Either war and violence is obsolete or all mankind is. Private First Class Paul Berlin is scared for his life and haunted by the thought of war, being in Vietnam is not anywhere someone wants to be at this time and he finds himself right in the middle of it. Trudging through swamp, mud and soaked, lush forest isn't something you want to find yourself doing, especially with imminent threats of attack. Private Berlin´s platoon is on their way to their own ¨safe escape¨, the ocean is a sign of safety and security for the soldiers. After the death of Billy Boy, the entire platoon and especially Paul Berlin is haunted by his passing, scared of the possibilities to come. War brings about many things. War and violence can and will desensitize anyone …show more content…
Paul is haunted by the death of Billy Boy, he fears the same could and will happen to him. As a way to cope and overcome his fear, he tries to find humor in the fact of Billy Boy dying, and he does. Laughing hysterically he is told multiple times by a platoon member to shut up, but his fear has gotten the best of him, he cannot stop. ¨Giggling and remembering, he covered his mouth. His eyes stung, remembering how it was when Billy Boy died of fright,¨ (69). War scared the Private to such a point that it caused him to begin laughing uncontrollably and hysterically, he had to divert his attention somehow, why not with the natural escape of humor? Since Berlin was so frightened by the thought of war, death, and injury he desensitized himself to such a point where he found humor in the death of a fellow platoon member, soldier, fellow American, and human. In order to find something funny that is of the utmost level of seriousness takes either a lot of disrespect or a major amount of fright of the subject at hand. People even in today's society find humor in the small things when mass violence, deaths, and wars occur. They pick apart the stories to find one thing that they can find funny, so they can say ¨that was horrible, BUT did you see this¨, in a way it can take away the focus from the incident. If someone doesn't want to think or talk about a touchy subject they may find something that could be found humorous to divert eh conversation. Though their intentions are not bad they can result in desensitizing themselves without even wanting to. Just being open about a topic can prevent us from putting a lid on a situation and stop us from seeing things for the better rather than for what the truly are. The world needs to come out of its shell and see the planet and humankind for what we truly are, and what
Perry for example was already uncertain of his future and his knee injury already had him on edge. towards the end of the book after burning the corpses of his past comrades he lost all faith, and innocence. So the theme of the book is that war is devastating to person both mentally and
Approximately 20% of all war veterans suffer from a mental disorder called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short. This continues to affect many soldiers, just like it did in the past. For instance, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a first-person narrative set during World War I about a young boy and his friends’ journey to the battlefield. An anti war propaganda, Remarque’s novel debates the corruption of WWI. However, this novel can be used in connection with almost any war, regardless of the time period; many say that older ones, such as WWI, were extremely different than current ones.
The Effects Of War War is a terrible thing, everyone can agree with that. It will leave a mark on everyone who was involved. Either physically or even worse, mentally. In the book “All Quiet on the Western Front” by a World War 1 veteran Erich Remarque describes the effects of not just WWI, but of what war in general can do to a man.
How do you think war impacts soldiers? I believe that there are two different effects war can have on a soldier, a psychological and a physical one. One disorder involved with war is Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, in All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Bäumer, the narrator, tells of his experiences in World War I and the term associated with soldiers who have been corrupted by the war is “shell-shocked”. In my essay I will talk about the impact war has had on Paul, and how it 's affecting soldiers today.
War exists everywhere in the world we live in today. Although it’s not always about why the war is happening that we should specifically focus on, but rather who is involved or taking part in the war that should be the main focus. For example, in the story called “A Long Way Gone” a boy named Ishmael Beah is born in Sierra Leone during a rough period of war between two violent groups, which were the rebels and the government's military. In this war, both sides used children of all ages as soldiers. And unfortunately for Beah, he joined the military and was turned into a child soldier at a very young age because he had no other choice if he wanted survive.
When talking about war, there are many books with few answers to what war truly is. Barbara Ehrenreich brings forth not only the possibilities towards understanding war but also the passion people from history have had towards it. One key issue she brings to light is humanities love for war, so much so that people would use excuses like holy wars to justify their need to fight in a war. She declares that war is as muddled as the issue of diseases and where diseases came from around 200 years ago. More so than that she even goes further on to state that these rituals that date back to prehistoric times are the cause of human nature during times of war rather than human instinct.
War. War never changes. Since the dawn of time humanity has been at war whether it be with other humans, nature, or themselves. War is never moral, and it takes a toll on the people fighting it. “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity” (O’Brien, 2).
Men went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The
In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.
At the end Paul realizes that everything flashes before his eyes after all his friends had died,” I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how people are set against one another…” (Remarque, 263). The main character, Paul reaches the point where he understands that he has no knowledge of the meaning of life. This quote gives a better understanding of the factors of the war, death and fear and the role they play for the comrades. We are reminded the short amount of time most soldier survive, in Paul’s company the initial number of soldiers was one hundred eighty,” Second Company—with difficulty a line, a short line trudges off into the morning.
War isn’t a topic talked of lightly, especially for those who served in the war. In Tim O’Brien’s book titled The Things They Carried, soldiers encountered countless lifeless bodies, witnessed gallons of bloodshed, and questioned their own morals knowing that each battle could prove to be their last. In fact, the soldiers long to escape the daily fear and, in Vietnam especially, resort to whatever easily offers itself as a way to momentarily break with harsh reality whether alcohol, drugs, etc. However, the ones who did experience that trauma almost miss it. The adrenaline in combat, the lack of connection in society after the war, and the brotherhood they created are all factors that contribute to their saudade.
There are two basic ideas that can be taken from any war. War is expensive and war is hell. The second of these ideas is the premise of countless media adaptations; the violence of war has been captured, reenacted, and even created on film for viewers all over the world to enjoy. Even though war is a treacherous event, the general public enjoys viewing all of the gory details that entail. The American public’s fascination with war dates back to the Civil War; at the battle of Bull Run, northern citizens watched the battle while picnicking on the sidelines.
During the Vietnam War the soldiers, whether or not they wanted to be there, many of them developed mental illnesses. The things they would experience would cause burdens on them for the rest of their lives. “Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot in the head outside the village of Than Khe in mid-April.” (The Things They Carried) Lavender carried tranquilizers until he died, because he was scared.
The Effects of War Throughout history there has been an immense amount of wars. Since World War One which was from 1914-1918 there has been 260 significant wars; one of those wars was World War 2. To be the country we are today it takes many daily sacrifices. In Slaughterhouse Five the main character Billy Pilgrim, is affected mentally, physically, and emotionally from being in war. Being in a war especially World War 2 you see many people die, they can be your friends, family, acquaintances, or even a stranger.
A Humorous Sad Story “"Humor is the only truthful way to tell a sad story" (53). From incorrect English grammar, unusual hilarious nicknames, and getting a laugh out of tragedy, the novel Everything Is Illuminated uses humor to help keep a balance between emotions and gives a realistic life-like feeling to tragedies. Jonathan Safran Foer, gives humor the role to tell a sad story by taking the seriousness out of a situation, giving the story relief, and using it as a mechanism for one to cope. Many question if humor should be used when discussing serious topics such as rape, The Holocaust, and offensive language.