All Quiet On The Western Front Essay

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What is a war hero? Many people would say that a war hero is someone who put their life on the line or even died for their cause. War heroes often possess traits such as selflessness, sacrifice, and courage, that help them do everything in their will to make the world a better place and to protect what they believe is right. In examples such as the Revolutionary War, the war heroes were fighting for freedom against oppression from an overbearing government; in the civil war, they fought for or against slavery and states rights; in the Cold War, they fought against the spread of Communism. Every war is different, but the few things that the wars have in common are the soldiers and the traits that they possess. Every soldier has to have selflessness, or they would not fight. They are fighting for what they believe as well as what others believe, and they are putting their own lives on the line for everyone who shares the same point of view. In “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the main character of the story tries to do everything in his power to help the Confederacy strike back at the union. Ultimately, he was a citizen, and didn’t have to fight. His selflessness and purposeful cause led to his death. Was he a war hero? It can or can not be considered so. Despite his social situation, he gave his life for what he believed, and he died in honor. In “A Mystery of Heroism”, The main character, Fred Collins, is seen as a war hero. HIs selfless and honorable deeds inspired his whole brigade and helped sustain their fight even longer. He put himself in danger over everyone else. He had one simple need, but he shared his water with all, and his heroic story was forgotten within minutes. War heroes always contain selflessness, and the fact that some are forgotten makes them more of a hero. One more trait that all war heroes have is sacrifice. …show more content…
During any war, men and women leave their families and normal life behind to go and fight for those they love. Even men and women who don’t have their own families sacrifice a lot, in “All Quiet on the Western Front”, in is inferred that they don’t have as much to lose, but instead, they become indifferent to the society that they grow up and live in. War heroes, such as the soldier in Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home” are young, and sacrifice their lives at home, trading it in for a completely different world. The main character, simply known as “Krebs”, is one such man. Not all are exalted, but, as many believe, all who fight for a cause are war heroes. During the two decades of the 1950s to the 1970s, the longest war in United States history, the Vietnam war, was a battleground for sacrifice and war heroes. They did not have to be there, but they were, simply due to the fact that the government wanted them to be there. Thousands gave their lives to a lost cause, destroyed by the traps and ambushes of the guerrilla warfare that took place. These war heroes sacrificed themselves to help the nation. To be considered a war hero, one must also be courageous. If one lacks courage, then nothing

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