Sacrifice In Marcus Luttrell's Life

At first glance, one might believe that Marcus Luttrell’s purpose for writing this novel would be to tell the story about what happened, but it goes deeper than that. Luttrell wants to make others understand the honor that his brothers had, that the only reason he lives is to tell the story of the men who fell for him. Luttrell states, “...I’m writing this book because of my three buddies, Mikey, Danny, and Axe. If I don’t write it, no one else will” (7). With this, you can see that his purpose is personal; that he loves his brothers and he wants everyone to know the selfless sacrifice and courage they had that ultimately ended up saving his own life.

But, although that is the main purpose for this book, Luttrell also wanted to honor the people who saved his life in the village in Afghanistan who also gave their lives for his. He writes about he had never seen a more “selfless act” from anyone in his life, and that no matter what you may have heard or thought, there are good people out there (387). And one thing Luttrell makes clear in this novel, he is no hero, the only reason he lives and the only reason he lives is because of his friends’ “ultimate sacrifice” (388).

This theme of “honoring those who fell” can be seen all throughout history. Fifteen years ago, a plane flew into the World Trade Center, destroying millions of

In my school, a girl named Shelby died fighting cancer. Our school did everything in their power to help her family, a family that had decided to raise money to help not only themselves but other families that are fighting cancer. They started selling bracelets, shirts, and other merchandise to raise money. “Fight like a girl,” this was their title. Everyone knew of Shelby and how strong she had been. To this day, I’ve never forgotten about her and I’m sure any other student could say the same. By honoring her memory, Shelby became more than just a student. She became a