Through the first three chapters of Soldier’s Heart, Charley does not believe that war could possibly be horrifying. He thinks war is just pretty girls giving him handkerchiefs and sweets. He even thinks that the war will be over by Christmas. When he enters his first battle and experiences the blood and gore firsthand, he learns that war is not romantic. I think the biggest horror of war for Charley is learning that there are horrors of war, and that is a shocking and eye-opening realization.
When Charley signs up for the war, even he romanticizes it. He is even looking forward to the war, which is completely at odds with what war truly is. He has no idea when he goes to sign himself up that war is not just pretty girls giving him handkerchiefs and sweets. Even just training and going on the train to Maryland, he’s still not concerned. He thinks that that is all war will be- simple challenges, over in the blink of an eye. …show more content…
That is the biggest horror of war to him: that there are horrors of war. As he watches men fall around him, he realizes that war, which he thought to be beautiful and a reason to celebrate, is horrifying and truly terrible. He sees two bullets collide in midair and a man decapitated by a cannonball that proceeds to go through a horse mouth to rear. He very quickly and suddenly realizes that war is not sweet or kind. He realizes that war is terrifying, and even in later battles, he says nothing could compare to the fear of the first battle, and that has to do with the sudden realization of the horrors of
When Charley signs up for the war, even he romanticizes it. He is even looking forward to the war, which is completely at odds with what war truly is. He has no idea when he goes to sign himself up that war is not just pretty girls giving him handkerchiefs and sweets. Even just training and going on the train to Maryland, he’s still not concerned. He thinks that that is all war will be- simple challenges, over in the blink of an eye. …show more content…
That is the biggest horror of war to him: that there are horrors of war. As he watches men fall around him, he realizes that war, which he thought to be beautiful and a reason to celebrate, is horrifying and truly terrible. He sees two bullets collide in midair and a man decapitated by a cannonball that proceeds to go through a horse mouth to rear. He very quickly and suddenly realizes that war is not sweet or kind. He realizes that war is terrifying, and even in later battles, he says nothing could compare to the fear of the first battle, and that has to do with the sudden realization of the horrors of