Summary of the Book
The Bridges of Toko-ri was originally a novella by author James A Michener and was published in 1953 and later on the novella was depicted as a movie in 1954. The Bridges at Toko-Ri is set during the Korean War, and focuses on the efforts of American Navy fighter pilots, to take out the heavily guarded bridges set in a narrow valley in North Korea. Harry Brubaker, one of the jet pilots on board and the main character, is a civilian called back into service against his will, having already served in World War II. Brubaker did his duty in World War II, there was public sacrifice and support for that war, but now the war is utterly anonymous in the American mind: “It would be easier to take if people back home were helping. But in Denver nobody even knew there was a war except for my wife. Nobody supports this war.” Others on board are enlisted men, including green hat wearing Mike Forney and Admiral Tarrant, who views Brubaker as a his son. Brubaker resents being brought to Korea and hates the war he is fighting.
Tarrant has lost two sons to war and his wife to a spiraling insanity brought on by their deaths. He has paid the costs of war, he knows what those costs are but he is certain of their necessity “All wars are stupid,” grumbles one of the older officers on board and Tarrant would not disagree but he is also convinced that war is necessary: “you fight to save your civilization.“
When Brubaker makes his first go at the bridges, he sees that bravery in the men around him: “Sometimes you look honor right in the face. In the face of another man. It’s terrifying.”
Tarrant has lost two sons to war and his wife to a spiraling insanity brought on by their deaths. He has paid the costs of war, he knows what those costs are but he is certain of their necessity “All wars are stupid,” grumbles one of the older officers on board and Tarrant would not disagree but he is also convinced that war is necessary: “you fight to save your civilization.“
When Brubaker makes his first go at the bridges, he sees that bravery in the men around him: “Sometimes you look honor right in the face. In the face of another man. It’s terrifying.”
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Movie Pilot AThis movie pilot was done by Ariane, Owen, Kennedy, and Alexis. They based their pilot off of important scenes from the book plot and scenes that answered the driving questions of their project.
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Movie Pilot B |
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