World War I was a conflict that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and altered the lives of countless others. Shortly after the War, two novels surfaced, Generals Die In Bed by Charles Yale Harrison and All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, that became influential in our understanding of how the soldiers lived. Each novel provides a firsthand account from a soldier’s point of view on one of the most brutal wars ever to have been fought. The novels portray war without the common popular veils of patriotism and heroism. General Douglas MacArthur stated “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war”.…
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 Troubles of War In the hardships of war, you must fight for what you believe is right or things will never change. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim and his family face many troubles with the ongoing war. The war is brutal and effects not only those fighting it, but those around it. Unfortunately the people must do desperate things in order to cope with their desperate situations.…
F: How does the way O’Brien structures his work inform the themes and messages he develops? The way O’Brien structures his work through the use of narrative storytelling, direct quotation, and recurring motifs help emphasize the themes of post-war hardships, emotional weakness, and guilt . O’Brien uses common motifs of amoral decision making, isolation, and moral ambiguity. The motifs set the path for the book because O’Brien creates a novel about a group of men who endure the mental and physical fight on war.…
In the book “Birdsong” by Sebastian Faulks (the author), demonstrates the advantages of being in power, and being rich. During the First World War, Stephan who enlisted to fight the Germans was put into a position of power. He quickly rose to the rank of left-tenant, with this power, he was given the ability to court martial any soldier who did not follow the strict army rules. One night, as Stephan was walking around at night to inspect the sentries, he saw one of the sentries sleeping. He woke the sentry up and told the man to “report to [him] because the soldier was asleep.…
Life during World War II was a time unlike any other. American author, John Steinbeck, gave up a life of fame and riches to follow troops around the Eastern hemisphere and document their journeys. Though there are many sources a person could go to for information about the war, Steinbeck’s account goes into great detail about what life was actually like for an American solider during the war. On his journeys, Steinbeck recorded many aspects of the war that would otherwise go unnoticed. Throughout Steinbeck’s travels, he records accounts of how soldiers adjusted to military life, how life continued during the war, and how the soldiers reacted during combat.…
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel is a non-fiction account of the harsh realities of war. After reading this novel, it becomes clear that America as a country is truly blind to not only how difficult it is for soldiers at war to witness the moments in battle, but also the daily activities that maintain their ability to survive. Written with candor by the Washington Post journalist Finkel who spent 8 months with a group of Iraq war soldiers known as the 2-16, his honest and heartbreaking depiction of the trials and tribulations of war and the toll it took on these men both physically and mentally leaves readers heartbroken and emotionally scarred. In the novel, Finkel chooses not to write from the first person perspective even though he witnessed the events take place.…
The beginning part of the chapter reminded me a lot of my dad. My dad had just turned eighteen and was one of the last men to get drafted in Omaha. He was opposed to the war and refused to shoot a gun so he joined the navy. “’They would read off the number, and I remember this guy Steven—his number was one of the first, and it was like, oh my God. And he just sat there.…
Human Rather Than a Character The first thing that comes to mind while thinking about a soldier is a man wearing clean uniform with glittering gold badges. This man is courageous, fearless; he can run through mud while it’s raining, go into dark tunnels without having any fear. From this hypothetical soldier’s face, it can be understood that he is proud of serving his country and protecting the weak. This man who would do anything to save his compatriots, fights dauntlessly in the war zone, when all he can think about is his beloved wife and kids.…
The terrors of the Vietnam War has always frightened the people into hiding. Afraid of facing death in the eye or having your friend die in your arms. But what if there was more to the war then meets the eye? What if you were your own worst enemy? In the novel, Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers uses both the setting and time period to explore controversial topics.…
Social obligation is societal pressure which often changes the way a person may act. All people go through a time in their lives where they must decide based on the way society would want them to, rather than on what they believe. Written by Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carry portrays a situation in which social obligation roams through the mind of O’Brien. He is stuck in a position in which societal pressure inclines him to participate in a war in which he did not believe. While hiding out on the Canadian border, O’Brien must choose whether he will travel to Vietnam and become a soldier or flee the United States and never look back.…
In society, we tend to see tremendous families loosing a loved one due to war. Some of those incidences that occur to soldiers at war, tend to be harsh and unforgettable. In the book, Zinky boys, by Svetlana Alexievich, the author shows how her project of gathering interviews from people that lost a loved one at war, made it possible for her to express the idea of loss in different aspects from people’s voices. Alexievich was from Belarus, who wrote in Russia how the voices from the Afghanistan and Soviet soldiers expressed their views towards their motherland and what the real truth was from their opinion. The main point of Alexievich’s project is to explore lives of veterans and their opinion about the war.…
MC / Vocab Practice #2 - Jack London, What Life Means to Me Paraphrase Paragraph 1: London has been overworked to the point that it affected his health Reduced to a beggar that went from door to door Paragraph 2: London has lost his position in the working class He has fallen into poverty, the area ignored by society Paragraph 3: Due to his poverty, London saw the simplicity of society Every person had a commodity to sell Man inherently sold items to satisfy basic needs Labor only contained the commodity of muscle Paragraph 4: Laborers are unable to restock on their commodity Muscle disappears over time, leaving the laborer poor Once the muscle has disappeared, poverty ensues Paragraph 5: The brain was a commodity just like muscle Brain sellers…
Germany flourished on the nationalism in the early 1900’s of its people, ready to encounter an attack at any moment and any time. People forget the decision of war until they are in the flame of its fire. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque explains his war experience in World War 1 through a character, Paul Bumer—a kind and sensitive man. While in school, he used to write poems. Paul’s teacher brainwashed him and other students.…
Yusef Komunyakaa is a creative writer who specialized in poetry, he was born Bogalusa, Louisiana in 1947. Once Yusef graduated from high school he entered the army and served in the Vietnam War. Once he returned from the war he was awarded a bronze star and continued to get more degrees involved in writing. Yusef wrote several books of poetry. In one of the books about the Vietnam War, the final poem is titled facing it.…