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.
Tim O 'brien wants readers to understand the meaning of war. His way of explaining war is by writing fictional short stories and giving speeches. Even though his stories are fictional they still contain the thoughts and feelings of war through the eyes of a soldier.
Combat, loyalty, enmity, bloodshed, and duty, all words that fit under the category of war. The novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini a strong willed man raised in Torrance, California. He started as a young troublemaker until he discovered his passion for running in high school. That very passion led him to compete in the Olympics. Later he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, a brave decision that would change his life. War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath.
Going back all the way to the American Revolution women served in the military. They were only allowed to serve as nurses until World War I. Then they were trained to be stenographers and combat phone operators. Women are allowed to serve in combat now but not in a combat military occupational specialty (MOS). Even to this day the question still remains “Should women be able to serve in combat military occupational specialties?” Combat military occupational specialties are the jobs in the military that take you face to face with the enemy on a daily basis. For example, infantry, artillery, Army Ranger, Navy Seal, and Air Force paratroopers. They all stare death in the face on a daily basis, if not they are training for it. Women should not be able to serve in combat MOS’s, because as a whole they are not physically capable of the extensive demands, also other cultures do not view women like the United States does, and especially when women get pregnant that could be detrimental to combat unit readiness.
“When a man has seen so many dead he cannot understand any longer why there should be so much anguish over a single individual.” (Remarque, 181) During the war, many soldiers may often become desensitized and not feel the emotions they would usually feel when a friend or comrade dies. The war causes them to have a feeling of loss; they lose their emotions and friends; they lose a part of themselves during the war. If the soldiers were to think about every single death that occurred they would go mad. There are so many deaths everyday that it makes them have to move on pretty quickly. Paul, the main character from Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on The Western Front, and Roland Gerard Garvin, known as Ged, a British soldier who often
Trauma is a many layered thing. There are many ways to cope with it, and many ways people can experience it. In war there is obviously a lot of suffering, and many ways to deal with the aftermath of being in war. In “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien, the narrator repeats the story of the death of one of his comrades several times within it, changing the details with each telling. This story is less about how to tell a war story, and more about how to cope with life after facing war and how to cope with death in war. In this story the narrator tells the story of the gruesome death of a fellow soldier, Curt Lemon. In the many tellings of the story it can be gathered that Lemon died by stepping on a boobytrap, while he was playing
When everyone thinks about war they cannot picture in their mind what it would be like out on a battlefield with a bunch of good friends, fighting side by side. They cannot picture the horrible and nasty sights you will see on a battlefield of men dying, their bodies being shot everywhere or being blown to pieces. Maybe from a movie they might have seen a battle or war, but it’s not even close to the same. They are people that you care for and love that have just been killed, live and in front of your face. You cannot do anything but watch them suffer and try to keep fighting. Henry may have ran from the second battle because everything has stopped from the first battle and now it’s all setting in of what happened and who he has lost.
The war changes the way that soldiers feel and interact. A soldier cannot perceive that they are killing another woman or man’s husband or wife, son or daughter, or brother or sister. He simply does it for his own survival. These soldiers are used to witnessing other soldiers and friends die in front of their faces which causes their feelings to be dehumanized.
War has always been terrifying and results in catastrophic effects for every person involved civilian or otherwise. Mental illness is one of the worst effects and it cripples people, one of the biggest illnesses is PTSD. PTSD is post traumatic stress disorder and often happens to soldiers and civilians who are in the direct line of fire because of the war. These civilians are usually being persecuted for example the Jewish during the Holocaust. War is a devastating occurrence that takes millions of lives and has a lasting effect on every person that it touches; Unbroken, Night by Eliezer Wiesel, Farewell to Manzanar by James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and “Behind Bars, Vets With PTSD Face a New War Zone With Little Support” all
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. 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 war. An anti war propaganda, Remarque’s novel debates the corruption of WWI. However, this novel can be used in connection to almost any war, regardless of the time period. Many say that older wars, such as WWI, were extremely different than current ones. Their reasoning usually includes the fact that there are new technology, and strategies on the battlefield. While this is true, the war in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and modern warfare contains an extensive amount of similarities regarding the emotional and mental state of the soldiers, specifically their experience with PTSD, reactions to desensitization, and a reduction to animal quality and instinct.
Being a girl is hard, women have been the second best since the beginning of time, women weren’t allowed to do a man's job in the military and it’s time that further evolves into women and men doing all of the same jobs. Although, some may argue that keeping women protected from the harsh realities of war is the reasonable thing to do and those people have a valid argument when they say women aren’t emotionally stable enough to fight on the front lines, or that women aren’t strong enough to serve; this applies to some women not all. Women have proven themselves capable of so much more than the standard that is set for them in the military: overcoming their physical differences and putting the excuses to rest. The excuses about being a distraction to men and that women are going to be prioritized over fighting.
In the modern era, everyone is striving to achieve equality among genders, races, and nationalities. While equality is a great thing and something that this country needs, war and combat are not the places that women belong. They have strengths and weakness that are better used in aspects other than on the front lines with a rifle.
I have chosen to explore the theme The Portrayal Of Soldiers, this theme is evident in the films and songs Hero of war by Rise Against, 21 Guns by Billie Joe Armstrong, Rambo: first blood by David Morrell and American Sniper by Scott McEwen, I believe that all the soldiers in these text all suffer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder also known as PTSD.
War is a horrific event for everyone involved. From the soldiers on the front line, to the distraught families at home who wait and wait for their loved ones to return but never do. On the front line soldiers are dehumanized and put through terrible circumstances for rich people hundreds of miles away. The act of brutalizing other people for no reason has its effects on those involved and the men and women who fight in wars never return the same. When those soldiers get home they are often left with PTSD and or several other mental disorders that can impact their lives in a major way. If their families are lucky enough to see them again then they probably wont recognize the person who returned. Two poems that capture the torture of war well
War inevitably brings loss from all angles. There are an infinite number of things war does to a person, country, or soldier. When soldiers go back home, if they make it home, they’re still haunted by regret, guilt, and depression. People experience it in their own ways and cope with it differently. War changes people. It’ll takes away someone's humanity and replaces it with holes, instability, and mental defects. Whether you’ve lost a significant other, lost your will to live, or lost your future, civilians and soldiers both indulge in losses when involved in