The innocent party always seems to be the most affected. For the people of Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge this is easily seen in the prized novel Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick. She shows that war has many negative effects on those who are innocent. Through the eyes of Arn, McCormick displays how war tears apart families and leaves lasting psychological scars. Arn was forced at a young age to fend for himself, as he was separated from his family. Before he left, Arn was told by his aunt “‘Do whatever they say,’ she whisper. ‘Be like the grass. Bend low, bend low, then bend lower. The wind blow you one way, you bow that way. It blow the other way, you do, too. That is the way to survive’” (37). This message from his aunt …show more content…
“We play fast, no stopping, to cover the sound of killing, but you hear it anyhow. Sickening sound. Skull cracking. You hear it every day. Death is every day” (85). Arn has been desensitized to death. There is no longer pain when someone dies. There is no sadness, because death is all around them. Later, Arn is haunted by the thought that he to said to be part of the Khmer Rouge, “Now,, if finally I can go to sleep, I dream of the women who spit at me and call me Khmer Rouge. Now, in my dream, feel her finger, cold, only bone, but strong like giant, pulling me down into the grave with her” (134). Arn becomes distressed with the thought that he to has been influenced by the Khmer Rouge. This is later seen again when his friend, Sambo, is seen ruthlessly killing the people of a small village (140). Arn is devastated seeing his only companion left killing innocent people. This is the first time that Arn realizes that Sambo is part of the Khmer Rouge, and it is the point that Arn hopes he does not become. “I grab him. I twist him by the neck and kill him. I feel very bad. I feel not like human. Like beast or something. He give me his food and he hold me like he hold his mother and I kill him” (146). In this instance where Arn kills the monkey, it is the first time Arn thinks that He is like the Khmer Rouge. The little monkey did
His perception of reality changes greatly when he is stripped of his innocence. Despite numerous attempts to comply with the multiple tenets of the revolution, he’s obligated to join the Khmer Rouge as a soldier. Heavily burdened by this task, Arn risks losing his morality and humanity for the sake of survival. He states, “Now I have gun. I feel I am one of the Khmer Rouge. It feels powerful” (112). After months of supressing his will under the reign of the revolutionaries, being on the other side of the battlefield allows him to bask in violence and brutality, using it as a channel to release his tide of emotions involving misused vulnerability, fierce ire, oppression and grief. Arn becomes a killing machine – a clear consequence of the excruciating abuse he suffered. His past shaped his perception of reality whereby his supressed emotions crippled his ability to perceive optimistically. He states, “Long time I been on my own, but now really I'm alone. I survive the killing, the starving, all the hate of the Khmer Rouge, but I think maybe now I will die of this, of broken heart” (110). Arn’s crippling unleashes a plethora of feelings, each more overwhelming than the next. His impulsive retaliation by killing and imposing death only cripples him further by clouding his judgement. He’s caught in a blind rage, unable to feel or think clearly. It’s only after discovering that his sister
...f the innocent is what captured my attention the most. Hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians were killed for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caputo mourns not only for the dead, but also for the men that are now emotionally and psychologically scarred for life. The images and sounds of death will forever be carved into their minds. Throughout this history class, I have been able to learn and understand new vocabulary and apply it to my reading. I would not have been able to understand the book, as well as I do, without becoming familiar with the terminology. A Rumor of War changed by view on the Vietnam War. Before reading this narrative, I did not realize the number of lives lost or the poor environments soldiers were subjected to. Philip Caputo was extremely detailed in his descriptions and painted a brilliant picture of the war.
It has come to my attention, as your media advisor, that you have been involved in a sex scandal of massive proportion. Due to the pictures found on your phone and the recent pregnancy of the same young woman, you must find a solution to clear your name to the public(The Associated Press). There are many options that you might be willing to look into to clear your name under these unfortunate circumstances, but in this case I would refer to the ideas of Elizabeth Kolbert for assistance. In her book "Stooping to Conquer" she claims that the best option to relieve your name of this scandal is through " comedy that makes fun of oneself". By following the ideas of Kolbert you will be
BANG, BOOM, BLAM,TAT-A-TAT, TAT. My ears are assaulted with noise, my eyes witness squirting blood a soldier is shot. I observe soldiers blown away by bombs. I see blood that saturates an infantry man. I view maimed men and observe limbs with fragmented bone. I witness militia dead on the ground. I listen to screams, grunts and gurgling blood in a man's windpipe. WHOOSH, flame throwers make a path with flames blazing burning men instantaneously. My eyes reveal the emotion that rips through my heart, tears drip down my cheek. I turn my head. I cannot watch a soldier cradle his buddy as he dies.
their families who have suffered from war's visible and unseen effects. Some are still suffering to this day. The issues and ramifications which constitute their suffering will be examined in this
Blindly He Goes Up by Steve Rushin, and Versabraille by Bill Schermbrucker both display individuals who have been stricken by disabilities that would render most to be unable to fully experience life to the fullest. Erik Weihenmayer, and Uncle Jim both are able to adapt to their circumstances that life has given them, and they have kept pushing not allowing their disabilities to put them down. Erik, and Uncle Jim suffer have blindness, and throughout both passages we are able to see the evolvement of each character, and how they learned to adapt to their issues, and even start excelling above others in some cases. Both characters share completely different backgrounds to each other, and living in different nations allowing us to see the struggle
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
The thirty years the Vietnamese spent fighting the war destroyed the value system of Vietnam culture. The war devastated the country, villages, and families. After the war, the Vietnamese began reconstructing their way of life. The character of Kien, in The Sorrow of War, shows the plight of the people of Vietnam before, during, and after the Vietnam War.
The genocide of Cambodians led by the Khmer Rouge left approximately two million casualties (“The Cambodian”). Although both of these genocides had targeted specific people, many others were also killed. In the Holocaust, homosexuals and gypsies were also killed; in Cambodia, even those thought to be a member or supporter of Khmer Rouge could be done away
The Cambodian Genocide has the historical context of the Vietnam War and the country’s own civil war. During the Vietnam War, leading up to the conflicts that would contribute to the genocide, Cambodia was used as a U.S. battleground for the Vietnam War. Cambodia would become a battle ground for American troops fighting in Vietnam for four years; the war would kill up to 750,00 Cambodians through U.S. efforts to destroy suspected North Vietnamese supply lines. This devastation would take its toll on the Cambodian peoples’ morale and would later help to contribute that conflicts that caused the Cambodian genocide. In the 1970’s the Khmer rouge guerilla movement would form. The leader of the Khmer rouge, Pol Pot was educated in France and believed in Maoist Communism. These communist ideas would become important foundations for the ideas of the genocide, and which groups would be persecuted. The genocide it’s self, would be based on Pol Pot’s ideas to bring Cambodia back to an agrarian society, starting at the year zero. His main goal was to achieve this, romanticized idea of old Cambodia, based on the ancient Cambodian ruins, with all citizens having agrarian farming lives, and being equal to each other. Due to him wanting society to be equal, and agrarian based, the victims would be those that were educated, intellectuals, professionals, and minority ethnic g...
War has always been something to be dreaded by people since nothing good comes from it. War affects people of all ages, cultures, races and religion. It brings change, destruction and death and these affect people to great extents. “Every day as a result of war and conflict thousands of civilians are killed, and more than half of these victims are children” (Graca & Salgado, 81). War is hard on each and every affected person, but the most affected are the children.
Brunner, Borgna. "The Khmer Rouge — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com. Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. .
Accompanying Write-up The theme of our presentation is "Attitudes towards Death". Two of the chosen pieces, "Macbeth" (William Shakespeare) and "Whose life is it anyway?" (Brian Clark), are both relevant to Death. In "Macbeth", Macbeth has just killed Duncan and is racked with guilt and anxiety. Lady Macbeth, co-perpetrator in the crime, is convincing him that it was the correct thing to do and mocking his fears.
...turning back. Once they have been robbed of their innocence, they are unable to revert to their previous selves. War and facing the inevitable reality of death can change a person and disturb them for the rest of their lifetime. Many soldiers are naïve when they decide to serve their country; they plan on becoming a hero like their role models of the past. But when one truly experiences war for themselves, they find it unimaginable how people continue to declare war and urge young men to fight and honor their nation and family. One will remain innocent until he experiences the genuine emotional trauma of war.
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as