Thousands of people join our military and risk their lives to fight for their country. After many years of fighting in war soldiers are no longer who they used to be. When they return home they are looked at, treated badly, and are not given the treatment needed to recover. The struggles and obstacles these veterans face on their journey home and once they arrive forever face. In the epic poem, Odyssey by Homer, it shows the obstacles a soldier has to face on their journey.
Odysseus and his men have traveled a rough journey on their way home to Ithaca. The gods put Odysseus's men to the test by seeing if the will follow his rules even in the toughest situations. In the poem, “Sailing From Troy”, Odysseus’ men ignore his orders to leave. “Sheep …show more content…
This story portrayed the struggle that veterans had while trying to convert back to their original lifes before war. Throughout the story, there are several examples of veterans being held back and struggling because no longer live the life they used to. “Thirty years after military discharge he has in one year used up four weeks of vacation time, 150 hours of sick time, and 80 hours without pay, mainly having to leave work in order to prevent himself from killing somebody, but also to receive treatment at the VA” (Shay 6). Bear isn’t able to live a normal life because of the things his old life had put him through, putting everyone is harm's way. Soldiers and vets would try to find other outs or ways of coping with the way they were treated and couldn’t fit into “normal”. “Pain makes the nightmares go away. There's not enough pills or booze to make the nightmares go away, but….If I get hurt bad it helps the nightmares go away faster" ( Shay 9). Many veterans would resort to violence or illegal substances to try and distract them from the reality of not being able to fit in like they used to. Every veteran experiences some type of struggle on their journey home as shown in this article by Jennifer
Odysseus and his men have traveled a rough journey on their way home to Ithaca. The gods put Odysseus's men to the test by seeing if the will follow his rules even in the toughest situations. In the poem, “Sailing From Troy”, Odysseus’ men ignore his orders to leave. “Sheep …show more content…
This story portrayed the struggle that veterans had while trying to convert back to their original lifes before war. Throughout the story, there are several examples of veterans being held back and struggling because no longer live the life they used to. “Thirty years after military discharge he has in one year used up four weeks of vacation time, 150 hours of sick time, and 80 hours without pay, mainly having to leave work in order to prevent himself from killing somebody, but also to receive treatment at the VA” (Shay 6). Bear isn’t able to live a normal life because of the things his old life had put him through, putting everyone is harm's way. Soldiers and vets would try to find other outs or ways of coping with the way they were treated and couldn’t fit into “normal”. “Pain makes the nightmares go away. There's not enough pills or booze to make the nightmares go away, but….If I get hurt bad it helps the nightmares go away faster" ( Shay 9). Many veterans would resort to violence or illegal substances to try and distract them from the reality of not being able to fit in like they used to. Every veteran experiences some type of struggle on their journey home as shown in this article by Jennifer