How do people act while entrenched in turmoil? When they are in a place where few people care for how they are doing or for their needs? In the novella, Leaving Gilead, by Pat Carr, an 8 year old Saranell and her mother, Geneva, are leaving their plantation to be safe from the approaching Yankee force during the Civil War. Along their journey, Saranell encounters several different forms of the beastly influence that war has on the people involved. This trek shows how people will show no sympathy, respect, or general care for others when their own livelihood is in jeopardy. War brings out the worst in people.
War brings a discomfort to life and a rough heart when it is cast upon those involved. When Saranell points out the Pate family
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The interactions between individuals engulfed in conflict can be cold. When Saranell goes to her old friend Opal Fisk 's new shop to sell some silver for food, she is not met with care or sympathy. "You just a little girl, but now you got the experience running smack into wartime greed. It even worse than plain old peacetime avarice," (Carr 149). Mr. Fisk is unwilling to give a fair amount of food to a small girl and her caretaker, even when begged. He seemed to have once liked Saranell, but is now only thinking for his own grievances, and will not be compassionate. In the fantasy novel Eldest, by Christopher Paolini, the protagonist Eragon is a young man centered in a "global" conflict. When he is speaking with his mentor, Oromis, about his enemies in this struggle, Oromis responds to him by saying, "The greatest enemy is the one with nothing to lose " (Paolini). Paolini argues that opponents will do anything to get an edge, relief, or advantage in a battle or struggle, like when Opal Fisk cheats Saranell on the sterling to make a better profit later on. An opponent is not your friend, and even if someone is not opposing you, they certainly may not be your ally. The true nature of people is brought out in the
To many people take the toll of war,to many lives have been taken from the toll of war. Families have been ripped apart by the toll of war and the stress that it puts on a family and others that live near it or in it. It has ripped apart famly bonds too. War is a heart smasher in this book My Brother Sam Is Dead.
The majority of people during the American Revolution fought for liberty without realizing the actual cost and brutal reality of war. In the novel My Brother Sam is Dead, the Meeker family consisting of a Father name Life, a Mother named Susannah, a rebellious teen named Sam, and a conflicted teen named Tim, journey through the life of colonists owning a tavern during the Revolutionary War. Sam departs from his family to fight alongside the Patriots going against his Father, a Tory. War brings a lot of terrible things, but some examples are families splitting, clash of generation, and an overall theme of principle vs reality. The soldiers who fought in the war thought they were fighting for liberty, when really they caused havoc and awfulness.
Throughout the development of his gentle, innocent character into the epitome of a wartime officer and courageous veteran, Robert faces many antagonizing events which are made worse by the constant reminder of his sister’s death; a past experience which has an evocative
Fighting a war that is not a real war and an enemy that is not indeed the enemy is the dark part of humanity revealed by Knowles. That it is human nature to hate those that cause one injury, an intense hatred for an enemy of war. The demons in people’s minds are always there, right across the frontier. The jealousy,
Lament to the Spirit of War Quiz One Response In Lament to the Spirt of War, the idea of war is a frightening and quite scary place to be. Although reading this story is not like the reality of war, a person has a sense of what it feels like to be caught in the war itself. The story gives details that explains what a soldier feels like when he or she is in battle. Like a “raging storm” or a “fiery monster.”
As Louie is leaving his family to join the Air Force, Hillenbrand takes the moment to comment on the emotional effect on the families of soldiers. She does this by illustrating the scene of the family’s last photo before Louie goes missing. The camera can be recognized as symbolizing a unified, happy family. However, the Zamperini family is unable to realize this because of the glare of war. The glare is tearing the families gaze away, such as war is tearing Louie away.
All Quiet on the Western Front is widely considered to be the greatest war novel of all time for a variety of reasons, but perhaps one of the greatest is that raw and honest depiction of the psychological defense mechanisms soldiers used to deal with wartime trauma. From shameless humor and the blockage of emotions to playing games and scavenging for food, Paul and his company were often close to blocking out the savagery of war around them. Through a variety of different activities, soldiers in All Quiet on the Western Front could come close to completely blocking out the war around them, but were unable to truly escape the horrid world they lived in. One of the most prominent psychological defense mechanisms used in the book can be found in Paul’s relations to his fellow soldiers. Distracting themselves with games and food took much weight off of their war-hardened shoulders.
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.
I couldn't hear the words, but I could hear the sound—his heavy, hard voice going on and on. Then there was Sam's voice and he was shouting, too, and then Father again”, (Collier and Collier). It also creates death which results in permanently split families apart. This shows how war tears and breaks families apart. Splitting families apart is the final reason why war is futile.
War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath. Some people cave under the pressure when put in a situation where there is minimal hope or optimism. Two characters that experience
War would be considered futile for many reasons including the fact that it splits families up. “Get out. And don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not as a stranger.” (Collier and Collier 22). This quote from the book is representing how war split the Meeker family up.
Mr. Patch-Withers grumbled, with a flushed face. ‘How do you expect our boys to be as precise as that thousands of feet up with bombs weighing tons!” (Pg 10 chp.1)In war innocent people will die and you can't do anything about it. In conclusion you now see the theme war is unforgiving by the three reasons war affects friendships, changes lives, and war takes lots of lives. War affected Gene and Finny's relationship, war changed life by having to draft or enlist, war kill lots of people by the bombs and gunfire.
As Herbert Hoover eloquently put it, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” War has no mercy. It takes homes, tears families apart, and steals childhoods from innocent people. Such is the case in A Separate Peace, by John Knowles.
Greed, ambition, and fear are words that can pressure people to do negative things. People who are overwhelmed by this type of pressure face terrible consequences, which undoubtedly lead to their inevitable downfall. A war is typically fought in order to gain an upper hand over another nation, but at an expense of people dying. No one really knows the reason why sacrifices have to be made and nations have to be divided. Soldiers who have perished are often forgotten and people forget to mourn for those who have fought to save the lives of many others.
Through the novella, Leaving Gilead, Patt Carr introduces the idea that war brings out the worst in even the best of people. Even though we might be fighting a war for a good cause, no one wins in war. We all lose something or someone. Through this story, Carr tells the story of the Birdsong family during the Civil war and how it affected them. War brings out the worst in people.