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War and post traumatic stress disorder
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Death by the millions. War; caused by the petty disagreements of those in power; fought by the brave young men that had no other choice. No one truly wins a war; it does not decipher who is right, only whom is left. The horrors of war are devastating; both mentally and physically. The horror is not only ever present during life on the Frontline, it lives on in the survivors guilt. I believe the horror of war is not only represented in the soldiers, we are all too quick to forget about the feelings of those at home, the friends and families, and the effects the war had on them.
The Physical effect of war is one of its most poignant horrors, and probably its most acknowledged. We aren’t privy to this sort of imagery in Regeneration, it’s shown once when Sarah Lumb stumbles upon the amputees hidden around the back of the hospital “in the shadows”; out of sight, out of mind; almost. In my opinion, I believe this scene, although uneasy and distressing, may be one of my favourites, as it acknowledges not only the human cost of war, but also the fragmented men left behind. Barker draws constrast to the “shadowy figures” with the dazzling effect of the sun upon then; I believe she is trying to contrast what they have become with whom they once were. The light is a symbol of purity and peace, their inner spark has been dimmed into a dark despairing turmoil. There is no future for these men, the war has stolen this from them. Sarah then comments upon their attire, “the trouser legs sewn short; empty sleeves pinned to jackets” as a subtle hint towards their mutilations, making us recognize their losses, inflicting guilt upon us, which is true to her almost shocking style. She notices a singular man who’d “lost all his limbs” and” seemed ...
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...s us of Rivers’ own calculating ways when dealing with the patients. How apt that the Doctor becomes the one that needs help. I believe this is integral as it shows Rivers’s journey of growth throughout the novel, he sees no justification for sending off a generation of men to be slaughtered. In my opinion he’s realised that the men aren’t “mad” they are a product of their creation, it’s the war that’s deluded and unjustly. I believe this guilt is caused by that the fact that he is sending these men back to a place that they will never come out of truly alive, regardless of whether they lost their lives or not. He sees no madness in how the men are reacting, he’s suffering through their experiences, he believes it mad that him and so many others followed this program of war and decimation so duly and wholly in the first place.
Works Cited
Regeneration- Bat Barker
Demolished cities, torn families and decimated countries are a few of the destructive properties of war. Throughout history, the world has been through war after war, never ceasing. Two of the greatest and most destructive wars were World War I and World War II. These wars involved most of the world’s countries and ended with tragic results. The wars also left many soldiers with various mental and physical problems that ruined their social lives. John F. Kennedy once said that “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” For the most part, he is right; if war does not end, it will end humankind. The main problem with this is that most people barely even know how destructive war can be; people believe war is the only way to solve problems with other countries. The problem with that is that war often uncovers or starts new problems that can affect others more than the past problems. Literature has helped people grasp at the understanding of what happens during wars and the problems that it can create. Some go into deep aspects of significant wars while others go into wars that everyone fights within themselves. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Beowulf and John Milton’s Paradise Lost are a few pieces of the thousands of works of literatures that capture the tragic, destructive power of war, global and small.
These men are transformed into guilt-laden soldiers in less than a day, as they all grapple for a way to come to terms with the pain of losing a comrade. In an isolated situation, removed from the stressors, anxieties, and uncertainties of war, perhaps they may have come to a more rational conclusion as to who is deserving of blame. But tragically, they cannot come to forgive themselves for something for which they are not even guilty. As Norman Bowker so insightfully put it prior to his unfortunate demise, war is “Nobody’s fault, everybody’s” (197).
and rotting flesh, from monotony and fear to a profound sense of futility. As Paul Berlin narrates, “It was a bad time” (O’Brien 1). And the young soldiers undergo all of this while being “led” by an ill, alcoholic, mis...
War is not just about the physical things that soldiers carry on a daily basis. The things they carried are so much more, even though the physical does take up a majority of the weight of a soldier. So many emotional burdens and tolls are to be accounted for when thinking about the units of the military fighting in the war and how they have to deal with them while in the midst of gunfire and hell.
Through Baümer, Remarque examines how war makes man inhuman. He uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial details to this theme. "The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts," (page #). Baümer and his classmates who enlisted into the army see the true reality of the war. They enter the war fresh from school, knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth and they come to a premature maturity with the war, their only home. "We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. We are not youth any longer" (page #). They have lost their innocence. Everything they are taught, the world of work, duty, culture, and progress, are not the slightest use to them because the only thing they need to know is how to survive. They need to know how to escape the shells as well as the emotional and psychological torment of the war.
War has been a consistent piece of mankind 's history. It has significantly influenced the lives of individuals around the globe. The impacts are amazingly adverse. In the novel, “The Wars,” by Timothy Findley, Soldiers must shoulder compelling weight on the warzone. Such weight is both family and the country weight. Many individuals look at soldiers for hop and therefore, adding load to them. Those that cannot rationally beat these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley
War changes people. Usually when one thinks of war, blood, battle and death are the first things that come to mind, but psychological trauma is over shadowed by these popular thoughts. Though war, on the surface, is focused on such gory aspects, The Wars by Timothy Findley shows us an angle where the chaos of war significantly affects a soldier’s mind mentally. War definitively effects the life of all soldiers, so much so that they may show signs of insanity after, or even during battle. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological disorder triggered when a victim experiences a significantly traumatic event in their life, and has difficulty returning to life as it was (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”). Insanity as defined by Psychology
World War I was fought on the battlegrounds of Europe. Death and dismay was strewn throughout the landscape. The major players included, but were not limited to, The United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and France. Much like the Vietnam War, that would occur later on in the century, this war was one of bewilderment for most of the people involved, and not involved, for that matter. The soldiers and civilians alike were uncertain about the events leading up to this escalation of mass bloodshed. This uncertainty through Europe and the US, led to a myriad of recurring themes on and off the battlefields. The novel Regeneration, written by Pat Barker, discusses these experiences, and consequential themes in depth. In particular, one of these recurring motifs found in the novel that is incredibly interesting is that of Emasculation. It can be found throughout the novel through a variety of medium, including experiences and even clinical healing methods used by a doctor. Emasculation was expressed as a major theme throughout the World War I era and should be addressed properly.
War is no child 's play, but unfortunately, we have had times in our past when the youth of our great nation had to defend it. Combat is not an easy for anyone; watching death, the constant ring of gunfire, the homesickness, fearing for your life, and witnessing bloodshed daily, this will begin to take its toll. The minds threshold for brutality can only handle so much and eventually will become sickened by these events. This sickness is called Post-traumatic stress disorder. As shown through the characters of The Things They Carried, soldiers of war may begin to show PTSD symptoms before the war is over, and may continue to fight the disorder after the war has ended.
Unending exchange of bullets coming from rifles of the soldiers, a mother lamenting for the death of her young boy who goes to war, and great toll of loss life both of the soldiers and civilians- all these are not enough to describe the horrors brought by the war, but, these are enough to illustrate the price, expensive price, paid in war.
The war scarred the soldiers permanently, if not physically then mentally. After the war the soldiers usually never recovered from the war. Two of the most common side affects of the war were shell shock and stir crazy. When suffering from shell shock a soldier’s brain doesn’t function properly and the man is a “vegetable”. This means the man is alive but he can’t do anything because he is in a state of shock because of the war. Stir crazy is a mental illness caused by the firing of so many bullets that when no bullets are heard by the victim he goes insane. Everyone was scared to go to war when it started. Young recruits were first sent because the veterans knew they were going to come back dead. "When we run out again, although I am very excited, I suddenly think: “where’s Himmelstoss?” Quickly I jump back into the dug-out and find him with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded.” (P 131) Even the big men like Himmelstoss are scared to go fight. They too go through the mental illnesses like stir crazy and shell shock. “He is in a panic; he is new to it too.
War is not pretty, and it is not for the weak at heart. Images of
One of the worst things about war is the severity of carnage that it bestows upon mankind. Men are killed by the millions in the worst ways imaginable. Bodies are blown apart, limbs are cracked and torn and flesh is melted away from the bone. Dying eyes watch as internal organs are spilled of empty cavities, naked torso are hung in trees and men are forced to run on stumps when their feet are blown off. Along with the horrific deaths that accompany war, the injuries often outnumber dead men. As Paul Baumer witnessed in the hospital, the injuries were terrifying and often led to death. His turmoil is expressed in the lines, “Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small.” The men who make it through the war take with them mental and physical scarification from their experiences.
War changes everyone involved in one way or another. For some it physical changes them because they get physical deformed, but for most people, war changes their mental state. War changes people’s mental state because of the duties that they have to perform and the experiences that they have to see. Tim O’Brien shows how the characters mental states changed throughout the book, because of the war.
War can destroy a man both in body and mind for the rest of his life. In “The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers, but also by showing its psychological effects. We are left to wonder which has the longer lasting effect—the visible physical scars or the ones on the inside?