The Pressures of War in Journey's End
The First World War provoked many different reactions in the people
affected by it, particularly the soldiers, which Sherriff seeks to
explore in "Journey's End". He uses Hibbert to show the way in which
some soldiers reacted, but which was frowned upon by all others, and
then presents the opposite view of Stanhope, who, despite being the
stereotypical 'perfect' soldier, still has his moments of fear and
self-doubt.
Clearly, both the officers and the men involved in World War I lived
in conditions of extraordinary hardship. The men refer to the poor
food, the rough sleeping conditions and the rats, of which there are
"about two million", according to Hardy. There is also a torturous
routine of inspections, patrols, raids and duty in early hours of the
morning. The men also have to cope with the ever-present shadow of
death. In the background, there is a constant rumble of guns and heavy
artillery, although it is the silence which affects the men more, as
they do not know what is happening - it is more of a threat than the
guns.
Most of the men, although Hibbert is the significant exception, are
brave and dutiful, but their methods of coping with the challenge of
warfare vary according to their temperaments. The play opens with a
conversation between Hardy and Osborne, in which they seek to block
out the atrocities occurring all around them by concentrating on
seemingly mundane, irrelevant things, such as earwig racing. The
extraordinary type of morbid humour which situations such as the First
World War seem to provoke shows through whilst they are discussing the
relatively serious matter of the bombing which they are under.
OSBORNE: Do much damage?
HARDY: Awful. A dug-out got blown up and came down in the men's tea.
They were frightfully annoyed.
OSBORNE: I know. There's nothing worse than dirt in your tea.
Clearly, there are many things worse than 'dirt in your tea', and one
would expect an adjective that was rather stronger than 'annoyed' to
describe the men's reaction to the fact that they were being bombed.
Osborne tries to put things in perspective and see the beauty in
situations to cope with the pressure he is under. He tells Raleigh to
"always think of it like that, if you can. Think of it all as - as
romantic. It helps." Osborne epitomises a certain type of cultivated
middle-class reticence and self-possession. Like Stanhope and Raleigh,
he attended private school, which taught him the traditional and
typical English values, which can be summed up in the phrase
"stiff-upper-lip". He maintains an apparent steady clam in the face of
Robert leaves from London to Waterloo where he rides by train and reaches a town called Magdalene Wood. It is here when he realizes that he has been separated with his bag. Robert is now left without rations, clean clothing, and his gun. Magdalene Wood lies about 12 miles from Bailleul. Robert decides he wants to make it before sunrise so he must walk the remainder of the way. Soon Robert joined two horsemen and rode the remainder of the way.
For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past and they can
How does war affect humans? Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, is about how the war between humans and buggers forcefully changed Ender Wiggin from a genius, who was isolated in school, into a brilliant military commander. He thought the child that the International Fleet wanted was Peter Wiggin, which is Ender’s brother, and not him. Ender's Game is about anti-war because it shows how did Ender's life changed in a bad way, and how the war make him break down and how people did not have a choice to pick who they wanted to be and what to do.
An article called, “The Real War,” written by Roger J. Spiller, begins with a quote by Walt Whitman, “The real war will never get in the books.” The author writes about an interview with Paul Fussell, who was a soldier in World War Two and has written many books about World War One and World War Two. Fussell is very opinionated and critical about other books written about these wars, asserting they are not realistic or portray the true essence of what really occurred by soldiers and other people participating in the wars. I claim that it is impossible to convey the actual personal feelings and emotions of those involved in a war in books or any other forms of media.
The truth behind stories is not always what happened, with each person 's perspective is where their truth lies. In the beginning of the novel, you start to think that it is going to be the same old war stories you read in the past, but it changes direction early. It is not about how the hero saves the day, but how each experience is different and how it stays with you. From his story about Martha, to how he killed a man, each one is so different, but has its own meaning that makes people who have not been in war, understand what it is like. Tim O’Brien can tell a fake story and make you believe it with no doubt in your mind. He does this throughout the novel. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien distinguishes truth from fantasy and the
Also, I can see why they may not trust the police with all the recent police-involved shootings that have occurred. Every time a terrorist attack happens, the media jumps all over it, and puts their own twist on what happened. “Thus, the media has a strong potential to influence how the public thinks about social problems like terrorism, especially because most people only experience terrorism through mass-media accounts. This research also finds that media portrayals of terrorism increase anxiety among the viewing public.”
'woman bore me, I will rise' it can be read in many different ways. It
War in itself can affect many people in many different ways, wives take on twice the responsibility, and mothers mourn the loss of their child’s innocence. At the time of this novel there had been no research on what happens when you return from war. Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five touches on how it is to deal with this mental illness before it was diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder. The author uses science fiction’s raw intensity to alter Billy Pilgrim’s imagination after he returns from the war. As he is a victim of this undiagnosed mental illness, he uses science fiction’s effect on him as a coping mechanism. Through the experiences of Billy Pilgrim, Kurt Vonnegut explores the powerful impact science fiction had on a vulnerable
...as the actions of the United States government goes unnoticed, they will continue to infiltrate, disrupt, and terrorize any organization, or person that pose a threat to them.
Lyons, Oliver, and Bill Bonnie. "An Interview with Tobias Wolff." Contemporary Literature. 31.1 (1990): 1-16. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
A true war story is not always true. Some would say a true war story is an experience from war. Others, who came from war, would say they make up stories to make war seem crazier than it really is. Tim O’Brian states that the story is fiction, but the moral is true. Tracy Kidder had written war stories based on his time in Vietnam, and his book is rated as nonfiction, even though he admits that some war stories are made up.
There is no denial in the fact that such happenings result in loss of both life and materials. Also, people remain in a state of panic and assume every other race to be a terrorist. This in turn reduces
The Struggles in life is something everyone is faced with whether it is physical, emotional mental or personal struggles. These struggles are capable of shaping an individual’s personality and outlook on life. Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, shows that struggles lead to the character’s ultimate inner struggles, outer struggles and self-discovery. War exists in a person’s physical and psychological aspects. In The Wars, Robert Ross goes to war and fights a personal and physical battle.
forced to look the other way. While it would be convenient to believe that the
The scenes underground, especially when Stephen is trapped with Jack Firebrace and then rescued by Levi, are resonant of Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’ a poem, in which Owen describes an encounter between two soldiers from opposing sides. The ensuing meeting between Stephen and Levi echoes this poem, in that the opposing soldiers cannot hate one another for their earlier actions, as they are both just grateful for peace. They meet, ‘in hell’, although Owen describes this as merely an underground tunnel. This tunnel is also described as having been ‘scooped’ by many wars to indicate that what he has to say in this poem applies to wars throughout the ages, not merely to World War I. The use of half-rhymes in the poem underlines the physical effects of war such as ‘groined’ and ‘groaned’ allowing us to see the ‘grained’ outlines that death etches into human faces. In addition, the fact that these words almost come together and rhyme suggests that both men are really very much alike in their vulnerability to pain and in their shared mortality. This could allude to the fact, that the physical and psychological effects of war affect everyone, even those on opposing sides.