Essay/Term paper: Licence to kill

Essay, term paper, research paper:  English Composition

1. The three qualities that I felt James Bond most possessed throughout the story



were determination, bravery, and intelligence. In the next several paragraphs I will explain



how incidents in the story revealed each quality portrayed by James Bond.



Determination

In the beginning of the story a drug lord named, Frans Sanchez, severely injures



James Bond"s partner, Felix Leiter, and kills his wife Della Leiter after escaping an



attempted arrest by Felix. After this incident Bond becomes determined to capture



Sanchez, bring his drug empire down, and avenge what he had done to his partner and



close friend Felix Leiter. Bond shows such strong determination that he disobeys his chief,



"M", and the secret service branch of London in order to continue his mission with



Sanchez. Bond was ordered by "M" to drop the case and head to Istanbul where he would



be briefed on his next mission. However, Bond told his chief that he was not done with his



mission and that if he was not allowed to continue with it he would have to resign from



the secret service. Determined to bring Sanchez down and avenge all the pain which his



friend inflected he eventually gave in his resignation and became a free agent.



Intelligence

James Bond shows intelligence throughout the entire story. From his surprising



attack tactics, to how he tricks villains and enemies into doing exactly what he wants.



Bond was the type of man that was usually in control of the situation. There comes a point



in the story where Bond must figure a way out to turn two major druglords against each



other, William Krest and Frans Sanchez, in order for him to gain the trust of Sanchez so



he can learn more about his drug organization and what he was about. He devises a plan



that convinces Sanchez that Krest was stealing millions of dollars from him and that he



was going to meet with the Chinese to plan an assassination in his name. Eventually Bond

thinks of a way to set Krest up so that Sanchez believes him. The plan was so well though



out that it surprised me how intelligent Bond actually was. He was in complete control of



everything that happened and he eventually gained the trust of Sanchez and was granted



permission to go to his secret drug plant in Isthmus city.



Bravery

There are many times throughout the story where James Bond shows bravery and



courage. For example in one chapter in the story Bond attempts to enter an aquarium,



owned by William Krest, where he believes Sanchez is using submergible robots to



transport cocaine to ships out in the sea. Not knowing exactly what was inside, Bond



sneaks into the warehouse through tunnels located under the aquarium. Once inside he



encounters several enemies which cause problems for him. However, Bond makes the



reader feel that he is fearless as he goes in and takes out each enemy one by one in such a



professional matter, that of which you would expect from a secret agent. Bond survives



this part of the story and eventually escapes to follow Sanchez towards his secret estate.



2. Beowulf and James Bond each encounter enemies and get involved in battles



which are actually quite similar to each other. In Beowulf, the hero encounters a fire



breathing dragon that has attacked his city and eventually will kill him when they battle



one another. There is also a point in the story where Bond faces a challenge, like that of



Beowulf, where he is put to the test and comes close to his death.



Bond was attempting to assassinate Sanchez by means of using a sniper rifle and



shooting at him from a near by building. While in position and ready to fire, Bond



becomes ambushed by two Chinese ninjas, hired by Krest to capture him and find out



more about him. The two ninjas were a great challenge for Bond as the dragon was for



Beowulf. Also comparable to Beowulf Bond decides to fight the ninjas in hand to hand



combat even though he is armed, just like when Beowulf fought Grendel in the mead hall.



Bond was able to hold them off for a while but eventually the two ninjas were to much for



him. As this part of the story moves along Bond gets to the point where he can barely



fight back and is helplessly nearing his death. In Beowulf, the hero is let to fight the



dragon alone until Wiglaf comes to his aid and helps him to defeat the dragon. In the story



Bond is about to receive a death blow when suddenly Pamela Bouvier and Chinese



officers break in and help Bond. They arrest the ninjas and save Bond from near death. As



you can see there were several parts in the story I read that were similar in a way to



Beowulf.



3. Mostly throughout the story, James Bond was always in control of what was to



happen to him as well as others. However, like every hero in a story he faces many



obstacles which cause him to lose control of his fate. In the next two paragraphs I will



discuss two incidents from the story. One where he is in control of his fate, and one where



he is not.



Bond was a very intelligent individual that planned his ideas and tactics so well that



he always knew the outcome and consequences of his plans. For example, when Bond



came up with the plan to turn both druglords against each other he knew exactly what was



going to occur. I will discuss this in more detail. Bond realized that in order for him to get



close to Sanchez and his organization he had to eliminate obstacles that were a threat to



him. Bond saw that Krest was causing problems for him, therefore he planned to frame



Krest in order to the trust of Sanchez for the purpose of his mission. Bond was in



complete control of what was about to occur. He framed Krest and causes Sanchez to

believe that Krest was also plotting to assassinate him. Bond also placed suitcases filled



with Sanchez"s money in Krest"s meeting room so that Sanchez could believe that Krest



was stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from him. Bond would eventually become



close to Sanchez and is granted permission to visit his secret drug plant in Isthmus city.



An incident in which Bond does not have any control over his fate is when he is in



the city of Isthmus at Sanchez"s drug plant. One of Sanchez"s men, Dario, reveals the true



of James Bond to Sanchez. Bond would eventually be held captive when Sanchez finds



out he was a former secret agent and that he was involved in his arrest a few weeks



earlier. Unable to escape he loses control of his fate and does not know what is about to



happen to him next. Bond is held in a room where he will wait for two of Sanchez"s men



to take him to the grinding machine where he will be left to die. Eventually Bond holds on



to the walls of the grinding machine for dear life, but eventually his friend Pamela Bouvier



comes to his rescue once again and he escapes again to go after Sanchez.



4. The main conflict affecting James Bond throughout the story was that he was



attempting to capture Sanchez and bring down his empire because he had caused severe



injury to his partner, Felix Leiter, and had killed Felix"s wife which was a close friend of



Bond. Revenge was his main objective. However, this was not easy for Bond, as outside



resistance became normal to him after every attempt to capture Sanchez failed. For



example, when he was trying to assassinate Sanchez, two Chinese ninjas ambushed him

and



ruined the attack.



Bond solves his problem in the end of the story when he finally kills Sanchez. After



Bond had destroyed Sanchez"s drug plant, Sanchez makes an attempt to escape with six



gasoline tankers filled with a liquefied cocaine substance. In the process, Bond destroys



each tanker one by one ending Sanchez"s drug trade. The last tanker to be destroyed



spilled the substance, which also had gasoline mixed with the coke, all over the road they



were on and also on Sanchez"s clothes. Sanchez attempted to kill Bond with a machete,



but Bond merely took out his lighter and flicked it at Sanchez. Bond at this moment said, "



This is for Felix," and set Sanchez on fire killing him with much pain. Bond had avenged



his partner and solved his conflict. He destroyed Sanchez and his empire all at once.



Bond suffers severely in the entire process. From physical pain as well as mental



pain. His close friend and partner, Felix, was brutally tortured as Sanchez tried to feed



him to the sharks. This really affected Bond emotionally. That is why he wanted to avenge



his partner. Throughout the story bond suffers physical pain as he is in constant fights and



dilemmas with many individuals. Bond is also forced to resign from the agency which he



so adored for many years. This too affects him emotionally as he misses the secret agency.



However, they do help him out throughout the story. Overall, Bond suffers through the



entire process but is able to overcome them as he finally kills Sanchez in the end of the



story.



5. My favorite part of the story, which I found to be extraordinary and sensational,



was when Bond destroyed the six cocaine filled gasoline tankers and killed Sanchez in the



process. In this part of the story you can really see why James Bond is considered a hero.



His bravery, courage, determination, and many other hero like qualities are brought out as



he tries to bring Sanchez down.



After destroying Sanchez"s drug plant, by setting fire to it, Bond follows Sanchez



as he tries to escape with six cocaine filled tankers towards Isthmus city airport. Pamela

Bouvier flies a crop duster which helps Bond to catch up to Sanchez and the tankers.



Bond then hangs on the outside of the plane and allows Pamela to fly just close enough to



a tanker so that he can jump down on it. After jumping on the tanker Bond moves towards



the window of the driver, opens the door, and pulls the driver out while he jumps into the



seat and regains control of the tanker. Sanchez was riding in a tanker also and he realizes



that Bond had caught up to him and was trying to destroy the tankers. He then arms his



tanker with four missiles and aims them towards the tanker that Bond was in. He pulled



the trigger and released a missile. It screeched as it headed towards the target. It flew right



underneath Bond"s tanker and hit the tanker in front of him. The tanker went up in flames



and caused James to swerve and lose control of the vehicle. As he was swerving and



increasing speed he sideswiped another tanker right off the road and over the mountain



edge. Realizing what Sanchez had done he decides not to fire anymore missiles. When



Bond finally gains control of the tanker, some of Sanchez"s men drive up close enough



and fill the tanker with bullets from their uzi"s. The tanker catches fire and Bond jumps



out of the tanker as he drives it off the cliff. Pamela then drives up towards Bond in a cab



and they head towards the tankers once again. You can really sense the determination of



Bond as he continues to go after Sanchez. Pamela drives up to the last remaining tanker



and realizes that Sanchez was in this one. Bond fires the front window out and crawls



onto the front of the car as Pamela drives close enough for him to reach the ladder at the



back of the tanker. As Bond is climbing up the ladder two of Sanchez"s men fire at him



and set fire to the tanker. Sanchez brakes hard and Bond goes flying off as the tanker rolls



and flips. Bond in his mind thinks that Sanchez could not have survived the crash, bur



Sanchez had jumped out of the tanker just before it flipped. Gasoline was now

everywhere, including on Sanchez"s clothes. Bond then notices Sanchez walking towards



him, but he is to weak to get up and attack. Sanchez grabs Bond"s hair and pulls out a



machete. As he is about to strike, Bond pulls out a lighter and yells, "This is for Felix!!!"



He flicks the lit lighter at him and Sanchez turns into a human fireball. Finally Bond



completed his task and ended it all. This was the part of the book which I found most



interesting and extraordinary.