They even fantasize about killing the sniper in the most brutal of ways, “He will hold his trembling hands on high and stammer the international word for compassion and mercy. He will say that beautiful word comrade, a word born in suffering and sorrow, but we will stab him down with our bayonets.” This shows the resentment for the sniper and how mercilessness the men have become, by literally wanting to kill a soldier begging for his life. Before the war these men even in their worst nightmare would not do such a violent and barbaric act, yet they all have the intense desire to do so. Not only do the men resent the enemy they begin to resent each other. Clark has no respect for his troops and this leads to resentment towards himself.
The soldiers live and fight in terrible conditions. This environment begins a cycle that causes the soldiers to despise the Iraqis. They are under constant fear of being attacked or blown up. They are living in a location, the desert, which they are not use to. “The dust, the fear, the high threat level, the isolation-all of that was the surge the soldiers knew .
The protagonist, who was keen to remove himself from the rat and lice infested trenches, enrolled himself in a bombardment of the German’s, with little knowledge of what he was getting himself in to. The protagonist was experiencing the concept of ‘Kill or be killed’, had a German soldier at the end of his bayonet and his howling had unnerved him. His rifle stood between him and death and the decision to leave unarmed and possibly die or kill the soldier and survive was to be made. The emotional turmoil was unbearable and the pulling of the trigger was excruciating. Even after this ordeal and the shock, the protagonist was still able to sympathise with the dead German’s soldier’s brother.
The culture would make their soldiers very brave and loyal in battle, this was done not by upholding a high standard or praising the soldiers from achievements in battle but by harshly reprimanding them. The soldiers during this era were so immensely afraid of the punishment that would come from deserting the war that they would give their lives to the enemy by risking it all. As shown in the text “Some men who have lost a shield or sword or another part of their arms in battle heedlessly throw themselves against the enemy, hoping either to recover what the lost, or to escape the inevitable disgrace and the insults of their relatives by suffering injury or death” (Hunt et. Al 2009, 154). It was derived from this excerpt, that the soldiers during Polybius’ reign were so scared to be punished or even ridiculed for leaving their post in battle or failing that they would bravely throw themselves into the enemies position to regain their arms or face death.
Chapter 4 Main events Introduction of the word Conrad: One of the biggest events of this chapter is the introduction of the word Conrad. The narrator talks about the snipers and what will happen to them when they are discovered. He continues on to say “ He will utter that magical word, Conrad; then we will strike him down”. The word Conrad means friend, the Germans are in the exact same situation as them; so the word Conrad shows that they are equal and when used in battle they surrender. However, we learn that the word has no meaning to the soldiers as they would kill the sniper and any German soldier.
Die for your country Moral contradiction in a moral principle: utilitarianism. Homicide can be an appalling achievement, but while killing under utilitarianism jurisdiction of war can dismiss the horrific matters of taking lives. When putting death in a context of “dying for your country” the direness of the situation transforms into an admirable one. Propaganda, and the sociological aspects of not going to war, utterly employs all men into the army in complete blindness of reality. This is portrayed through WW1, in books such as Quite on the Western Front.
The soldiers in both stories have experienced traumatic events which lead them into a mentally unstable state. The way death plays a role in each story makes the story seem real. Wayne Karlin’s “Search and Destroy” talks about the death of the rats in such a cruel and brutal way that it makes the soldiers seem like savages. This is all war’s doing, war has turned the soldiers into savages, into animals that hunt their prey. At war the motto is “kill or be killed” and the choice you make can lead to your survival or your death.
Literary Analysis “Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien Admittedly, the greatest fear of a soldier is the fear of death. The mere thought of being shot and buried in a mud with a bunch of other corpses or getting stuck and buried alive in a tunnel under the tons of earth, makes a person have goosebumps. In his story “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’Brien managed to explicitly elucidate the burden the soldiers carried throughout the Vietnam War and more importantly, he portrayed that the fear of death could be eclipsed by more frightening things. The story appears to have to a peculiar structure. Particularly, the actions are repeated throughout the story but described from different angle or in more details.
Paul tells the horrors of the front-line in battle as well as about life in camp. The struggles and hardships Paul identifies show the reader in many ways the destructiveness of war and its lasting effects. The destruction of war is a theme that is identified in many ways throughout the novel. For one, the war takes away everything the soldiers have; there is no past or future. In the present, there is nothing but war.
Kiowa is carrying the fact that he really does not trust white people at times because of the past mistakes they have made. He dies and does not get to return to his family. Norman Bowker who feels as though he is part of the reason Kiowa died because he failed to save him, yet reveals that it really was not him. After returning home he hangs himself on a rope to kill himself which surprises everyone. These soldiers are not only carrying their weapons and their warrior mentality because it is their job after all to kill the enemy for our