255 lines
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Plaintext
255 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
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ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Essay on Fiction Writer ]
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[x]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [Tom Clancy ]
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[ ]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [ ]
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[ ]College [ ]Misc [ ]
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Dizzed: 10/94 # of Words:2309 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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There are many fictional books written to be enjoyed for their
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contents. However, the interest of the reader in the contents of a book is
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sometimes affected by the realism with which the plot is introduced. Tom
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Clancy is an author of many books concerning the military. He is one of
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the most outstanding authors for writing fictional novels to do with
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military. His novels The Hunt for Red October and The Cardinal of The
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Kremlin provide insights which will capture the imagination of many
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readers. Using historical facts, references to real military hardware and
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believable characters, Tom Clancy is able to develop believable plots.
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Tom Clancy's insight into history allowed him to write a very
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realistic and therefore believable plot. His use of historical events
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which actually took place and were incorporated into his stories allowed
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him to enhance motives for the fictional conflict. Many people who lost
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trust and belief in the Communist system defected to the United States and
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other countries. Through use of historical facts such as defection in The
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Hunt for Red October (THRO), Clancy is able to advance his plot.
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Defections for political reasons happened quite often during the Cold War.
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There were many defections in history starting back in World War II when
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famous people like Albert Einstein defected to the use because the Germans
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discriminated again him being Jewish (pg. 124-5, Vol. 9 Funk & Wagnalls
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Encyclopedia). The more recent occurance of defection to the US of a high
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ranking deputy chief of staff del Pi¤o D¡az happened in 1987 (pg. 24, "A
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flight to freedom"). Ramius was the main character in the novel who
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decided to defect. The character helps Clancy to develop reasons for which
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such a high ranking commander would defect and later cause conflict to
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occur between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The use of historical facts
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common during the Cold War was defection which made Communism infamous and
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Tom Clancy famous for the believable plot developed.
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Similarly in TCTK Clancy also uses historical facts to enhance his
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plot making it believable. Using a historical fact, Clancy shows how cruel
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the Communist system is with no respect for the humans but only for
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political power. The landing of a German teenager, Mathias Rust, inside
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the Red Square and his prosecution is brilliantly used to illustrate the
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KGB's way of thinking (pp. 226-7, TCTK). In June 1987 a German teenager
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landed in the Red Square in Soviet Union. He somehow managed to bypass
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sophisticated air defence systems and causing several bureaucrats to be
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fired by the Soviet Politburo (p. 24, "Destination Red Square"). The
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historical fact gave Tom Clancy the ground to make the Communist
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bureaucrats' characters more sensitive to treason for the fear of losing
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their position and therefore their power. Tom Clancy exploits the fear of
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the Communists to make them harder to infiltrate. The difficulty
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infiltrating the Soviet government is precisely what the author wanted and
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makes his plot more interesting by making it more complex.
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The historical facts are not the only way in which believable plot is
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introduced. The use of realistic characters allows the reader to believe
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in whatever outcome realism will cause. In THRO the astonishment which
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Ramius feels through his thoughts being revealed by the author are all
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realistic. They sound like an average person's reactions to a situation.
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"They know our name, Ramius was thinking, they know our name! How can
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this be? They knew where to find us--exactly! How? What can the
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Americans have? How long has the Los Angeles been trailing us?
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Decide--you must decide!" (pg. 248, THRO)
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Ramius wants to defect from Soviet Union and on one of his missions he
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disobeys orders. Nobody knew about his decision, not even the Americans to
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whom he wanted to defect. When Ramius received a message from one of the
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American submarines and mentions his submarine's name, Red October, he was
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astonished because Americans were not supposed to know about his wish to
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defect. It is only believable that a person who would not be suspected to
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know something would be surprised the way Ramius was. The circumstance
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that makes the entire event more believable is that Ramius also questions
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American intentions. He does not just decide right away that he will
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follow their suggestions. It is only after a long consideration that
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Ramius decided to follow American instructions. Ramius' character is
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developed in a way that through his conscious decisions Clancy is able to
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show that Ramius is like a real person. Through the believable character
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Clancy is also able to advance his plot in a convincing fashion by having
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Ramius defect.
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Another main character who is described as living a normal life is
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Jack Ryan. The character's appearance makes him a believable character.
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"He was physically unremarkable, an inch over six feet, and his
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average suffered a little at the waist from a lack of exercise
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enforced by the miserable English weather. His blue eyes had a
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deceptively vacant look; he was often lost in though, his face on
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autopilot as his ind puzzled through data or research material for his
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current book ... a wife he loved and two children he doted on, a job
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that tested his intellect..." (pp. 36-7, THRO) "The talent that had
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enabled him to pick winning stocks Ryan now applied to the CIA." (pp.
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44-5, THRO)
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The normal appearance of Jack and the fact that he was good at predicting
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winning stocks as a stock broker, made him believable in predicting future
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which was later his job as a CIA analyst. Jack's success in predicting
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Ramius' objective was believable, even though his predictions were so far
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fetched that they were considered crazy by other characters in the book.
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The actions of Jack Ryan and normal way of living allowed farther
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development of plot which was completely acceptable to the reader making
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the story believable.
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In TCTK the character Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov is also a
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believable fictional person. The death of his family and drinking, as many
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other people in Soviet Union do, made the person realistic enough to be
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believed in (pp. 58-9, Life in Russia).
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"The elder [son] had died in Hungary, Vatutin saw. Because of his
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political reliability he'd been taken from his military academy, along
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with a number of cadets, and sent to help suppress the 1956
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counterrevolution. A crewman in a tank--following in his [Filitov's]
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footsteps, he'd died when his vehicle had been destroyed... The
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second--also a tanker, Vatutin noted--died when the breech on the gun
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in his T-55 had exploded., Poor quality- control at the factory, the
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bane of Soviet industry, had killed the whole crew ... and when had
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his wife died? The following July. Broken heart, probably, whatever
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the medical explanation had been. The File showed both sons had been
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models of young Soviet manhood. All the hopes and dreams that just
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have died with them, Vatutin thought, and then to lose your wife,
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too." (pg. 211, TCTK)
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His misfortunes caused by the State created a realistic reaction of a human
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being. Filitov turned against the Soviet Union and became an American spy.
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The defection was easily accepted by the reader because of Filitov's past
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and reason for anger and lost trust for the Soviet State. With a realistic
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character and importance which Filitov held as a spy helped develop a
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believable plot.
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Another character in TCTK who greatly contributed to the plot's
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approval by the reader was the behaviour of a true Communist and a human
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being, Colonel Vatutin. He, like many other characters, made decisions
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based on his beliefs about the State and also out of fear for losing power
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(pg. 209, TCTK). Vatutin was so brainwashed, like other high ranking
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officials, that he really believed in what he was doing. Anyone speaking
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out against the government should have been punished. Vatutin also did
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his job solely to get promoted to higher levels of bureaucracy at one point
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thinking: "And [I] actually believed that [I] could advance [my] career."
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(pg. 212-3, TCTK). By convicting the high ranking spy who infiltrated the
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Soviet Union's military projects Vatutin thought he was going to rise in
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the ranks. Understanding the circumstances described earlier in the book
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it would have been a normal human reaction of trying to hold the power like
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Vatutin did. Most humans would like to have some kind of power and respect
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and that is why Vatutin is a believable character who wants that power just
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a bit more than others. Vatutin's character was very believable allowing
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the reader to accept the plot.
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The characters presented were not the only believable aspect in the
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novel. The authenticity of military hardware being referred to bring one
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of the most convincing aspects of the plot developed by the author. Tom
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Clancy makes numerous references to the "USS Dallas" as a 688 Los Angeles
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class nuclear submarine (pp. 4-5, The Hunt for Red October). The actual
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submarines portrayed in the novel, like the nuclear submarine described
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actually exists today (pp. 154-5,166 High-Tech Warfare). The ships
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referred to as "America", "Nimitz" and "Kennedy" are also used in the book
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(pg. 239, THRO). These ships are actual names of aircraft carriers in
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service to-date (pp. 152, 156 High-Tech Warfare). All the military weapons
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are used appropriately for the tasks assigned providing sea support to the
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characters. The effective use of military hardware allows for the reader's
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imagination to take over. It is easier to imagine a real life plane
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lifting off. The references to real military hardware allowed the reader
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to experience the action by imagining existing machines doing all the
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action and adding to the realism of the plot.
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The planes like F-15, F-16 or A-10 are used in The Hunt for Red
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October to provide air support to the characters in action (pp. 91, 127,
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207, TCTK respectively). The authentic planes add to the excitement which
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allows the reader to imagine existing hardware used strengthening the
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author's story. The air support also adds to the realism which builds a
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believable plot. The EC-2 and EC-3 AWACS used in the book are actual planes
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still used by the military today (pg. 195, US Air Force and pg. 100, Spy
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Planes). The use of radar planes provides Jack Ryan with valuable
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information which allows him to make decisions which dramatically but
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believably change the course of the future (pp. 91, 192, THRO). Jack would
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have never known the Soviet military movements if the radar planes would
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never be in the air. The coordination of other planes, in one of which
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Jack himself was on, also were the responsibility of the AWACS planes
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without which Jack would probably die because of a Soviet air strike about
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to happen (pp. 172-3, THRO). The highly militarized operations in the sea
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which the author describes are supported by existing military hardware
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which makes Clancy's plot acceptable to the reader.
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In The Cardinal of The Kremlin Tom Clancy discusses why the character
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like Narmonov wants to cut a deal with the US to cut on the number of
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nuclear missiles. The use of real weapons in existence today makes
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Clancy's job easier because the reader can associate the fictional story to
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the real situation today. The definitions like ICBMs or nuclear missiles
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like SS-25 are actual weapons in existence today (pg. 70, US Air Force).
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The SS-25 were made famous for their role during the Cuban Missile Crisis
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and many readers would associate their knowledge or simply believe in the
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description of the missiles Tom Clancy gives. The use of the ground weapons
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also added to the realism of the setting which made the plot believable.
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The actual battle fought on the ground by the mudjaheddin rebels who were
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only armed with US made Stinger missiles made the story more realistic (pg.
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16, TCTK). The rebels did not have good ground weapons but they inflicted
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heavy casualties among the Russians because of the Stinger missiles they
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somehow managed to get (pp. 120-121, High-Tech Warfare). The rebels were
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not portrayed as heavy armoured fighters but they did have weapons which
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actually existed and were used against Soviets at the time. The armament
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of the Afghan rebels with AK-47 automatic rifles and the Stinger missiles
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used by them was very convincing (pg. 125, High-Tech Warfare). The
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realistic weapon combinations that were actually used by the rebels made
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the author's story many times more believable.
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Tom Clancy often used specific references to historical facts,
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characters' personality and references to real military hardware to
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convince the reader of the believable plot in both novels. Even though
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much of the book was fiction, Clancy managed to convince the reader through
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the use of many facts that his plot was real. The believable plot allowed
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Tom Clancy to gain the reader on his side and made him one of the most
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unique authors today. Tom Clancy's books like The Hunt for Red October and
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The Cardinal of The Kremlin mention historical facts, contain believable
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characters and refer to existing weapons present a very convincing plot.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Binyon, Michael. Life in Russia. Great Britain: Hamish Hamilton
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Ltd., 1983.
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Bram, L. Leon. Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. Funk &
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Wagnalls Inc., 1980, rev. 1986.
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Clancy, Tom. The Hunt for Red October. Annapolis: Naval Institute
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Press, 1984.
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Clancy, Tom. The Cardinal of The Kremlin. New York: G.P. Putnam's
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Sons, 1988.
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Gunston, Bill. Spy Planes: Guide to Recce/Electronic Aircraft. New
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York: Prentice Hall Press, 1983.
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Gunston, Bill. Military Helicopters: Guide to Military Rotorcraft.
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New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1986.
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Levin, Bob with Austen, Ian. "Destination Red Square." Mcleans, 100
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(June 8, 1987), 24.
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"A flight to freedom." Mcleans, 100, (June 8, 1987), 24.
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Richardson, Doug and Gunston, Bill and Hogg, Ian. High-Tech
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Warfare. New York: Crescent Books, 1991.
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Roberts, Michael. United States Air Force. London: Brian Todd
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Publishing House Limited, 1989.
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