Young men in patriarchal societies encouraged to act in ways so that societal norms remain intact. In war zones when home and life are under threat and invaded upon, these norms get further strengthened. Young men are supposed to act out their masculinities by resisting the military invasion. The expectation to uphold the gender roles becomes far more demanding in war zones. In the context of the novel The Collaborator we see how often the narrator feels ashamed of himself as all his friends join the Jehad against India leaving him alone. He suffers acutely for this reason. As he goes through the ruins and witness the atrocities of war on his village and on himself, he feels disoriented. In his reflections over his past life, we see how fractured he is. He goes through life as if he were under a spell. He observes sharply the doings of Army, but he does not know what is happening to himself. In these highly charged and unsettling times, we get to know about his sexuality which under normal circumstances would have …show more content…
They all leave him. They always held a special zone, of which the narrator was not a part. Latter being left alone, he searches them. He becomes a collaborator with the Indian army in order to know about his gone friends. While he gets to know a lot about the Indian army´s styles of functioning, and he becomes involved in carrying out their everyday work, in a small but extremely hideous way. However, while he reflects a lot on his gone friends, on the dead bodies, on the charred forests, heavily shelled mountains, and delves deeper into his own history, on the good days of his childhood. He somehow loses himself. He pays for his life by not losing it, by not taking up a gun and shooting himself or someone else, by not taking some damn position. He turns out to be the most damaged character who suffers in multiple
The men battle in the war together and become very close with one another. They need to rely on one another to survive. In chapter three of the novel the general, Himmelstoss, is lost. The soldiers are sad and distraught about the loss of him. Then, a soldier named Tjaden runs over and breaks the news.
This novel was a great reading experience! It expands one’s knowledge about the effects of war and the writing techniques will be a great help to young writers. It also brings awareness to the war effects towards children. This novel has character, emotions, and a great inspiration to writers with similar stories that are needed to be shared with the
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 Phil Klay’s Redeployment, the war in Iraq is described as an intense masculine experience. Through the pages, the presence of women is marginal, if there is any woman in the short stories, and the reader enters in a realm of men and, more important, of what it means to be a real man. The assumption of war as a complete masculine experience might seem pretty obvious; however, Phil Klay is able to offer a crude and clear depiction of it. The author tells twelve different short stories of men who have only one thing in common: the experience of the Iraq War. But this is not simply a book about the war, but also about the consequences that this terrible experience has on the soldiers.
In this time frame, heroes, cowards, and casualties categorize men. Inman, the male protagonist of the novel, encounters men fit and unfit for the masculine roles expected by society. Due to the vast amount of soldier casualties, men were required to enlist in the war in 1863. As a result, some headed
Although he did make it out of the forces of savagery, his new knowledge about mankind’s evil nature will change him forever, leaving him “weeping for the loss of innocence, and the darkness of man’s heart”
Although the soldier he killed was an enemy soldier, instead of vilifying him he was able to humanize the man. O’Brien was able to describe the physical appearance of the soldier and imagine her life before war. The author was able to portray an emotional connection and made the line between friend and enemy almost vanish. This was able to reveal the natural beauty of shared humanity even in the context of war’s horror. O’Brien is able to find the beauty in the midst of this tragic and horrible event.
Rosemary Okumu PSYC 1113 – Section 11/18 /2016 Gender Gender is the state of being male or female. Male are thought to be adventurous, aggressive, strong whereas females are to be affectionate, attractive, shy and sexy. While I highly identify with my feminine gender characteristics, at times l possess masculine characteristics like confidence, ambition, and sometimes aggression.
The older man 's behavior contrasts with that of the persona who is young and has barely experienced life. Whereas the speaker is eager to discover life and have new experiences to escape her reality, the older man avoids his truth by focusing on mundane details of his experience in the Vietnam War. Furthermore, the older man was once a young man himself, surely eager to have new experiences, as he enrolled in the army. Instead of having these desires fulfilled, his memories of the war have caused his view of the world to greatly deviate from that of the persona and
A Psychoanalysis on The Wars In human history, war has greatly affected the lives of people in an extremely detrimental way which can be understood in Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars through a psychoanalytic approach in character development and their deterioration; the readers are able to identify the loss of innocence intertwined between characters, the search for self-identity in the symbolic and metaphorical aspect, as well as the essence of life. Those that are not able to overcome these mental challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Rape trauma Syndrome, and sadly, some resort to suicide as the last option to escape their insecurities. However, soldiers are not the only ones affected by war; family members also face
The novel focuses on coping with the death and horror of war. It also speaks volumes about the true nature of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the never-ending struggle of dealing with it. In the
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
Present throughout the book is the theme of disillusionment. In the school, they’ve been told by their schoolmasters and parents that unless they join the war, they would remain cowards. They see propaganda after propaganda, all alluding towards the glory of battle and warfare. Out on the front, they realize that nothing was further from the truth. Their dreams of being heroes shattered, like when they compare themselves to the soldier on a poster in chapter 7.
They have to deal with losing their loved ones, using their bodies as a form of economic support, and being abused by men at war. Regular civilians had to deal with the loss of family members or friends that went to war. Lan had experienced a lot of loss due to the war. Lan told Kien, “‘What a cruel time… and so very long. The war swept away so many people’” (52).
He realizes he is in exile and there really is nothing he nor anyone else can do about it. By accepting his life, (luck and fate in all) of being in exile, it makes for a much calmer journey(for the time that these emotions