War changes people. Usually when one thinks of war, blood, battle and death are the first things that come to mind, but psychological trauma is over shadowed by these popular thoughts. Though war, on the surface, is focused on such gory aspects, The Wars by Timothy Findley shows us an angle where the chaos of war significantly affects a soldier’s mind mentally. War definitively effects the life of all soldiers, so much so that they may show signs of insanity after, or even during battle. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological disorder triggered when a victim experiences a significantly traumatic event in their life, and has difficulty returning to life as it was (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”). Insanity as defined by Psychology …show more content…
Robert was far removed out of his comfort zone, which in turn resulted in him needing well over 4 shots to finally kill the horse. He clearly struggled with the order, but we already see that he obeyed to fulfilled it. The war has already started to show its effects on Ross and how it is changing him. He struggled to commit the action, but in the end, he did actually kill a living being; something he clearly would have never done before. Through this scene, Findley has started to draw focus onto the negative influence the war is having on Robert’s …show more content…
The battle that sent Robert into full fletched insanity was a do or die operation for the Allies. Robert was in charge of delivering convoys to the front lines when they were ambushed with aerial attacks. Robert had recently been deployed with a fresh supply of horses and mules, which were becoming bomb shell fodder. Robert decided that the crucial objective would be to save the horses; mostly importantly because they would need them half an hour later after the bombing ebbed. Robert’s upper rank, Captain Leather, forbid him to flee to safety with the horses for the reason of looking cowardly in battle. Robert disputed with his Captain and ultimately chose to go against his captain’s words to save the horses. It ended up not working as planned because at the split second of freeing the horses, a bomb blew up on cue as the horses ran to safety, which ended up killing or injuring the animals explained in the next passage. Robert emitted his true insanity through his actions
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition, similar to an anxiety disorder, that is triggered by trauma and other extremely stressful circumstances. Throughout the book, Junger talks about PTSD in a wide range:from PTSD rates in natural disaster victims to PTSD rates in veterans. The latter is explained on a deeper perspective. While Junger gave many examples of why PTSD rates in America were so high, the most captivating was:
War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sadly, some resort to suicide to escape their insecurities. Soldiers, however, are not the only ones affected by wars; family members also experience mental hardships when their loved ones are sent to war. Timothy Findley accurately portrays the detrimental effects wars have on individuals in his masterpiece The Wars.
PTSD is as old as war itself (McClellend). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a person lives through a horrible event, such as a war. During a traumatic event, a person’s nervous sy...
Bob Kiley, a soldier that everyone called Rat experienced a type of warfare that caused him a personal type of madness. O’Brien believes that Rat’s true experiences began when he lost his friend Lemon. Lemon and Rat was playing catch when Lemon stepped on a booby-trap. Today, people have counselors and support systems to assist them with deal with the death of a partner in war. However, the time of war Ray experience did not offer these benefits. To deal with his pain he attempted to take his frustration out on a water buffalo. He thought that by shooting the animal through various parts of its body would ease the pain that he felt. Once he wrote to his sister to tell her that “what a great brother she had (617). Lemon’s sister did not respond to the letter the he sent this hurt him even more. The truth in the story is that Rat experiences a true disconnect between the war and a person that has never experience the war.
“The months pass by. The summer of 1918 is the most bloody and most terrible. The days stand like angels in blue and gold, incomprehensible, above the ring of annihilation.” (Remarque 230). This quote is an example of an event that a soldier would probably re-play in their mind causing Post -traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a disorder caused by experiencing a traumatic or very stressful experience, such as war. This can cause emotional problems for people like Paul and his friends in All Quiet on the Western Front.
In this investigation, the personal side of the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war will be examined- particularly the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that were most common in veterans, and the different experiences in the war or after returning home that could have caused them. The types of warfare, deaths, and differences from methods used in the Vietnam War will be discussed. Technological advancements and mindsets of the different times of the wars will be taken into account. The definition of PTSD and descriptions of different general causes will be mentioned, as well. Different accounts from veterans and reports on PTSD Vietnam War veteran victims will be analyzed for individual cases and examples. Sources used will include Wounds of War by Herbert Hendin and Ann Pollinger Haas and information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the National Institute of Mental Health’s website.
Bierce writes, “we observed that he had one most objectionable and unsoldierly quality: he was vain of his courage” (Bierce 63). Bierce, as an officer in the Army, knows that Brayle’s actions does not reflect the quality of an officer should posses. Although Baryle’s actions might seem courageous and inspiring to an ordinary civilian, anybody with military background and tactical knowledge can see the underlying danger of Brayle’s actions.
Superheroes are typically perceived as those who persevere through conflict by acting compassionately and courageously to save society. In reality, however, conflict reveals the adverse behaviours of individuals, including the use of selfish and violent means to protect oneself. The Wars, by Timothy Findley, shows that the worst aspects of humanity are exploited during war and are the cause of the destruction of all forms of life. First, the corruption of the pure elements highlights how individuals lose their innocence and act carelessly and viciously when faced with conflict. Second, the foil and mirror characters accentuate how it is impossible to hang onto purity, since humanity’s wicked tendencies result in a hopeless devastation for
One who is righteous, pure, and ethical obtains a solid moral compass. A lack of morality in an individual results in insanity. This is shown in Timothy Findley’s The Wars; the war corrupts individual’s integrity which ultimately leads to their insanity. Robert Ross and Rodwell depict lunacy as war demoralizes them. As individuals receive commands that violate their virtues, as a repercussion a person will become irrational.
In the novel The Wars, Robert Ross is a sensitive nineteen year old boy who experiences first-hand the horrors of battle as a Canadian Soldier in the First World War in hopes of trying to find who he is. Being named a Lieutenant shortly after arriving in Europe, Robert is thrust into combat. War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Timothy Findley shows the effects wars have on individuals in his novel The Wars. Findley suggests that war can change a persons behaviour in many different ways, however it is seen to be negatively more often then not. Robert Ross, the main character of The Wars, shows symptoms of what is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in today’s society.
It was full of power and speed and despite the apparent fear in it’s eyes there was also something else. It knew, not only that his reins were in the right hands, but that it could not be outrun. So it burst forward, a mighty beast, the unprepared german soldiers running for dear life. Few escaped it’s wrath but those who did had a plan b. A trench with heavy machine guns was set on the edge of the forest behind the camp, and the few soldiers who made it there began to pour bullets from the barrels, and yet the horse ran right towards them, even after it’s rider had been knocked from his saddle, the horse ran on over the enemy lines before being captured. It was an amazing beautiful movie and there is no question as to if you should watch it. I left the theatres with my family that day with a fire still in my belly. So that was the war horse, who feared nothing and nickered mockingly at the trumpets of war; Yet my experience with this majestic beast was not yet concluded and there was still much for me to experience with it. The day I could finally truly experience this animals full might and up close power came in the form of horse riding classes, my sisters were so excited to ride one, and I, although having small respectful fear of what this living thing was capable of doing to me, at least wanted to run my hand over its
The First World War is considered one of the deadliest conflicts in history, its more than nine million casualties exacerbated by the advancement in war technology. However, the physical damage the war inflicted on its participants pales in comparison to the emotional scars seared into the minds of these young men. The modest percentage of veterans who had survived the carnage still returned home ruined by the bloodshed. Not only did these warriors have to cope with the trauma that inevitably came with simply being involved in the war, but also with the threat of the rival side weaponizing their subconscious to turn on themselves. The introduction of organized psychological warfare changed the face of combat in a much deeper level than machine guns, poison gas, or tanks and aircrafts ever could. Psychological warfare, or psywar, was used throughout the Great War to ultimately influence the behavior of whoever or whomever it is targeted towards, and, along with other sources of trauma, forced those whom enlisted to detach themselves from their emotions, transforming them to empty shells of their former selves.
...ermore, the conflict provoked a high risk of be prolonged psychologically in a serious brain disturbance. It has ruined their any chances of getting rid of this trauma by compromising any of them academic future. The many children facing this “massive war traumas show evidence of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder” (PTSD).
PTSD was such a horrible sickness because it embedded traumatic events in a soldiers mind. So later on this memory impeded a soldier enjoyment of life. Certain smell, sights and taste a soldier experienced triggered their memory making them recall those horrifying moments when their friend was brutally slaughtered. When these memories occurred soldiers would lose themselves. They would would break down and question themselves, ‘What could I have done to save him? Why did he die and not me? The guilt was so great that for many that they simply killed themselves. However, this was only one of the horrible effects of PTSD. Another
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.