Eversmann's Explanations Of War

In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien expresses to the reader why the men went to the war and continued to fight it. In the first chapter, “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien states “It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather they were too frightened to be cowards.” The soldiers went to war not because they were courageous and ready to fight, but because they felt the need to go. They were afraid and coped with their lack of courage by telling stories (to themselves or aloud) and applied humor to the situations they encountered. The men who served in the Vietnam War were just barely men, some of them were just hitting the age twenty.

It affects how someone feels about things, how their mind works and how they operate in their lives. O’Brien gives a personal example of this change taking place after he becomes a soldier living and fighting in Vietnam. He still does not quite understand why the US became involved with the war in the first place, but he develops a new outlook of it. He is not fighting for whatever reason that the country was giving to civilians, he was fighting for his brothers (fellow soldiers). All of the soldiers want to be there, not for the purpose of fighting people he had never seen in his life before, but to fight with the men that he bonded with and grown to know and love.

Not only did Salva lose Marial and his family but he also lost the person he knew the most in the group, Uncle. “…one of the men aimed his gun at Uncle. Three shots rang out.” (63) After both Marial and Uncle died it became difficult for Salva to continue on but in spite of all his doubts Salva knew that Marial and Uncle would want him to go on. “…Salva knew that both of them would have wanted him to survive, to finish the trip and reach the Itang refugee camp safely. It was almost as if they had left their strength with him, to help him on his journey.”

Hadley believes that the boys should enlist in the infantry because he feels that it is more honorable. The tone of Mr. Hadley’s emotions is shown through how his “scowl deepened” when the boys describe their safe choices. All Mr. Hadley focuses on is the fame and the glory. Mr. Hadley’s oblivion to the boys’ safety can be alarming and irritating to the reader. Mr. Hadley describes how he wants them to “make the right choice for the long run” (implying how much more honorable the infantry would be).

Which would allow one to believe that Wes was a religious boy. Where bad Wes got a tattoo that was meant to mock God, and made it very clear that God never helped him which means that he must not be real. Good Wes was sent to a military school where he finished his high school degree that would lead to further education. This military school also taught Wes valuable life lessons, and how to keep himself out of trouble. Bad Wes was held back in high school

Toward the end of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, the protagonist Billy Lynn grapples with the decision of going back to war in Iraq or going AWOL. The reasons that he wants to leave the army vary. His reasons for leaving range from wanting to stay with his girlfriend Faison to wanting to stay and help his family. His reasons for wanting to go back to war all revolve around the friendship and brotherhood between himself and his fellow squad members. Billy’s dilemma relates with a TED talk giving by Sebastian Junger, a journalist and a war veteran from 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

He did not want them themselves really.” (P.3, line 34-36). The lost generation refers to the generation of young men who served in the first world war and that can be related to Krebs because he did serve in the war. Wandering without direction or goal is something that happens a lot to the lost generation and this most definitely is also an issue Krebs is dealing with himself. The feeling of being lost and not a part of society also stems from the military teaching Krebs that he should not love anyone not even his mother. “ 'Yes, Don 't you love your mother, dear boy? '

It is possible for officers to err in judgment—and to thereby incur censure—without violating a criminal statute.” Thus, though the battalion command made fatal decisions, as well as Chosen Company; they had no way of knowing the size and scope of the attack. The officers made their decisions based on what they believed was the best course of action. Unfortunately, some decisions would prove detrimental in the Battle of Wanat as many brave men lost their

He was too scared to do anything, as he never fought in a war before. This quote is important to the book because, Henry defines himself as a young boy that wants to be a man but runs away in battle. He would rather bleed and bleed, instead of not doing anything. I would agree and disagree with this quote. I agree because you are helping the army by at least doing

Lt. Cross’s other character shortcoming is his emotional and personal inability to lead the Alpha Company. Cross zealously guards a picture of a girl named Martha, who is not even his girlfriend, to continue with his strong linkage to love as well as his livelihood. However, he fails to remember the connection between love and war in the plot. He depends upon his love for Martha as a huge escape from the reality of war. Unable to handle the combination of being in love as well as being in the war at the same time, his love for Martha arrays itself in his mind as fiction.