Firefighters: A Fictional Narrative

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.

In the story Martin, we take a look into the childhood life of Vaca and his friends. Quick to defeat his neighbors in this run-down town, they rule the neighborhood. However their power would in fact be challenged by a bizarre figure known as Martin. In their encounter, Vaca would learn that appearances can be deceiving.

However, this fails to account for Martin’s dad’s and the lady on the elevator’s actions because for one, Martin’s dad continuously, non-stop insults his own son, making him feel like a disappointment. If one was to be treated like that by their own father, one would also think that they would be hurt or affected in some way. Martin is not acting irrational or making a big deal of his situation, if anything, he reacted normally. Like I said before, in the story after Martin goes to his dad seeking for help, his dad starts insulting him and calling him names, what does one think he should do at twelve when you look to your father because you have no mother and all his dad does is insult him? Therefore Martin is doing well in his situation because he tries not to cry as the story says, he only cries when his situation is unbearable which is appropriate in this situation.

1. Throughout the story suspense is aroused and maintained excellently. This is achieved by the character the author creates. Mr. Martin is characterized as a neat and cautious man, who never took a smoke or a drink in his life. Our suspense is aroused when the author states that it has been “a week to the day since Mr. Martin had decided to rub out Mrs. Ulgine Barrows”. This arouses our suspense because we are told Mr. Martin is planning to murder this woman. The suspense is maintained with Mr. Martin’s thoughts. We as an audience are given his thoughts through the use of the 3rd person omniscient point of view. His thoughts are mostly on the issue on his dislike of Mrs. Barrows. Because of this, he

There are situations that impact your everyday life that’s when we call the “Firefighters”. Their lifestyle is risky, they serve the people. Firefighters truly deserve the respect and honor from the community, at the same time, this is a way of showing gratitude for their courage. The firefighter station that I visited was the fire department in San Fernando called “ Station 98”, and their agency is Los Angeles Fire Department, it has been around since 1886.

Burrows’. This is the moment he is visualizing repeatedly, and one can assume that he will take her life once he sneaks in. There is no reasonable explanation he would be here. This woman was nothing other than a nuisance to him, and it is obvious he is showing up with unpleasant intentions. He does not walk in as a guest, he prowls like a poisonous snake, on the move for his prey. Once he is clear of potential witnesses, he makes his way to her door where she stands. This shocks him and he moves into swift motion and, “He rushed past her like a football tackle”(3). Mrs. Barrows blows it off with a snarky comment, but there is suspicion lingering, when he questions if there is anyone else there. Sadly, she does not head warning, but instead she answers him concluding they are indeed alone, and he is at ease. Frantically, he scans the room for the weapon for murdering her. Mr. Martin is not a hunt for any weapon, the text reads, “Mr. Martin looked quickly around the living room for THE weapon”(3). The search for something to hit her with is not random, it is the weapon he assumes would be available, as mapped out. Initially, his plan all along was to kill her with whatever he found in her place. Following, he catches sight of a knife and he test if it is sharp enough, but came to a loss because, “It was blunt. It wouldn’t do”(4). Obviously, this is a red flag, especially considering how much he despises her. Not only is he seeking the appropriate sharp object, he also makes sure to retain his gloves, in case there is a residue of blood or fingerprints. Once he fails to find a dagger, a sudden thought arises. Instead of striking her dead, he realizes it is possible to deceive her. As he lies, he still throws back a drink and smokes to further eliminate the chances that his employees believe

Glancing toward the bridge window, she noticed the captain’s chair wasn’t bolted down. Walking over, she grabbed the chair and began smashing it into the door. After a few minutes of swinging the chair and uttering a number of colorful metaphors, she collapsed, exhausted. She was going to die here. There was no way out of this.

On page 82, as Martin finally discovered the painful answer for the questions that had haunted him for month , Martin felt hurt than ever, especially when Martin's eyes reached Cesar's stare. Martin realized that revenge was a bad solution for his problem, that he was not the only victim of gang violence, that his family was not the only one that had to suffered the consequense from this battle. That answer is expressed clearly through Cesar and Martin compared how painful the answer was by using metaphors "his stare cutting me deeper than any blades". Martin's sourness was worse than any wound that caused by any blades. Violence always painful!

This sends Dr. Martin over the edge because he does not have any support from his family or professionals and he attempts to kill Bob, this comes to another severe breakage of ethnical boundaries.

In today's superficial society, there are many stereotypes and groups into which people are categorized. There are also many people that are celebrities, who many ordinary citizens see as leaders in life. Many high-end sports figures such as Michael Jordan or Ray Lewis are seen as heroes and idols to many youths in America and around the globe. However, what they do is not really heroic; rather it is merely grown men playing a game. After the tragic events or September 11th, another type of hero, a true hero, has come to be heralded in America. The courageous men in this group are called firefighters, and protect citizens twenty-four hours a day, seven

From the beginning of the story, Martin’s father describes him as a coward, bad at sports and other rude things, “Not only are you skinny and weak and bad at sports, his expression seemed to say, but you’re also a coward.” This was his father’s advice to him because of Martin’s behavior with the elevator, and he ran all the way up the stairs because he didn’t want to take it. Afterwards, Martin forced himself to take the elevator. “He would have to get used to it, he told himself, just the way he got used to being bullied at school, and always picked last for teams. Martin should not be afraid of the elevator because it is just a silly thing to be afraid of the elevator.

I know the woman was stalking Martin because the story says, “She stood with her back to the door, wheezing, staring directly at Martin.” “She had to be crazy. Why else would she stare at him like that?” This proves that the woman was stalking Martin because the story ended as the woman spoke and said, “Hello Martin, she said, and laughed and pushed the stop button on the elevator. Martin got onto the elevator because he didn't believe in himself, and believed his father and got stuck in the elevator with the woman.

Although Martin’s family faces dilemmas, the love in the family remains evident. Initially, the devotion that Martin shows towards his children illustrates his good nature. Martin views his children’s faces as “radiant as flower petals, equally loved” (103). Moreover illustrating his love for his children, Martin “kissed the tiny hand that lay palm-upward” (103). Furthermore, Martin’s hope to hold his family together exhibits his affection for his family. Martin constantly attempts to calm his wife in order to avoid displays of anger(101). “Please go upstairs,”(101) Martin begs of his wife so the children do not get upset seeing their mother frustrated. Lastly, the physical and emotional desire for Emily that Martin has, further shows how he cares for his family. Comforting his wife, Martin exhibits his love for her(104). Martin watched Emily as she slept and his “old anger vanished”(104).

I truly enjoyed reading the material for this week 's discussion. I found it fascinating to read how these people of passion were so revered as leaders. Something I found difficult while reading the stories of these various leaders was the details of what they did within their respective industries that made them successful. Although I recognize the importance of the details, I found myself continually fanaticizing about how the many different approaches would directly translate to the fire service. Because of the uniqueness of the fire service as an industry, I found it easier to relate to themes and concepts rather than the details. 'Strengths Based Leadership ' by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie For example Simon Cooper stated: "people create memories, not things. If we ask guests what color the carpet was in their guest room, they probably won 't know. The real value comes from the ladies and gentlemen (employees) who bring that hotel to life. Ten percent is the platform, but the rest is people. (Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 43) As I read this I couldn 't help but think of the fact that our customers in the emergency response world (fire service) likely remember more about how we treat them than what uniform we wear or what kind of apparatus we arrive in, so long as we bring true caring and compassion to their bedside. In addition Cooper 's people over platform approach was obvious in this Rath & Conchie description: "then when he talked of the night-and-day difference that a

Martin is searching for a solution to his problems that will keep all his loved ones safe. Martin Meadows is an ideal husband. He works hard in his office and his home. Martin is amazingly efficient, tending to the garden, decorating for Christmas, cooking for his children, and pulling their lose teeth. He longs for the days back in Alabama when his family was happy and alcohol was not a part of their lives. From the start of the story Martin is weary from the disappointment he has encountered in the changes seen in his wife.