主题是“勇气与荣耀”，原文如下
Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or a mistake, but you’re not supposed to question adults, or your coach, or your teacher because they make the rules. Maybe they know best but maybe they don’t.
It all depends on who you are, where you come from. Didn’t at least one of the six hundred guys think about giving up and joining with the other side? I mean, Valley of Death, that’s pretty salty stuff.
That’s why courage is tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you’re doing something. I mean, any fool can have courage.
But honor, that’s the real reason you either do something or you don’t. It’s who you want to be. If you die trying for something important then you have both honor and courage and that’s pretty good.I think that’s what the writer was saying; that you should try for courage and hope for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too.
这个算是读书笔记，或者类似我们上学时候写的读后感。麦克当时读的那首诗叫The Charge Of The Light Brigade/轻骑兵冲锋，用来纪念克里米亚战争里巴拉克拉瓦战役里600名英军的轻骑兵冒死冲锋的故事
是Alfred Lord Tennyson （阿尔弗雷德・丁尼生）写的，全诗如下
Half a alliance, half alliance,
半个军团，半个军团，
Half alliance onward,
半个军团前进着，
All in the valley of Death
冲进死亡的谷地
Six hundred alliance.
六百骠骑向前。
Forward, the Light Brigade!
“前进，轻骑兵！
Charge for the guns! he said:
为我们的枪上膛！”他说：
Into the valley of Death
进入死亡之谷
Rode the six hundred.
骑兵六百名
2.
Forward, the Light Brigade!
“前进，轻骑兵！”
Was there a man dismay'd?
可有人丧气灰心？
Not tho' the soldier knew
不，战士知道这不可能
Someone had blunder'd:
有人疏忽犯错：
Their's not to make reply,
无人回答，
Their's not to reason why,
无人发问，
Their's but to do and die:
有的只是去战去死：
Into the valley of Death
进入死亡之谷
Rode the six hundred.
骑兵六百名
3.
Cannon to right of them,
炮火在他们右边，
Cannon to left of them,
炮火在他们左边，
Cannon in front of them
炮火在他们前面
Volley'd and thunder'd;
万弹齐发炸雷轰天；
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
枪炮猛击犹如暴雨，
Boldly they rode and well,
他们英勇无畏策马飞身，
Into the jaws of Death,
进入鬼门关
Into the mouth of Hell
进入地狱之口
Rode the six hundred.
六百骠骑向前
4.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
他们所有的马刀出鞘闪闪发光，
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
空中挥舞寒光闪闪，
Sabring the gunners there,
砍杀那里的枪炮手，
Charging an army, while
砍杀敌人，而
All the world wonder'd:
世人为之惊奇
Plunged in the battery-smoke
冲入战火硝烟
Right thro' the line they broke;
直捣敌阵前沿；
Cossack and Russian
哥萨克和俄国佬
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
从白刃战退缩
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
溃垮离散。
Then they rode back, but not
然后他们骑回，但不再
Not the six hundred.
不再是六百骠骑壮汉。
5.
Cannon to right of them,
炮火在他们右边，
Cannon to left of them,
炮火在他们左边，
Cannon behind them
炮火在他们前面
Volley'd and thunder'd;
万弹齐发炸雷轰天；
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
枪炮猛击犹如暴雨，
While horse and hero fell,
尽管战马和英雄倒下去了，
They that had fought so well
他们已进行过如此漂亮的激战，
Came thro' the jaws of Death
穿过鬼门关
Back from the mouth of Hell,
从地狱之口回返，
All that was left of them,
所有他们剩余的，
Left of six hundred.
活着的六百骠骑好汉。
6.
When can their glory fade?
他们的荣耀何时会褪色？
O the wild charge they made!
啊，他们进行过最狂野的冲锋！
All the world wondered.
全世界都为之惊叹。
Honor the charge they made,
荣誉归于他们的冲锋，
Honor the Light Brigade,
荣誉归于骑兵旅，
Noble six hundred.
杰出的六百骠骑英雄汉。
理解勇气是件难事
你可以因为笨主意或者错误产生勇气
但你不应该去质疑长辈
不应质疑你的教练或者你的老师
因为他们下了规矩
他们也许是最懂的人
但也许不是
这都取决于你是谁，你从哪里来
难道不会有最少1/600的人考虑过放弃，而转向另一边吗？
我是说死亡之谷是个悲剧
所以勇气是很微妙的事
你应该总是对别人言听计从吗？
有时候可能甚至于不知道你为什么这么做
任何人蠢人都有可能有勇气
但荣耀才是你有所为有所不为得真正动因
那才是真正的你，才是你想成为的你
若为重要的事情努力而失去生命
那么你就拥有荣耀和勇气
这非常好
我认为这就是作者想要表达的
那就是你应该拥有的勇气，努力得到荣耀
甚至也许需要恳求别人教你怎么做来取得这些。