Lying Banner in the Sky By: James Ramsey Ullman
The novel Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman is mainly about a 16 year old boy named Rudi Matt, who proves to everyone that Citadel Mountain is not impossible to climb. However, for Rudi to prove this, there were lies that had been said that put others in shock and disappointment. The first time someone lied, was when he ditched work one day to go to the Citadel. Old Teo who also works at the Beau Site Hotel, told everyone that he gave Rudi errands to run. This later backfired and Rudi got into trouble from his Mom Ilse and his Uncle Franz, until Captain Winter came and told them a story. Captain Winter is a man known to be a great Mountain Guide, however on this particular day he got stuck inside of a crevasse inside of the Citadel. If it wasn't for Rudi, who pulled him out, then Captain Winter would've died from the cold. After Captain Winter told the story, he asked Uncle Franz to climb the Wunderhorn Mountain. He also asked Rudi since he saved his life up at the Citadel. This mountain is not as cruel as the Citadel, and over 100 men climbed it in the past. Even though Rudi lied about where we went and ditched work, he still was able to meet Captain Winter and climb with him at the Wunderhorn. When they were climbing the mountain, Uncle Franz finally realized how important climbing is to Rudi, and also learned to trust others.
Another lie that happened in the novel, was when Rudi went back to the Citadel, because he found out that Captain Winter was going to be there. Before Rudi left, he left a note for his mom saying that he wouldn't be at work, and that he will be okay and she doesn't have to worry. At the Citadel, Rudi meets another great Mountain Guide named Emil Saxo. He tells both Captain Winter and Emil Saxo, that his Uncle Franz "let" him climb the mountain but when Rudi asked him, and refused to come. This lie also backfired because Uncle Franz found out that Rudi was climbing the Citadel because the men of Kurtal, was looking through a telescope and saw them. Uncle Franz took matters into his own hands, and sent 5 men to go to the Citadel and get Rudi down. During this time, Captain Winter and Emil Saxo didn't know that Rudi lied so they told him to get his Uncle Franz because Captain Winter really wanted to climb with him. Since Rudi lied and knew that his Uncle was going to be really mad, he did the opposite of what he was told, and began climbing more of the mountain, while Captain Winter and Emil Saxo went down to the village of Broli to get more supplies. Although Rudi refused and lied to Captain Winter and Emil Saxo, it was good for him to climb more of the Citadel, because he got to the fortress, which no man has ever got to. Up at the fortress, his dad if there as a ghost because he is watching over Rudi to make sure that he doesn't get hurt or die, like he did 15 years ago in the exact spot. Rudi learns to climb with other Mountain Guides, which he never done before, and also find the person he really wants to be.
Everyone has a time in their life, when times get difficult and they don't know what to do. Most people give up and think that it will help their problem but not doing anything. However, you should never give up; you should push through because nothing in life is impossible. Because there are many people that give up, and don't try, Coldplay wrote a song called "Fix You" so that people can listen to it, and hopefully get the message. In the song, they talk about "when you feel so tired, but you can't sleep". Rudi knew of the Citadel ever since he was little, so when he found out that one of his close friends, Captain Winter was going to climb it, he went to join him. He told him that his Uncle Franz "let" him climb the mountain, when really he escaped work, and didn't mention going to the Citadel. When they run out of supplies to use to climb the mountain, Captain Winter asks Rudi to go down to the village to get supplies, and also to ask his Uncle to climb with them, because it was Captain Winter's dream to climb with him. Since Rudi lied his way through it, he knew this was the last time on the mountain, so he decided to climb on. It became night and there was a snowstorm, and since Rudi didn't have any extra clothes, he was freezing. These lyrics match with his situation because was tired from climbing, but he couldn't sleep because the cold was keeping him up, and he didn't like the fact that he lied to Captain Winter. "Lights will guide you home/And ignite your bones". Rudi wanted to go home to his mom who was worried about him, but his body just couldn't move with the cold all around him. "When you love someone but it goes to waste." Rudi loved his mom truly, however the mom wants him to work at the Beau Site Hotel, so that he can become a worker when he grows up, but his love is into climbing, and one day he wants to become a great mountain guide, so he doesn't want his hard work to go to waste. In the end, Rudi never gave up, and he used all of his strength left to climb back down to where Captain Winter was.
Sometimes, you might have a challenging task that if asked of you, but you can't complete it because you think it's too hard for you. Everyone has that moment when they think that they are not good enough for something, when really you can do it without any problem. This song "Stand" by Rascal Flatts, is talking about never underestimating yourself, because when you work hard, you can do anything you out your mind to. He talks about how "when you get mad, you get strong" and In Rudi's case, he gets mad at himself when he can't climb a part on the mountain, or when he can't figure out a route. However when this happens, he learns to listen and not to second guess himself, or else he we wouldn't make it to the top. There was this onetime when Captain Winter was stuck in between a crevasse, and since Rudi was the only one there he knew that he had to help him out, or he would die. Since Rudi is only 16 years old and doesn't have that much muscle, it was hard for him to lift up a man over 150 pound. However he used all of this strength in him to help Captain Winter out safely. He put his mind to it, and completed the task of saving one's life, without giving up. "Every time you get up/and you get back in the race/one more small piece of you/starts to fall in place", this is quotes that remind me of Rudi because when he was on the mountain, there were times that he didn't know what to do because it was too steep and he wasn't able to grab onto anything. However, he found a way to keep picking at the rocks, so that he could climb on, and it worked and he reached the Fortress, which no man has ever gotten to. "Wipe your hands, shake it off". Rudi and all of the men, get tired easily on the mountain because they climb from early morning to late evening, and sometimes they don't have the strength to move on. When Rudi was helping Captain Winter out of the crevasse, he was extremely tired, but moved that aside so that he could save his life. Everyone has that time when they feel like giving up, even Rudi, but we also learn to push through and to never give up.