cure his curiosity about the truth in books. He did not have faith in his society, nor did he understand why intellect was so terrible. In his search Montag realized that fire (and books) were not so evil after all. Montag began to see fire in a different light. Therefore, fire, in Fahrenheit 451, represented rejuvenation through cleansing and renewal.

“A Wall of Fire Rising”, short story written by Edwidge Danticat, presents one man’s desire for the freedom and also, the gap between reality and fantasy which is created by the desire. Two different perspectives of evaluating the life bring the conflict between the Guy and Lili who are parents to the little guy. Throughout the story, the Guy implies that he wants to do something that people will remind of him, but Lili who is opposing to the Guy, tries to settle the Guy down and keep up with the normal life that they are belong to. The Guy is aggressive, adventurous and reckless while Lili is realistic and responsible. The wall of fire is the metaphorical expression of the boundary where divides two different types of people. One

Everyone is a product of past experiences, Vahan Kenderian is no different. Vahan was a  twelve-year-old child from a wealthy Armenian family living in Bitlis, Turkey during the Armenian genocide in the early 1900’s. Within a two day span, Vahan’s life begins to fall apart, his father is taken away from him, two of his brothers are killed in front of him, his grandmother is also killed, and his sister kills herself. Vahan and his older brother fortunately escape, but are forced to abandon their mother and sister. Vahan then begins his journey to flee to Constantipole. During his journey, he encounters many people along the way who teach him life lessons. Firstly, his father Sarkis Kenderian gives strength and guidance to Vahan. Secondly, Ara Sarkisian the coppersmith teaches Vahan that home is not made of materialistic things, it is a feeling and time takes away everything. Lastly, Selim Bey advises Vahan to worry about himself, and to pick and choose his friends carefully. Therefore, Sarkis, Ara and Selim teach Vahan the most through their interactions and change his character for the better.

Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.

Through help and hurt, throughout the novel, Vahan Kenderian an Armenian twelve-year-old boy, experiences all kinds of different emotions and encounters many different types of people. These people help him reach the end of the Armenian genocide. This novel first takes place at Bitlis, a province located near the far east of Turkey where mass amounts of Armenian people were located at the time. This genocide occurred during 1915 to 1918 and started because the Turkish government felt threatened by the Armenian people. Consequently, more than 1.5 million Armenians had perished and in 1918 the genocide had finally ended. Vahan being a very spoiled and vulnerable boy in the beginning of the book, meet various people that throughout his long journey help him change and grow in many traits he did not possess before. One of the many people that help Vahan grow as a person is Ara Sarkisian, the seventy-five-year-old Armenian coppersmith from Sivas, teaches Vahan that your real home isn't located anywhere else except for your own heart. In addition, a girl who lived with the German Consul named Seta not only showed Vahan how to truly love, however, also teaches him not to get attached or else you’ll end up getting hurt in the end. Lastly, one of the most important people in Vahan’s life would be his father Sarkis Kenderian. His father shows a full understanding of how being strong in this world will always let you prevail in the end. In conclusion, Ara Sarkisian helps Vahan

In Adam Bagdasarian’s historical novel Forgotten Fire, the characters experience the stage of genocide known as Dehumanization, which encourages members of a certain group to be treated as less than human. After listening to Vahan’s startled reports about Seranoush being raped, Selim Bey explains, “No, she was brought here for the soldiers, not you” (Bagdasarian). By saying that Seranoush was brought for the soldiers, Selim Bey is implying that she is an object that can be given as a gift or reward for the soldiers. She is an item with one purpose only, to pleasure soldiers until she dies. It is obvious that the soldiers do not care enough to even keep her alive for future “relief”, so she is not just seen as any object, but a disposable

Ilan Stavans says that Juan Rulfo’s book, The Plain in Flames, is best represented by the phrase realismo crudo. Stavans defines this phrase as “a type of realism interested in the rawness of life”, meaning that he characterizes Rulfo’s writing as an unfiltered view into the lives of the average Mexican (Stavans, xi). By writing in this style, Rulfo is able to provide “an image—instead of just a description—of our landscape” as stated by Octavio Paz (xv). To create this image, Rulfo broke his story writing the process down into three separate steps. As paraphrased by Ilan Stavans, the first step “is to create a character”, the second step “is to place him in an environment where he might move around” and the third step “is to discover how the character expresses himself” (xiii). Rulfo was able to repeatedly crafted stories that were filled with high levels of realismo crudo by using that special three-step process. By creating his protagonist, crafting an environment for said protagonist, and allowing the character to express themselves within this environment, Rulfo crafted a three-tier image of post-revolutionary life in Mexico that has never been seen before.

Fields of Fire by James Webb is a historical novel first published in 1978 that takes place in the year 1969 during the Vietnam War. Although there are many characters that are significant to the story, the novel focuses mainly on three marines who find themselves in a platoon with each other; Robert E. Lee Hodges, “Snake,” and Will “Senator” Goodrich. Webb gives the reader a great, detailed background of each of these characters through a combination of both direct and indirect characterization. As the novel progresses, major events that occur include battle and violence, loss and coping, and learning. The themes that naturally

“Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield is a historical fiction novel that describes the Spartans at The Battle of Thermopylae. The story is told from the perspective of the only survivor, Xeones, who is recovered and captured by the Persian Empire. Some argue that this novel is not a great source for 21st-century history students, and some also argue that this novel should not be read in a classroom setting due to its lack of historical content. Several even question the novel’s historical accuracy and find it to be no better than a traditional textbook. Although this novel is classified as fiction, a literary works of imagination, Pressfield’s description of the Spartans makes this novel a creditable source for students and makes it appropriate to read in a college environment.