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Character Exercise

(HGG NOTE: Just moving this exercise here before we lose it in the comments)

His weathered lips cling to the half-lit Camel, wheezing as a cloud of smoke fills the room. He forces a husky cough, spewing phlegm into an empty mayonnaise jar along with remnants of the Camel. He moves the jar aside and struggles to prop himself up, his emaciated arms shrouded with tribal blueprints of a once perilous life. He strains to pull the tattered ie lava-lava around his scrawny frame, only to have it slip through his arthritic fingers.

***Just from this short blurb, tell me what kind of man you think he was and now has become***

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by TEINE O LE SEGAULA on May 18, 2009 at 1:53pm

:hmmm: from my point of view. this is a man that is very sick, maybe cancer and his hanging on to dear life, while smoking. and thats my 2 sene lol..... :D

Permalink Reply by Hamo Geek Girl on May 18, 2009 at 2:55pm

My first thought at that description is...

yyyuuuuuckk.

LOL

It also says he had a perilous life, so maybe a bit of a bad boy... reaping the fruits now of all his badness lol... See kids?? Don't start smoking!!

:lol:

Permalink Reply by Overstayer on May 18, 2009 at 6:59pm

i think this is a man, who stubbornly continues to smoke, while in the last few months of his cancer ridden life. He may have been a village rebel, with numerous tatoos that record his deeds throughout his life..

Permalink Reply by Ophelia on May 18, 2009 at 8:27pm

:hmmm: A DRUNK MAN WHO LOOKS LIKE A CAMEL, WEARING A LAVA-LAVA WHO IS ANOREXIC AND HAS A BAD CASE OF THE FLU. :rotfl:

WHAT??!! ... I WAS JUST BEING HONEST :whistle:

Permalink Reply by SECURITY on May 18, 2009 at 9:16pm

Sounds like a very sick and frail old man who must be a heavy smoker possibility with lung cancer or asthma. He seems to savor the taste of the tobacco as he draws it into his lungs like it maybe the last time he gets to smoke his camel before he dies.

Permalink Reply by Jodatoa on May 19, 2009 at 9:30am

"His weathered lips cling to the half-lit Camel",
Key word: "weathered," he could be of old age, in that his lips are weathered do to large amounts of exposure to the air.

"wheezing as a cloud of smoke fills the room."
Key word: "wheezing," he makes a whistling sound, and most likely has trouble breathing.

"He forces a husky cough, spewing phlegm into an empty mayonnaise jar along with remnants of the Camel. "
Key word: "phelgm," He 'forces' out thick mucus through the mouth into the jar, along with the Camel remnants. He doesn't want to, but this shows he is unable to control it. So he is not at all in good health.

"He moves the jar aside and struggles to prop himself up, his emaciated arms shrouded with tribal blueprints of a once perilous life."
Key words: "perilous" & "emaciated," He's arms are slowly started to waste away, probably due to old age. As he 'struggles' to prop himself up. He lived a 'perilous' life in that it was one that was dangerous, hazardous, and full of risks. He did not live an easy life, but he also did not live a 'boring' life.

"He strains to pull the tattered ie lava-lava around his scrawny frame, only to have it slip through his arthritic fingers."
Key words: "scrawny" & "arthritic," He is underweight, excessively thin. Most likely due to him being afflicted with arthritis.

In conclusion, this is a man, who lived a very perilous life, who is reaching the end of his journey. And we see this, through the spewing of phlegm, he's struggle to prop himself up, and his inability to pull his ie lava-lava around his scrawny frame. His tribal blueprints which shroud his emaciated arms, are his lasting memories of his journey. His Camel might be the only thing he knows that can ease the pain he feels because of the arthritis disease. If we only knew more of this man's life, and what he ventured through up to this point in his life, then we could garner a better analysis of his life, and his emotions now. But this is what I got out of this paragraph. Good read!

joda :(

Permalink Reply by Ophelia on May 19, 2009 at 9:37pm

:) Let's try this again

Brainstorming

I think he was a successful man, a man of distinction, (eh fe fe ia distinction :rotfl: ) a once wealthy man who could afford whatever his heart desired, but not the busness man that works in an office, more like a leader of a gang, or mob 'half-lit Camel' but some where in his life he took a wrong turn, made a wrong choice. I say "distinction" because if it were someone who was living paycheck to paycheck, something as expensive as a cig would not be left half-lit, but smoked right to the end to get their money's worth.

The "Empty mayonnaise jar along with remnants of the Camel" could represent his present life - empty. The only friend he has are his addictions. As he pushes one aside he turns to another one :fear: - probably drugs.

Okay...so here goes

I think this man was a well-known man, and most importantly a feared man a one perilous life. A successful one according to >‘the half-lit Camel’; where as those who were living paycheck to paycheck would not smoke just half but the whole stick, to get their money’s worth.

I think he was a leader of a gang >"perilous life" who relied on tobacco and needles to get by. And because of the position he held, he used it to his advantage and at one point in his life it got the better of him. The ‘empty mayonnaise jar’ could represent his present life – EMPTY. His only friends are his addictions; spewing into an empty jar, could be his way of dealing with his problems – keeping it all bottled up.

Personally, for some people who have fallen into this situation they would just give up; but this blurb suggests that he tried to get out of this crisis >"He moves the jar aside and struggles to prop himself up"."Emaciated arms shrouded with tribal blueprints ... tattered ie lava-lava ... only to have it slip through his arthritic fingers" his once coveted life slowly disapears is now only becoming a memory.

Permalink Reply by Jodatoa on May 20, 2009 at 6:22pm

Yeah I also saw that he was in the last days of his life, and he lived a tough one. And now he is just sitting back enjoying one of the few pleasures he has in life, the good ol' Camel!

joda :thumbup:

Permalink Reply by e-dog on May 20, 2009 at 5:40pm

He used to be a soldier who had fought in Korea and Vietnam. Enlisted at 17 and made a man or better yet a marine by 18. Raised his family with an iron fist, the other hand gently holding those dam camel non-filters and a cold Budweiser tall can. He was a soldier's soldier, retiring from the marines at 45 and then from the postal service at 65. His body was already retired.

He made sure his kids were married off and educated before allowing the secret sickness to take control - yet he meets this cancerous foe like the foes he battled in war- smiling and always knowing that the last one standing wins. " Shi@%, that was my last smoke".

LOL, that is who I think that is- thanks.

Permalink Reply by Jodatoa on May 20, 2009 at 6:20pm

I see all those war movies you like come into play here... :lol:

Classic depiction nonetheless, pure classic! :D

joda :thumbup:

Permalink Reply by tina =) on May 22, 2009 at 9:11am

dude this is a easy 0ne.

this is nigga is n0ne 0ther than..... the m0st evil man ever t0 walk/fly/h0p the universe.

DARTH VADER --->> DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!! *plays star wars theme s0ng*

Permalink Reply by Neta on June 27, 2010 at 12:47am

Never mind that he was a recepient, of the highest medal of honor: the coveted purple heart medallion and many other medals and decorations during his twenty years of service. He never got over his nightmarish flashbacks of the war zone in Vietnam. First class Sargeant Iosua Peleti of the US Marine Corps was wounded in action while serving the last of four tours of duty.

What had started as a recreational drug use amongst his platoon soon became an outlet for the hellish nightmare he could never shake off. Flashbacks of his fellow soldiers dying in a sea of red splatter, the genocide of village people, innocent women and children mercilessly murdered at the hands of renegades. He could never forget the targeted faces of the dead and dying. His only outlook to life was the memories and sounds of war, defying reality.

His wife left him, fearing for her life. Explosive violence raged in their marriage. She never knew when he would flip out, sometimes for no reason at all. For he drowned his fears and sorrow in the bottle. Alcohol ravaged his body and mind. It was his crutch to hold on to.

The son of a teacher. As a young boy, he lived a happy carefree life. The best athlete in his village. His favorite pastime was fishing and swimming in the ocean and rivers. The elders of the village, always commented on his respectful manner. Well liked and popular in school, Iosua had his future mapped out in fulfilling his purpose and destiny in life.

He fought for his country, for freedom and liberty. How ironic, because in his mind and spirit, he is still warring. Living a life of bondage.

As he lies in his bed chambers, surprisingly sober this time, he reminisces of his childhood days. His mind goes back, way back to when he first gave his life to Christ and in that moment of clarity, he has his first encounter with God! The shroud of despair and darkness dissipates, as Iosua cries out in utter desperation, "Help me, God!!!!!"
Then suddenly.........BAM!!! He is hit with the glory light of God, a laser of beaming light shooting down from heaven. "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST PRAISE!!!", he shouts! He is filled with the Holy Spirit! His legs muscles starts to twitch, he can't believe the numbness is subsiding for he hadn't attempted to walk in years, from the severest gout attack that left him handicapped. "Fa'afetai Iesu! Fa'afetai Iesu! Viia Oe!" the words are now flowing out of his mouth like honey dripping out of his tongue. He jumps up, runs out of his house, screaming, "I'm Free! I'm Free! Hallelujah!" "Hallelujah!"

He will later find out that the enemy of soul was ripped out of his spiritman. Years of bondage from the true enemy, the devil, had been exposed. The Light dispelled darkness. To have freedom in Christ......is soooo righteous. Supercool! He is a GOOD GOD!