In the novel 'A Soldiers Tale' by M.K Joseph, the actions and dialogue of Charlie and Harry Berry help contribute to our understanding of Saul Scourby's ideologies and themes of the novel. They help us understand Saul through his actions and reactions to them and how he views them.
Charlie contributes to our understanding of Saul by acting as a constant companion and helper. He is portrayed as an innocent man throughout the novel in comparison with Saul who has been hardened by war. At the beginning of the novel the Bombardier alludes to this by mentioning that Saul, unlike Charlie, “would have been very bad indeed to have as an enemy”. This suggests that Charlie is not as dangerous or as lethal as Saul. Charlie acts as a character that nobody
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Harry Berry was a sergeant that Saul went on patrol with early in the war. Saul says that he doesn't want to have feelings about killing, whether positive or negative. He states that “It's like a job to be done. The less feelings you have, the better it's done, the quicker it's done.” This shows that despite Saul's sometimes violent nature that he does not actually like to, or enjoy, hurting people. While on patrol one day with Harry, Saul spotted a German soldier and proceeded to sneak up on him to kill him. However, Saul slipped and alerted the German. Harry Berry saved Saul's life by breaking the German's neck from behind. Later, when Saul thanked Harry, Harry told Saul to forget about it and then said that “when I took him, it excited me, and I come in my pants, just like in a woman.” After Harry said this to Saul, Saul “disliked him more than ever” and viewed him as a “dirty bastard”, even though he saved Saul's life. Saul was so disgusted by Harry that he even managed to avoid going out on any more patrols with him later. Saul's reaction to Harry's enjoyment of killing shows that Saul still has a morale, despite killing so many people. This highlights the fact that Saul himself, still has standards that he abides by and that Saul is still a human with
Lastly, certain things trigger Charley to remember things about the war, such as coffee on page 99. It says, “The army ad taught him to like coffee, live on coffee, and he still drank it even though it knotted his guts.” Also, his injuries from the war make him seem and feel older than he really his. Charley states that he knows that it won’t be long for him and her wouldn’t mind dying.
The American Revolution marked the history of many heroic events that immaculately stand as true inspirations for the generations to come in the United States. Even today, the gallantry of a few soldiers that won independence for the country is not only kept in the hearts of the people but run in the American blood to demonstrate acts of valor at times of war and hardships. One such story recorded in the history dates back to 1776, about a sixteen-year old juvenile, Joseph Plumb Martin, joined the Rebel Infantry and recorded his tribulations about forty-seven years in a memoir titled as “A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier”. The book mainly focuses on the sufferings through the tough situation he went through.
LIFE IN THE ARMY Charley Goddard joined the army at the age of 15 due to the excitement of the war Charlie felt that he had to join and go see places thinking he would never have another chance. When he joined they sent him to a fort as far away from the war as possible. While at his first station, all he did all day was eat disgusting food and perform drills. After several months of drills, bad food and his mother sending him letters telling him to run away before the Army gets him killed, the commanding officer told them to all pack up and that they were heading out.
A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier, Some of the Adventures, Dangers, Sufferings by Joseph Plumb Martin, is a collection of tales starting from when he was just a young boy at the age of seven and quickly goes through his childhood on the farm with his grandparents on his mother's side. Mr. Martin describes his memories from a much later stage in his life at the age of 70 in the year 1830. This is the tales of the crippling weather conditions, terrible living conditions and war stories told by a young enlisted soldier during the war. Mr. Martin was born to a preacher and his wife in 1760 in western Massachusetts. The story begins when he was just a young boy who was sent to live with his grandparents on a farm.
In page 113 of all quiet on the western front Paul’s trench company is retreating because they are getting over run and he says the thought that that almost every soldier has in war. In the quote Paul says “We have become wild beast. We do not fight, we defend ourselves from annihilation.” Perfectly embodying the thought of every soldier in the battle field (Remarque 113). In the quote it shows the thought process that these soldiers’ have when killing other people, it shows why they find killing justified.
Charley and Henry had to kill people in hand to hand combat, so these soldiers have gone through a lot in the war. The main characters in this book were both young, Henry was the legal age of 18 but he was still young, and Charley was only 16 when he signed up. The hardships of the war and all the kill caused both characters to go insane from the killing. the soldiers were in the same war, the Civil War, but fought in different battles. Overall the soldiers were required to go through tight and nervous experiences while in
He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.
Charlie by, Lee Maracle is about a young Indian boy who goes to a catholic school. Charlie dreams about going outside and exploring but the school will punish him if he does. One a day a group of kids including Charlie sneak out to go to one of their families houses. When they get their Charlie leaves to go to his family’s cabin. Unfortunately his long journey is cut short by frost bite and he dies of hypothermia.
Although many people were great characters, Charlie stand out the most because he was
The author compares the soldiers because he wants the readers
For example, on page 299, “I felt sick inside as I looked at his dull, vacuous smile, the wide bright eyes of a child, uncertain but easy to please. And I had been laughing at him too. Suddenly, I was furious at myself and all those who were laughing at him.” Here, Charlie was realizing that people were mean and rude to people who weren’t like them. That people looked down to people who were different than them or not as smart.
The background of the book RifleMan Dodd by C.S Foster takes place in the Napoleonic Wars. It 's about this English RifleMan who finds himself behind enemy lines of the French when his regiment was ordered to retreat. He attempts to turn back and catch up with his unit however French patrols cut off his route. the book goes into the details of Dodd 's journey within the now controlled French territory and how he finally managed to reunite with his regiment. Dodd 's bravery and commitment to carry out his duty with little promise of hope to survive was inspirational.
Soldiers were not viewed as brave men risking their lives, and the war was seen as an unnecessary event. This type of mentality is seen in the novel with the perceptions of the soldiers. The narrator expresses the view of the time period when he states, “They were soldiers’ coats. Billy was the only one who had a coat from a dead civilian” (82). The meaning behind this is very crucial because it establishes a definite division between soldiers and civilians.
The Wars is a symbolic masterpiece that illustrates the great impact war brings on the microcosm of society and how individuals juxtaposed to the war are affected. The novel itself requires active reading; because without it, the novel would seem very simplistic; however, after further examination, readers can evidently recognize the complexity of Robert’s character with the aid of many heteroglossic components, techniques, devices, and the reworking of literary conventions. Robert’s physical, mental and emotional journey he endeavours, followed by the constant re-evaluations of his truths and becoming a more proficient soldier, can be seen through a formalist perspective with the use of foreshadowing to signify Robert’s transition from a sane to insane soldier; the utilization of animal imagery highlighting Robert’s development through the horrific experiences of war; and the several themes in the text to illustrate Robert’s evolution as a soldier through his inner
In the book All Quiet on the Western Front the protagonist, Paul, has to deal with a particularly cruel Commander who constantly demeans his soldiers, “It's simply that the company commander's head has been turned by having so much power... He can only do that in the