Blog #5

Massey has three different side that are all fighting against each other in Torn. First there are the soldiers which is the side that Elinor is on. Then there is the Taliban which is who  the soldiers are mainly fighting to protect the people of Afghanistan. Then there is the fairly new group of the Young Martyrs made up of young boys who fight against both the soldiers and Taliban. At one point during a fight between the Young Martyrs and the Taliban, Elinor saw the mysterious girl get shot. The way Massey describes her reaction sums up how most would react to the situation with these young children going to war. "It is so sudden and so violent, this contrast between innocence and the wild reality of war, that I think I might throw up". These children, most probably younger than 14, going to war is tragic and it's hard to believe that this also happens today. Massey does an excellent job of bringing to light situations that some don't want to or refuse to believe but are sadly true.