Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Halo and The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund

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The presentation and use of military personnel in the “Forever War” by Joe Haldeman and “Halo: The Fall of Reach” by Eric Nylund illustrate how science fiction depicts these individuals as disposable and replaceable. The negative treatment of soldiers can result in various mental problems and unnatural relationships if conditions remain the same. Although the characters in these stories are fictional, the mistreatment of military personnel can lead to future problems when the time comes for them to return to civilian life.
In “The Forever War”, the value of a soldier’s life was not as important as the mission at hand, therefore sacrifices were deemed necessary. When the recruits were first introduced to their new base, the main character, Sargent Mandella, questions the decisions of his superiors by thinking “They had spent all of that money on us just to kill us in training?”(Haldeman 13), which immediately clarifies the military’s opinion of human life, which is similar to those of Charles Darwin’s belief in Natural Selection. Sargent Mandella’s introspection suggests the military is setting them up for failure and only the elite will survive. During a training exercise, the soldiers were told, “Dead people get one last meal tonight and go on no rations starting tomorrow” (Haldeman 31), by losing this exercise the soldiers would be punished harshly. The goal of this exercise was to toughen the recruits and reinforce the idea that failure is not an option on the battlefield. This may be true, but by physically punishing the losing team their morale maybe affected as well as their health. Similarly, in “Halo: The Fall of Reach”, the treatment of soldiers was harsh, but at a much younger starting age. When the children...

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...for soldiers to form healthy bonds with others, since sex was seen as an act of instinct, rather than love and passion. The goal of a military is to protect civilian life against any threat; if the soldiers’ in the aforementioned stories continue to be treated harshly, the resulting effects may be detrimental to their performance on the battlefield.

Works Cited

Haldeman, Joe. The Forever War. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin, 1974. Print.
Morley, Christopher, and Brandon Kohrt. "Impact of Peer Support on PTSD, Hope, and Functional Impairment: A Mixed-Methods Study of Child Soldiers in Nepal." Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. 22.7 (2013): 714-734. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. . Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma&rft.issn=10926771>.
Nylund, Eric. Halo: The Fall of Reach. New York, N.Y.: Del Rey, 2001. Print.

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