A Critique of "Gone to Soldiers" by Marge Piercy
The novel Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy intricately weaves the lives of many different people into a connected series of individual plots that give the reader an exciting view of life during World War II. Piercy connects the lives of women and men, Jews and gentiles by using family ties and steamy love affairs. The people have dramatically different profiles, some are rich some are poor, some are Americans, some are French, some are with power while others are persecuted, but everyone is connected by the war. War freed women by allowing them to work in factories and defy their husbands by hiding resisting
French Jews. Piercy makes history exciting by making each character really experience love and hate and the mundane daily struggles of the individual.
I completely enjoyed Gone to Soldiers, because several main characters prevented me from getting bored and kept me reading to find out what was going to happen to each person next. I really enjoyed the profile of Louise Kahan a female Jewish American writer, because she is independent and strong willed. An example of her strength and belief in herself Louise did not instantly return to her ex-husband Oscar even though they both still loved each other, because she was strong enough to resist him and his womanizing ways. Piercy gave me a much better understanding of the cultural and social issues of the Wo...
Joy Day Buel and Richard Buel, Jr., authors of The Way of Duty, describe Mary Fish Silliman by saying "She remained to the end of her life less a daughter of the Revolution than a child of the Puritans". This is proven throughout her life. Despite outside influences and events, Mary continued steadfast in her beliefs as a Puritan.
A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.
“This is true.” (O’Brien, 420) – with this simple statement which also represents a first, three-word introductory paragraph to Tim O’Brien’s short story, “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author reveals the main problem of what will follow. “Truth” – when looked up in a dictionary, we would probably find definitions similar to sincerity and honesty on the one hand, and correctness, accuracy or reality on the other hand. When looking at these definitions, one can make out two groups of meaning: While sincerity and honesty are very subjective, correctness or accuracy are supposed to be objective by nature. One can be sincere and still not report the truth, due to the simple fact that one does not know any better. Accuracy, however, is supposed to represent facts, bits and pieces of information that paint a picture of an event, untouched by opinion or attitude.
In his book, My Fellow Soldiers, Andrew Carroll tells the story of World War I through the eyes of the American participants. He uses quotes, personal letters and diaries, from an array of characters, to depict a day in the life of a WWI warrior. Though, he narrows his focus on the untold story of General John J. Pershing, a US army leader. He uniquely talks about the General's vulnerable and emotional side. "Pershing was notoriously strong-willed, to the point of seeming cold, rigid, and humorless, almost more machine than man" (p.XVIII). Pershing is commonly recognized for his accomplishments during the war and remembered for his sternness. He was "…especially unforgiving when it came to matters of discipline" (p. XVIII). Nicknamed "Black Jack" due to his mercilessness towards his soldiers, in this book, Pershing is portrayed as a General with much determination and devotion to his troops, family, and close friends.
did it give the reader something exciting to read, but it also was able to put an interesting perspective on life itself.
Having no sleep can lead to unhealthy lives, relationships, one’s ability to function and interact with the world, and an unbalanced state of body, mind, and spirit. Sleep is crucial to an individual because it is a time where the body rests and restores energy and develops important information and without sleep, the body will slowly disintegrate. Poor sleep quality often is associated with Insomnia, but the two are two different items. Poor sleep quality is where an individual does not get at least 4 hours of sleep, but is still able to sleep and does not have a normal sleeping cycle. Insomnia is classified as a sleeping disorder, where one persistently lacks the ability to sleep or maintain sleep. This paper goes into a deep discussion of what Insomnia is and the two different types, the causes of Insomnia and how it affects a person’s lifestyle, a comparison between Men and Women who have Insomnia, and possible treatments to aid this disorder.
Many people question if Guy Sajer, author of The Forgotten Soldier, is an actual person or only a fictitious character. In fact, Guy Sajer in not a nom de plume. He was born as Guy Monminoux in Paris on 13 January 1927. At the ripe young age of 16, while living in Alsace, he joined the German army. Hoping to conceal his French descent, Guy enlisted under his mother's maiden name-Sajer. After the war Guy returned to France where he became a well known cartoonist, publishing comic books on World War II under the pen name Dimitri.
In the movie Home of the Brave it was quite apparent that Lieutenant Colonel Williams also known as Will Marsh suffered from Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the DSM V PTSD is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposures to one or more traumatic events. While in Iraq William was on his way to bring medical supplies to a base when they were bombed. He was held at gunpoint by a fellow soldier until he accepted to help his friend. All of these scary events lead to William experiencing negative alterations toward his family and for him to start drinking heavily.
“Insomnia is the inability to obtain adequate amount or quality of sleep. The difficulty can be with falling asleep, remaining asleep, or both” (“Insomnia Encyclopedia“). Sleeping is a major point in physically and mentally restoring yourself for the tasks ahead. Most people say that about eight hours of sleep is an adequate amount, however it differs from person to person depending on their sex, age, and health conditions. An estimated one-third of the population suffers from some form of insomnia. “In recent studies, a survey reported that 30% of American women and 20% of American men took medication to help them sleep during the course of a year” (“Insomnia”). The medications these people took are called hypnotics. The causes of insomnia vary for different situations.
Almost everyone seem to suffer from not being able to get enough sleep at some time in their life. If you are always tired then that means that you’re not getting enough sleep. As we all know, inadequate sleep which is referred to as insomnia. Insomnia is basically one of the many sleeping disorders that some people may have and is one of the most common sleep disorder. There are many different effects of insomnia which includes some may become less productive, less ambitious, have a poor performance at school, work, or their everyday life tasks. Insomnia is not an illness but it is a symptom which can typically last no more than maybe a few days or it could be long term for some people. Who gets insomnia? According to Bayer (2001) “Approximately 36 out of every 100 Americans have reported experiencing this symptom [insomnia]. However, only 5 out of every 100 Americans consider the problem severe enough to seek medical help” (p. 22).
How different are families compared to the past? Lately there has been some major changes in relationships, weather female dominance, or even just having no relationships at all. We also see that relationships are based only on a basis of reproduction and sometimes the child of the relationship is rather irrelevant. In a Temporary matter by Jhumpa Lahiri, the reader can see how relationships have developed with the rest of the world into failing, no relationship, and feminist relationships.
As a famous author Ernest Hemingway has been credited for the creation of multiple critically acclaimed books. One in particular, A Farewell to Arms, while having received its fair share of approval, has also received multiple threats throughout the years to be banned by certain organizations and school systems. As respectful as I am on these groups’ opinions, I myself cannot help but disagree with their statements and viewpoints. In my point of view the book should not be banned because while it may contain some undesirable components, it is overall a moderate work of literature that has a deep foresight into heartfelt issues such as war, life, and love.
Sleep is very important for many reasons, but many people in the world suffer from sleep disorders. This allows very little sleep to happen, even for several days at a time. I know when I do not get enough sleep, I am always extremely tired, occasionally not being able to do day to day activities. Not getting enough sleep can affect how people perform on a daily basis, especially when it comes to driving a vehicle, doing school work, and even work. One of the most common and devastating sleep disorders in the world is Insomnia, to which people can go without sleep for days.
Insomnia is a tenacious disorder that can make it difficult to fall asleep, insufficient sleep or both, constant awakenings all through the night, and waking up early in the mornings with the inability to fall back to sleep. In the case of insomnia and individual will awake with feeling unrefreshed, tired, sluggish, exhausted, irritable, which will make you less functional and difficulty on concentrating and performing an everyday task. Insomnia can not only interfere with your energy level and mood, but also can affect your health, your job performance, and quality of life. Most adult’s experience insomnia at some point of time although some adult’s may develop chronic insomnia over a period of time if it’s not cured. The normal amount an individual must sleep in order to have a desirable functional day is to have at least 7 to 8 hours a sleep a night. Individuals with insomnia mostly have anywhere from 5 to 6 hours or less sleep. Insomnia is a curable disease so an individual do not have to endure with sleepless nights; simple changes in your daily habits can often help many with the disorder.
Sleep is essential in our lives. While we are sleeping our bodies heal and rejuvenate and prepare for the next day. However, even though sleep is so vital, 40% of Americans struggle in some way or another with a sleeping disorder. Insomnia is a sleeping disorder in which a person cannot fall asleep or cannot sleep for long periods of time, making it impossible to get a full night’s rest. Insomnia can be generic, chronic, or be caused occasionally by stress. Mental, physical and emotional stresses all contribute to a person’s susceptibility of insomnia.