Cody

Lone Survivor

            Lone Survivor is an account of the untold heroic actions and tasks performed by Marcus Luttrell and his small group of U.S. Navy SEALs during their tour in Afghanistan. The novel explains how Luttrell became a SEAL, created friendships while overseas, and sharing their willingness and brotherhood in order to protect the very land they had sworn to defend against all enemies. Pinned down on a mountain by Taliban insurgents, Luttrell his comrades fought bravely, even while beat, shot, wounded, and through intense pain. Luttrell was the only survivor of this horrific encounter and lived to tell about it in this memoir. This novel is also an effective piece rhetoric, as Luttrell was extremely opinionated on the portrayal by the media of the wars in the Middle East.

            Luttrell’s main message in the novel is to reveal the untold acts of valor and hardships his men (and all other American soldiers) endured overseas. Since he feels not many people know what really happened, he wanted to convey and communicate his story to a new audience, the everyday American citizen, as a way to possibly change their prospective on the war. The state of the audience was most likely not sure what to believe before reading the novel. Much of the world also viewed American soldiers as cold hearted killers, and he wanted to change that.
           

            Along with the heroism in the novel, Luttrell expresses his extreme dislike to the American liberal media. According to Luttrell, the American media uses pathological appeals to spin what is really happening and show the American soldiers as unethical villains out to kill everyone in their path. This could be due to the unpopularity of the war, and in hypothetical terms, being unpopular with something unpopular is "popular". To Luttrell, this was very important and urgent to change. He utilizes himself as the expert and logically addresses the media’s portrayals. He relates the SEALs and himself as battered, broken, and shattered from what they endured, and how horrifying it is to lose a comrade in battles. He explains that he did not want the war more than anyone else. He doesn’t hate the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan. But he promised that when needed, he will answer the nation’s call, and he did.

​            Lone Survivor is fantastic piece of American literature and rhetoric that will be read for many years to come. It truly effectively answers the war’s unanswered questions about what the members of the military endured overseas in the Middle East. Luttrell effectively argues his views against the media and provides a firsthand prospective of the war. He has persuaded much of the audience though his appeals and offers the most clear, effective, communication on his points. People who do not even enjoy reading will not be able to put this book down. All Americans confused or disoriented about what happened in the Middle East should pick up this great novel.