“Now the bleedin war is over Oh, how happy I was there; Now old Fritz and I have parted, Life’s one everlasting care. No more estaminets to sing in, No mamoiselles to make me gay; Civvie life’s a bleedin failure, I was happy yesterday.”(398). This post-World War II song exemplifies the complexity of soldiers’ feelings towards war. There is no simplicity in how a soldier feels in battle or in the sanity under which they operate; often there is no method to the madness. The extreme conditions of war reveal man’s basic instincts and expose human nature. In an attempt to understand the issues that influence a soldier on the front line, Richard Holmes’s Acts of War: The Behavior of Men in Battle faces the grisly truth about men in war. Holmes addresses soldiers’ motivations in and out of battle. He addresses fear, pain, fatigue, the enemy, and death as a part of battle. Out of the field, he discusses boredom, patriotism, religion, basic training, and family. The main points are well-researched and essential to understanding soldiers’ actions within war. His attention to the unpleasant details, that he deems essential to a soldier’s …show more content…
Mosquitos specifically spread deadly diseases in addition to giving incredibly uncomfortable bites. The addition of Mepacrine pills that prevent malaria made the disease less dangerous, but the pills were incredibly unpopular. They turned the men a yellowish hue and made them feel hot and uncomfortable. Taking the pills was a responsibility of the command and often led to friction between the officers and enlisted. Men did not want to take the pills and the command had to enforce the prescriptions. Insects had a detrimental role in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. Trooper I.L. Idriess recalls, ”…a lot of flies flew into my mouth and beat about inside…I nearly howled with rage…Of all the bastards of places this is the greatest bastard in the world”
The Comradeship of War in All Quiet on the Western Front War can destroy a young man, mentally and physically. One might say that nothing good comes out of war, but in Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, there is one positive characteristic: comradeship. Paul and his friends give Himmelstoss a beating, which he deserves due to his training tactics. This starts the brotherhood of this tiny group. As explosions and gunfire sound off, a young recruit in his first battle is gun-shy and seeks reassurance in Paul's chest and arms, and Paul gently tells him that he will get used to it.
The Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger once said “Perjor est bello timor ipse belli”, which translates to: “the dread of war is worse than war itself”. With this quote, Seneca identifies that war has both its physical and mental tolls on its participants. The psychological and emotional scars of war do much more damage to a solider than the actual physical battles. Tim O’ Brien repeats this idea many years later in his novel “The Things They Carried”, by describing how emotional burdens outweigh the physical loads that those in war must endure. What keeps them alive is the hope that they may one day return home to their loved ones. Yet, the weight of these intangible “items” such as “grief, terror, love, longing” overshadow the physical load they must endure since they are not easily cast away.
Julianna Claire, an award winning poet once said, “War makes men act like fools, and makes fools pretend to be brave.” War is a very difficult and dangerous game. There must be a just cause to fight for, supporters on either side of the war, and clear plan on what the war ought to look like. Though, as much as countries plan their strategies and perfect their tactics, war never seems to go how people think it should. War creates heartache, makes countries question their governments, and changes the lives of the soldiers who fight in them. One such story that address the damages of war, is Ambush, by Tim O’Brien (1946). In this short story, Tim O’Brien tells a story of a young man fighting in Vietnam who kills a member of the Vietnam army. Robin Silbergleid, a neurosurgeon in Seattle, Washington, who minored in
It is apparent that the topic of war is difficult to discuss among active duty soldiers and civilians. Often times, citizens are unable to understand the mental, physical, and physiological burden service members experience. In Phil Klay’s Ten Kliks South, the narrator struggles to cope with the idea that his artillery team has killed enemy forces. In the early stages of the story, the narrator is clearly confused. He understands that he did his part in firing off the artillery rounds, yet he cannot admit to killing the opposition. In order to suppress his guilt and uncertainty, our narrator searches for guidance and reassurance of his actions. He meets with an old gunnery sergeant and during their conversation, our narrator’s innocence
Norman Schwarzkof once said, “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of the men to go into battle”. As young adults, many of us have a preconceived notion that being a hero is in some way the same as being a leader. In times of war, being a leader defines ones as a superior that others look to for guidance and direction in predicaments; not necessarily a hero. The true heroes are not always the ones calling the shots, but the soldiers who courageously leave their comforts behind to fight on the fronts for their country, even if it results in their death. In All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, describes the journey of a young man named Paul and the struggles he endures as an effect of the declaration of World War One by his elders. Remarque develops the theme of how older men’s decisions of declaring war effects the younger generation by elaborating on how this declaration effects the younger soldiers’ physical physique and their mental wellbeing.
Wars affect everyone in some way, especially soldiers who fight in them, like those in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. O 'Brien concentrates a lot on the psychological trauma that solders, like himself, confronted before, during, and after the Vietnam War. He also focuses on how they coped with the brutality of war. Some were traumatized to the point where they converted back to primitive instinct. Others were traumatized past the breaking point to where they contemplated suicide and did not fit in. Finally, some soldiers coped through art and ritual.
Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying. All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times go by. This is similar to what war is like. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair. There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of feel the same way about it. During the war the men experience many feelings, especially the loss of loved ones. These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital. Training camp was the first actuality of what war was going to be like for the men. They thought that it would be fun, and they could take pride in defending their country. Their teacher, Kantorek, told them that they should all enroll in the war. Because of this, almost all of the men in the class enrolled. It was in training camp that they met their cruel corporal, Himelstoss.&nbs most by him. They have to lie down in the mud and practice shooting and jumping up. Also, these three men must remake Himelstoss’ bed fourteen times, until it is perfect. Himelstoss puts the young men through so much horror that they yearn for their revenge. Himelstoss is humiliated when he goes to tell on Tjaden, and Tjaden only receives an easy punishment. Training camp is as death and destruction. Training camp is just a glimpse of what war really is. The men do not gain full knowledge of war until they go to the front line. The front line is the most brutal part of the war. The front line is the place in which the battles are fought. Battles can only be described in one word- chaos. Men are running around trying to protect themselves while shooting is in the trench with an unknown man from the other side. This battle begins with shells bursting as they hit the ground and machine guns that rattle as they are being fired. In order to ensure his survival, Paul must kill the other man. First, Paul stabs the man, but he struggles for his life. He dies shortly after, and Paul discovers who he has killed. The man is Gerald Duval, a printer.&n Having to deal with killing others is one of the horrors of war. The men who are killed and the people who kill them could have been friends, if only they were on the same side. The other important battle leaves both Paul and Kropp with injuries.
By demonstrating motif to observe how soldiers lose all control of their humanity as war goes on, Erich Maria Remarque uses All Quiet on the Western Front to explain how war deteriorates mental health and negatively impacts the soldiers’ self-respect until they solely view themselves as animals made for war.
There is a truth universally acknowledged among those that have seen combat: war changes a man. Sometimes this a positive change, instilling bravery into the hearts of faint-hearted young men or creating bonds of camaraderie that will last lifetimes. Unfortunately, more often war sees a darker change in a man, sees him stuck down, left lifeless in soul if not body. WWII was a dark time for America, and many of the strapping soldiers that left for the glory of war came back injured, seeing ghosts on every front, sick in a way that many people did not understand. Tayo, in Leslie Silko’s Ceremony, is one such man, and Silko’s use of a wandering and fractured narrative showcases these symptoms, and brings to life the struggle soldiers had adjusting to home after visiting what some would call hell.
I first started to realize the emotional and physical torment soldiers go through when I watched the movie American Sniper. This film is the story of a decorated Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle, who comes home from Afghanistan with severe PTSD. This disorder changed his life forever. At one point he even attacked a family dog because it was playing too roughly with Kyle’s child, imagining it was a battle scenario. The story ends when an retired marine, also suffering from PTSD, kills Chris Kyle. This story, however, using the heroic view of battle, shows the effect the front line has on fighters who experience it. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and “Lights Out”, a poem by Edward Thomas, both illustrate the gruesome reality of
Throughout this paper we will discuss the emotional impact of war. Our bodies and minds are built to deal with and handle stress differently than others. War can affect a person physically but also emotionally. Knowing that it’s a possibility that you can either get hurt or not live to see another day is heart breaking. War not only affects the soldiers, but it also affects the families. Several soldiers returning home thinks no one cares and there will be no one there for them when they return. Certain life circumstances such as stress and even the effects of a traumatizing event like war can contribute to depression. Description of World War I were written by the poets who experienced the heartbreaking events through their writing.
War is a hard thing to describe. It has benefits that can only be reaped through its respective means. Means that, while necessary, are harsh and unforgiving. William James, the author of “The Moral Equivalent of War”, speaks only of the benefits to be had and not of the horrors and sacrifices found in the turbulent times of war. James bears the title of a pacifist, but he heralds war as a necessity for society to exist. In the end of his article, James presents a “war against nature” that would, in his opinion, stand in war’s stead in bringing the proper characteristics to our people. However, my stance is that of opposition to James and his views. I believe that war, while beneficial in various ways, is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.
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?
Soldiers are those who sacrifice their life to protect their country. They’re willing to fight for freedom to their country. They have to fight against enemy with their friends dying around them which is very painful and heart broken. After the confrontation is over, they get back to peace home where they can return to normal life. Unfortunately, others will not be lucky as them. Some soldiers could not easily put the war behind them. Ernest Hemingway who was a veteran in WW1 wrote the book called “Soldier’s Home”. He had experienced bloody war and seriously suffered by trauma of war. He portrayed himself as the main character, Krebs, to show how the veteran has hard time adjusting to home life than most soldiers that have returned home. In
“In war, there are no unwounded solders.” Often, people tend to look at the physical aspects of war, such as demanding fitness required or the numerous bodily injuries one can suffer. While the physical aspects of battle are horrifying, the mental aspect of war is just as bad if not worse. For centuries, war has forced young men away from their families and loved ones to fight in battle often in harsh conditions. Being removed from loved ones in order to put your life on the line is very mentally demanding. Three works of literature really bring out the full negative effects of battle both physically and psychologically. “Othello” by William Shakespeare, short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the poem “The Battle” by poet Louis Simpson really stress the negative mental aspects of fighting in a battle. Some of the many common links throughout the stories is that they all include various symbols, vivid imagery, and explicit figurative language to display intense emotion dealing with the horrors of war. These writers proves that the psychological aspect even causes the downfall of characters rather than any kind of physical harm. The literary terms proves that the psychological effect war gives is worse then the demanding physical challenge. Scholarly articles and examples from the text of each story go a long way to prove this.