Author Tim O’Brien fictionalized himself in a short story called “On the Rainy River” which shows the battle that frequently occurred to a recipient of the draft notice as the war dragged on. In this story, there are many connotations to war and the American soldier persona. Tim battles with a difficult decision that was not uncommon during the late sixties and early seventies. In O’Brien’s short story, Canada was the land of the free, since military duty is optional, and home of the cowards, a description used by many Americans for those who fled from their duties.Often from their fear of such “cowardice”, young men went to boot camp and became soldiers in the Vietnam War. The person who received the notice commonly was not the person who
…show more content…
Many changes occur in the soldier’s mind in order to fulfill their role. Philip Zimbardo illustrates the psychological aspects of conforming to a role in his essay “A Pirandellian Prison”. The purpose of Zimbardo’s experiment was to exploit the psychological changes that any person is susceptible to when given a designated position. In a prison environment, Zimbardo assigned men to guards and prisoners. No matter what morals or values were held by the subject prior to the experiment, each person conformed to their role. Zimbardo states, “The potential social value of this study derives precisely from the fact that normal, healthy, educated young men could be so radically transformed under the institutional pressures…”Can i do this to a quote? Zimbardo shows that once given a role and some act of dehumanization occurs, the subjects adopt and live out the expectations, despite their upbringing and experiences. So, with “deindividualization”, the American soldier becomes what is expected of him. Many of them, like Tim O’Brien, were motivated by the fear of society’s …show more content…
The draft notice limited the amount of choice a young man really had in anything, since penalties for fleeing were so intense there were few ways of avoiding it. Not to mention the social consequences that were illustrated in O’Brien’s short story: isolation, rejection, and ridicule. To a conservative family, a person who dodged the draft is an embarrassment and to the government, he is a criminal. Thus with the support of their society leaning toward the war in its early stages, they were compliant. And because of this, they felt no responsibility in their decision. Stanley Milgram in his essay “The Perils of Obedience”, illustrates that the division of labor “takes away from the human quality of work and life”(77). The soldier’s actions were not considered his, since he did not decide to be there, the people did. Milgram states, “He yields to authority but in doing so is alienated from his own actions”(77). The soldier submits and carries out what is told by him, yet cannot take any responsibility for what he truly does. The orders came from above, so he did not feel personally liable. It was at the time where news stories were being broadcasted to the world that many changes occurred within the military. Morale levels dropped in most cases and sadness and hopelessness a common emotion among the troops. Though their actions were not the primary reason for sadness, since they believed their job was to kill, it could not
Many changes occur in the soldier’s mind in order to fulfill their role. Philip Zimbardo illustrates the psychological aspects of conforming to a role in his essay “A Pirandellian Prison”. The purpose of Zimbardo’s experiment was to exploit the psychological changes that any person is susceptible to when given a designated position. In a prison environment, Zimbardo assigned men to guards and prisoners. No matter what morals or values were held by the subject prior to the experiment, each person conformed to their role. Zimbardo states, “The potential social value of this study derives precisely from the fact that normal, healthy, educated young men could be so radically transformed under the institutional pressures…”Can i do this to a quote? Zimbardo shows that once given a role and some act of dehumanization occurs, the subjects adopt and live out the expectations, despite their upbringing and experiences. So, with “deindividualization”, the American soldier becomes what is expected of him. Many of them, like Tim O’Brien, were motivated by the fear of society’s …show more content…
The draft notice limited the amount of choice a young man really had in anything, since penalties for fleeing were so intense there were few ways of avoiding it. Not to mention the social consequences that were illustrated in O’Brien’s short story: isolation, rejection, and ridicule. To a conservative family, a person who dodged the draft is an embarrassment and to the government, he is a criminal. Thus with the support of their society leaning toward the war in its early stages, they were compliant. And because of this, they felt no responsibility in their decision. Stanley Milgram in his essay “The Perils of Obedience”, illustrates that the division of labor “takes away from the human quality of work and life”(77). The soldier’s actions were not considered his, since he did not decide to be there, the people did. Milgram states, “He yields to authority but in doing so is alienated from his own actions”(77). The soldier submits and carries out what is told by him, yet cannot take any responsibility for what he truly does. The orders came from above, so he did not feel personally liable. It was at the time where news stories were being broadcasted to the world that many changes occurred within the military. Morale levels dropped in most cases and sadness and hopelessness a common emotion among the troops. Though their actions were not the primary reason for sadness, since they believed their job was to kill, it could not