Four Steps To Death #5

                    I thought that the ending of this novels was going to be the same as in any other war novel. As an example, I thought the ending was going to be like, an army defeats the other army and that all. But the novel´s ending has been one of the most amazing ending I have ever read in any novel. Not because it has been different from any other war novel´s ending, but because it something you do not even expect in a drama novel.

               As the novel goes on the German and the Russian armies meet together. As I said before Conrad, Vasily, and Sergei, the novel´s main characters, have not meet before, but this is the moment they met together. When this two powerful armies meet, on of the most bloodiest and important battles starts. Many soldier of both sides of the armies got killed, or have killed. But at last Conrad, the German soldier, and his brother are safe and victorious of the battle. 

          But at the time everything seems fine, Josef, Conrad´s brother, got killed. But Josef is not killed by an ordinary soldier, he is killed by a sniper shot of Vasily and Yelena, the women who is his companion. Then in vengeance, Conrad gets a bag of grenades and goes to where Vasily and Yelena are hiding. Conrad decides to activates the bag´s grenades into the hiding place killing Yelena and Vasily. At last, Conrad is shot dead by young Sergei.      

               I think the ending of the novel has been one of the best endings I ever read. I also believe this is a really dramatic ending for a war novel, so is a really unexpected ending for me, making it so amazing.

Four Steps To Death #4

               The novels starts with Sergei, who is the little kid living his childhood in between the war. But when the novel starts, Sergei is now an old men. Sergei works as a police officer in Volgograd. He is called to work for the case of two bodies that have been found in a building that is being excavated in Volgograd, a Russian city. I think this a really interesting because Sergei grow in a environment full of death and war. And having him working as a police men is really helpful, because he has an idea of how cruel the world can turn to be. After he began to study the bodies, a series of flashbacks came to Sergei´s mind. Must of them were when he was a child in Stalingrad, Volgograd´s old name. I think this kind of memories Sergei has really gives me an idea of how traumatic a war can be in a child´s childhood, and how it can affect the way they may be are after it. 

               Also, in this novel is Vasily, a Russian soldier.  Vasily is a really patriotic men, who becomes really attached to a women and to his army. He entered to the Russian army as a sniper force, and he believes that his army will take control over the Nazi army. But, as time goes on the army becomes unpatriotic, this feeling really affected Vasily, but this did not matter to him and he continued with his war. I think the way the author shows in the novel how a person can love so much his or her country gives me an idea that people are able to kill other human being just for their country, don´t even caring about his or her morals. But also, shows that a person can make a difference in a in a large group such as an army, which in this case made people think like him. Helping him met his main goal.

               At last is Conrad, a German tank leader. He believes that his army will defeat the Russians, but also he feels lucky because he has his father's honor medal named ¨Iron Cross¨ from World War I as a good lucky charm. I think this is a typical war soldier. Like in all wars there is a soldier who believes his army will defeat the enemy army and has luck on his side. But in the other hand, this shows how realistic the novel is, because it shows the different ways soldiers act in wars such as Vasily and Conrad.

Four Steps To Death #3

               I think that “Four Steps to Death” by John Wilson has been for me, a really original novel. No because of the information the novel contains, but the real reason is I really liked the format the novel has. One of the things I most liked about the novels was the way the novel is distributed. The novel is not a story that continuously keeps going on, instead it is divided in the main characters point of view. This division shows how the characters are thinking, but also how they react to the war. Also, I really likes how that novel´s distribution keeps going on with the story, instead of breaking down into several short stories.

                I really liked that the novel takes place in the year 1942, because most of the most interesting and important battle were fought near this year. One of those, is the battle of Stalingrad, who is is known to be one of the most bloodiest battles in the whole world history. This battle is the one taking place in the novel, making it really interesting if the reader likes war stuff. I personally do not like so much war novels, because the content most of the war novels have are basically the same. But this novels is so much better than other war novels I have read before.

      

               In the novel "Four Steps To Death" by John Wilson there are three main characters. One of the novel´s main characters is Vasily a Russian soldier, who company in the war is his girlfriend on the army. Also, there is Conrad a German soldier, who goes on to the war with the company of his brother. And at last, there is the little kid named Sergei, who is a normal citizen in between the armies battle.

              One of the things I most liked about this novel´s characters is that none of them get to know each other at first, instead the get to know each other at the end of the battle. But, as the novels keeps going on each one of them give their opinions about the war, giving the reader the opportunity of imagining how each one of them survived to the battle. I strongly believe this is really great because this gives an idea how people live during wars are fought.

Four Steps To Death #2

               In the novel "Four Steps To Death" by John Wilson, there were several issues that Conrad, Sergei, and Vasily, the novel´s main characters, had to face as the war keeps going on. This issues were most likely affecting the way they see their life, but also how they act under certain circumstances, such as living in a high-stress environment, or having the feeling of guilty on the decisions the had been making.

               One of them is patriotism, this issue is one of the strongest obstacles main characters were facing in the novel. But patriotism was not influencing Sergei, who is the little kid in the novel, but it did affect Conrad and Vasily, who are the armies´ soldiers. Patriotism played a significant role during this novel, because it did not affected physically to these main characters, but it did affected them psychologically. The way patriotism affected these main characters is that as the war keeps going on Conrad and Vasily had to face the consequences of being part of an army, that it killing other human being. I believe that being art of a soldier in a war, is basically knowing that you have to kill other people, but as the novel keeps going on the reader can observe how these soldiers killing other affects the way to see things around them.

               I think that one of the themes of the novel is shown throughout the character´s beliefs & reactions underpression. I think that one's patriotism in which your General gives you orders that go against your beliefs such as killing a person leads into a high-stress and high-trauma enviroment to the main character, which psychologically tears him apart. 

Four Steps to Death #1

               I believe that “Four Steps to Death” by John Wilson is a really outstanding novel, because it has really realistic perspectives on it. It is not of those typical war books who narrates how two armies fought between each other, and how one beat the other one. In  “Four Steps to Death” by John Wilson reality is really impressive, because it shows the reader how war may affect a citizens life, but also this novel shows how armies think while fighting in wars.

               As an example, this novel shows the war from different armies fighting between them, which are the Germans and the Russians. But also, the novel shows how a citizen, in this case a kid, faces the war during his childhood.  This gives the reader the idea of show a normal person may react under those specific circumstances. I believe this is one of the most important parts of this novel, because this directly connects with any reader, who is not involved in military activities. Although, the reaction may be different from the reader than from the little kid, it gives an idea to the reader of how he will most likely react under those circumstances.  

               Also, one of the most interesting perspectives narrated in the novel is from a German soldier named Condrad, who is one of the main characters in the novel. In instance, his is a really interesting character in the novel. I believe this is true, because as the novel goes on as a reader you can notice how his family, and his emotions affect the way his sees the war, and the army itself. 

               Also there is the perspective from a Russian soldier named Vasily, who is also one of the main characters in the novel. His live as Conrad´s is also narrated in the novel, but also his strong believes of being the strongest army and patriotism took control over his actions. 

               I think that this type of writting is really intresting because it brings real feelings, and thought of war to the novel, but also I could notice how this soldiers saw the war in different ways giving me an idea of how armies react, and think at wars. Also this book, is one of the most historically correct novels I ever read, such as “Mouz” & “The Diary of Anne Frank”.