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Social psychological effects of war essay
How a war changes the perspective of a person
War psychological effects
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The transformation from adolescent into adulthood can cause an individual to become conscious that it is time to uncover one’s whereabouts in the world. A majority of individuals reaches this transition effortlessly whereas others struggle to receive acceptance amongst their surroundings. In the short story “Soldiers Home” Harold Krebs’ character appears in two photographs which are critical to how his own existence transforms, beginning as a young fraternity student then following the likeness of a soldier under the effects of World War I. As well as, a third depiction apparent in images of black and white within the pages, exposing Krebs’s inability to “accept the old norms” and his failure to proceed in finding his function in life (DeFalco …show more content…
Furthermore, in his position amongst his family, he tells untruths to articulate affection, such as at the breakfast when his mom asks, “Don’t you love your mother, dear boy” (125)? “No…I don’t love anybody” (125). Which causes his mother to sob and in reaction, Krebs fib initiates a nauseous stomach. As pointed out by Johnson, “Tears blur her vision; self-pity makes her deaf to the truth. This woman is ignorant to the fact that she is embarrassing her offspring, forcing him into falseness. In the same way he expresses accounts regarding his military experience in order to acquire any attention, providing that countless tales concerning the war are being told before his arrival …show more content…
All of other soldier discovered their place once returning, except Harold, who consumes the majority of his time slumbering, reading books, playing pool, walking, and observing the young women. This approach on the pathway of his existence compels his parents to worry. As Johnston points out, “Mrs. Krebs voices the same blind faith and presents the same ambition for her son which is a good job and marriage to a girl. Thus, Krebs discovers no tranquility upon the home front and needs to discover himself, as a result, his family is trying to reconnect him with humanity to become a productive citizen.
In conclusion, Harold Kerbs is experiencing similar characteristic of countless veterans who coming back from the war experience. Krebs family anxiety over his alienation from the actual world; although they do not seem to understand the intensity of the problem. Not to mention war has taken away any kind of feelings he might have with approaching life. That gives us a living representation in the way battle can dehumanize a human mind, but in addition shows how civilization encounters individual whose minds are with trauma after returning. In conclusion, Krebs doesn’t consume the strength thus far to
Robert Ross’ is introduced to characters with varying outlooks on the world, based on their own social and economic backgrounds. The soldiers around Robert Ross differ greatly,...
In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, characters Gene and Phineas begin their journeys to adulthood in a war torn environment. The dynamic formed between a world full of struggle and the crucial age of development in high school proves to be an excellent setting to examine the abilities of both Gene and Phineas to “come of age.” Being a Bildungsroman, the theme of coping with war and death is highlighted via the imagery that surrounds both Gene’s epiphany moment at the marble stairs, and its introduction at the beginning of the novel. Additionally, Knowles employs a flashback to set a nostalgic and somewhat reflective mood, which further extends this meaning. In Knowles’ “coming of age” novel A Separate Peace, the use of imagery surrounding the marble stairs, and a reminiscent flashback aid Gene is discovering that war and death can never be understood.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print.
When the war was over, the survivors went home and the world tried to return to normalcy. Unfortunately, settling down in peacetime proved more difficult than expected. During the war, the boys had fought against both the enemy and death in far away lands; the girls had bought into the patriotic fervor and aggressively entered the workforce. During the war, both the boys and the girls of this generation had broken out of society's structure; they found it very difficult to return.
When Krebs was in the army, he had a defined identity as a soldier and when he returns home Krebs’s reluctance to take the defined identity of the everyday joe shmoe that is awaiting him. Krebs difficulty to involve himself with the girls in his hometown reflects his refusal to conform to society’s expectation of him. Krebs associates his hometown girls as death to his individualism. All the girls in Krebs hometown look alike with their “round Dutch collars above their sweaters... their silk stockings and flat shoes,” (Hemingway; 49) and “their bobbed hair and the way they walked” (49). The strict uniformity of the girls that Krebs observes can be interpreted to resemble the uniformity of soldiers. Hemingway utilizes diction to illustrate Krebs’s opinion on the army’s forced conformity; “but they lived in such a complicated world of already defined alliances and shifting feuds that Krebs did not feel the energy or the courage to break into it” (49). In context of war, “alliances” is a word used between countries and in World War I it meant The Allies. Krebs using word “alliances...
In his book, My Fellow Soldiers, Andrew Carroll tells the story of World War I through the eyes of the American participants. He uses quotes, personal letters and diaries, from an array of characters, to depict a day in the life of a WWI warrior. Though, he narrows his focus on the untold story of General John J. Pershing, a US army leader. He uniquely talks about the General's vulnerable and emotional side. "Pershing was notoriously strong-willed, to the point of seeming cold, rigid, and humorless, almost more machine than man" (p.XVIII). Pershing is commonly recognized for his accomplishments during the war and remembered for his sternness. He was "…especially unforgiving when it came to matters of discipline" (p. XVIII). Nicknamed "Black Jack" due to his mercilessness towards his soldiers, in this book, Pershing is portrayed as a General with much determination and devotion to his troops, family, and close friends.
Robert 's mom, Mrs. Ross, is incredibly influenced by her child 's decision to join the war abroad. She gradually becomes far off from her crew. She rather lean towards the organization of her companion Mrs. Davenport. Mrs. Ross is effected by Robert going to wars which is seen in,” I’m blind, said Mrs. Ross. I’ve gone blind” (Findley 186). Actually, the relatives of fighters sent to war can be contrarily influenced psychologically and emotionally. Like stated in Canada in Context, “The result is more depression, more stress, and more sleepless nights." Many family members at home worry about the wellbeing their son or husband who is at war. They constantly await for the date they would come home and be safe once again. Subsequent to returning home, soldiers will most likely be unable to conform to their previous day-by-day lives. This outcomes in a change of social demeanour for the family. Findley precisely defines the withdrawal of a few individuals from the family from the rest using the character of Mrs. Ross. Findley 's depiction of the impacts of war on both family and soldier is to a great degree precise when contrasted with issues experienced by genuine soldiers and their
In the Soldier’s Home, Harold Krebs comes home a year later than most of his comrades from
Many people question if Guy Sajer, author of The Forgotten Soldier, is an actual person or only a fictitious character. In fact, Guy Sajer in not a nom de plume. He was born as Guy Monminoux in Paris on 13 January 1927. At the ripe young age of 16, while living in Alsace, he joined the German army. Hoping to conceal his French descent, Guy enlisted under his mother's maiden name-Sajer. After the war Guy returned to France where he became a well known cartoonist, publishing comic books on World War II under the pen name Dimitri.
In one of the early chapters, “How To Tell A True War Story”, O’Brien recalled the time Lemon and Kiley went off by themselves after the platoon marched for two days, “A nature hike, [Rat Kiley and Curt Lemon] thought…giggling and calling each other yellow mother and playing a silly game they invented” (69). Kiley is momentarily portrayed as a kid, who is untouched by the harsh realities of the Vietnam War. But the juxtaposition of placing an unsuspecting child in a hostile war zone sets an ominous tone for Rat Kiley. Like most soldiers who had been drafted into the war, Kiley initially did not have the emotional During his deployment in Vietnam, Kiley experienced the dark elements of the war, indubitably changing his perspective of the war and him as a person-- from the deaths of his fellow soldiers to the unresolved issues, nightmares, and detachment from reality. What is left of Kiley is only a
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.
The initial reaction I received from reading Soldier's Home, and my feelings about Soldier's Home now are not the same. Initially, I thought Harold Krebs is this soldier who fought for two years, returns home, and is disconnected from society because he is in a childlike state of mind, while everyone else has grown up. I felt that Krebs lost his immature years, late teens to early 20's, because he went from college to the military. I still see him as disconnected from society, because there isn't anyone or anything that can connect him to the simple life that his once before close friends and family are living. He has been through a traumatic experience for the past two years, and he does not have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Krebs is in a battle after the battle.
The story has different elements that make it a story, that make it whole. Setting is one of those elements. The book defines setting as “the context in which the action of the story occurs” (131). After reading “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemmingway, setting played a very important part to this story. A different setting could possibly change the outcome or the mood of the story and here are some reasons why.
As a first hand observer of the Civil War, the great American Poet, Walt Whitman once said,"The real war [of the mind] will never get in the books."Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a horrible mental ailment that afflicts thousands of soldiers every year. Besides the fact that it is emotionally draining for the soldier, it also deeply alters their family and their family dynamics. Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldier's Home” illustrates how this happens. Harold Krebs returns home from World War I. He has to deal with becoming reaccustomed to civilian life along with relearning social norms. He must also learn about his family and their habits. The ramifications of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a ripple effect on the lives of not only the victim, but also the friends and family they relate to.
War changes everyone involved in one way or another. For some it physical changes them because they get physical deformed, but for most people, war changes their mental state. War changes people’s mental state because of the duties that they have to perform and the experiences that they have to see. Tim O’Brien shows how the characters mental states changed throughout the book, because of the war.