They feel guilty for the deaths of men in their platoon, for the deaths of Vietnamese, and for their own inadequacies. This leads each individual’s guilt to develop in a different manner and force the individual to cope with the guilt in the best way they see fit. After the war, the psychological burdens the men carry during the war continue to define them. Years after the end of the war, Jimmy Cross goes to visit Tim O’Brien at his home and together they look at old photographs and reminisce. “We paused over a snapshot of Ted Lavender, and after a while Jimmy rubbed his eyes and said he’d never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death.
“Generals Die in Bed” shows that humans are totally dehumanised by war. Discuss. ‘Generals Die in Bed’, written by Charles Yale Harrison demonstrates the tremendous impact that war can have on an ordinary man and the dehumanising acts that this entails. It shows that the battle of war can test the dignity and morals of men and the emotional impact of this can further destroy that of comradeship and mateship. However, when all dignity and values seem lost, signs of their former selves can, and do return.
The essays “Why Soldier Won’t Talk,” by John Steinbeck, and “Ambush” by Tim O’Brien, are both about their own personal experiences in war. The authors explain the awful life or death choices the soldiers must decide and consequently deal with for the real of their lives. Although both of the authors have experienced war, their viewpoints and descriptions of war are incredibly different from each other. In the essay, “Why Soldier Won’t Talk,” Steinbeck directly avoids using the word “I,” and instead speaks in second person references. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand the harsh and difficult living conditions the soldiers are living in.
In the novel Triage written by Scott Anderson, both Ahmet Talzani and Joaquin Morales seem to embody a fatalistic view of life, one in which reasons have to be created. Triage is ultimately a novel where there is a lack of hope. After Marks incident in Kurdistan we are instantly made to feel like the worst is yet to come with the use of strong and colourful language. Hope is distinguished when the whereabouts of Colin is unknown, and throughout Marks recovery there are constantly reminders that Mark will most likely never recover. Anderson shows that war has a damning effect on war journalists as well as soldiers, and that their loved ones and families are also heavily affected.
He also makes it seem like everything is crumbling around Paul, and destroying all hope of survival and return to normal life for anyone who had experienced the front line. This is very different from pro-war poetry, which makes war seem fun. Something Remarque does either subconsciously or very well, is to make you feel sorry for the German and Central Powers’ soldiers, and to grow a subliminal hate for the allied soldiers, no matter who’s side you came in on. The Textbook also does this well, but in reverse. The Textbook gives off a sense of dislike towards the Central Powers, and made them seem primitive and destructive for no reason.
Charles Yale Harrison’s novel “Generals die in bed” directly depicts the catastrophic dehumanization of soldiers in war through each and every one of his characters. Dehumanization is the process of losing altruistic or individual qualities, as may occur in some psychotic states or in environments that produce emotional trauma and may be influenced by external forces. The environment and external forces in Harrison’s novel were the trenches. From the beginning of the novel the men are normal civilians, with morals and righteous beliefs who show great respect for their fellow man. Yet soon after they are stationed on the western front these men are transformed into barbaric killers whom resent and show very little mercy for their fellow man
As Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The connection between families and soldiers is affected by the war. Eric Bogle’s poem, The Green Fields of France, demonstrates the anti-war sentiment through the impact on the society due to the loss of young lives. Homecoming, by Bruce Dawe, explores the dehumanisation and pointlessness of war that thoroughly implicate the imperative relationship between soldiers and their families. The poem, The Charge of The Light Brigade by Lord Alfred Tennyson, presents the bravery and courage of the soldiers to sacrifice themselves in battle to defend their nation. The poets are using clear visual and aural poetic techniques to explore the relationship between the
The emotion a soldier experiences cannot be understood by anyone except those in war. This emotion is unique to each individual, as we all have different outlooks on life, death and war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s experience of the death of Lavender undoubtedly illustrates the effect war eventually makes on a soldier. Due to his mistake, Cross “felt shame. He hated himself.
Through this detailed description, Gurganus adds to his argument, making the war sound even more horrific. He is trying to get people to see his perspective, and to make all the glory of war seem meaningless. We send these men over to live in terrible conditions and they don’t even know why they are there
Throughout ‘The War poems’ Owen creates a sense of sympathy for the soldiers who fight in war and are forced to endure horrific atrocities that either they themselves commit, or are committed against them, the continual assaults on their physical and emotional wellbeing. In the poems Owen recreates his experiences being an officer on the ‘Western Front’ in World War I, and voices his bitterness towards and rejection of the futility of war; the never ending loss of life at the hands of the British Military. Owen condemns those who encouraged young men to go to war and used rhetoric to give off the impression that war rewarded young men with glory. Owen rejects this in his poems by reflecting his own experiences as ‘Glorious’ and investigating the horrors of war, and their effect on the physical and emotional wellbeing of soldiers. Owen’s poems are riddled with references to the loss of youth, innocence and life.