An Analysis Of Where Have You Been, Charming Billy? 'By Tim O' Brien

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

As the United States military drastically shifted from conventional to modern warfare, the public’s perception of the soldier’s homecoming equally changed. The antique notion that a soldier is the ultimate representation of heroism and bravery was deemed ignorant and inconsiderate. In the status quo, science has determined disorders such as post-traumatic stress to explain many soldiers’ failed reintegration into their society at home. Phil Klay’s “Redeployment” is a contemporary short story that follows Sgt. Price, a soldier from the Iraq War, as he struggles to find his place at home with the constant reminders of the battlefield. Upon his sudden, unmemorable redeployment to the U.S., Price remains shocked at the vast differences between

Ernest Hemingway “Soldier’s Home" is an outstanding short story that shows the tragic impact of war on the life of a young soldier who returns home. The story paints a vibrant picture of a soldier’s life after coming back from a shocking experience. Hemingway shows impacts of war on a soldier with the main character being Harold Krebs, who faces hostility in his hometown after his return from fighting in the war. The main character in the story is Kreb with the author making usage of repetition, characterization, and symbolism to bring out the message in the story.

The adventure began on July 28th, 1914 and Paul Baumer is five miles behind a French front. As the First World War begins, the soldiers believe it is honorable to join but as they spend more time in war and gain experience they realize war is a lot different from what they had in mind. The soldiers become more hopeless as the days and years pass. The life in the trenches was risky, and every day could be the soldiers last. “I am so alone and so without hope that I can confront them without fear” (Remarque 295). This quotation shows how Paul Baumer has lost all his hope, and desire. The soldiers no longer fight for their country, they do not desire to make it out alive, the First World War has made them so miserable, and so hopeless they have lost feelings for everything. Everyone except for Paul Baumer has died from his class. It is the beautiful season of autumn, and it starts by

Yet another example of the brutalization and dehumanization of the soldiers caused by the war occurs during Paul’s leave. On leave, Paul decides to visit his hometown. While there, he finds it difficult to discuss the war and his experiences with anyone. Furthermore, Paul struggles to fit in at home: “I breathe deeply and say over to myself:– ‘You are at home, you are at home.’ But a sense of strangeness will not leave me; I cannot feel at home amongst these things. There is my mother, there is my sister, there my case of butterflies, and there the mahogany piano – but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a

Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the popular belief that war has an idealistic and romantic character.  The story centers on Paul Baümer, who enlists in the German army with glowing enthusiasm.  In the course of war, though, he is consumed by it and in the end is "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope"  (Remarque page #).

Where is the good? In the observation post, Paul Berlin "remembered what his father had said on their last night along the Des Moines River. 'You'll see some terrible stuff, I guess. That's how it goes. But try to look for the good things, too. They'll be there if you look. So watch for them'" (O'Brien 58). So he does look for the good things. That's beauty being born out of despair, if you will. He enjoys watching the sunrise. And Bates refers to Paul Berlin helping treat a young Vietnamese girl and having sensitive feelings towards her (270). This is almost as if to say that war brings out the best as well as the worst in us. Some may argue that it's almost worth it. ("Almost" being the key word-- for clearly the good in a war does not outweigh or even equal the bad.)

This short story is about a guy named Krebs, who fought during WWl. Even though he returned home from the war in his mind, he was still at war in a sense with himself. "The war, however, is never distant from the protagonist's mind as he struggles to come home again."(Hemingway) Once, Krebs returns home it is as though he was alone because the townspeople had become bored of listening to all the fellow soldiers' war stories that returned home before Krebs did. Krebs stories were not thrilling enough so he began to lie, and even after lying about the war stories they become boring as well. The conflict in this story is that Krebs has changed so much since being in the war and it seems to him as though the people had not changed any." Nothing

When he tells Billy that he needs to figure it out and snap out of it, Billy says, “ You guys go on without me. I’m all right” (Vonnegut 47). This just displays the hopelessness in Billy’s life. The war has driven him to lose touch with himself and not value his own life. This makes it very easy for a reader to feel empathy for Billy and get an idea of how war can really affect these men. Billy isn’t the only character that Vonnegut uses to depict the terrors of war.

Private Paul Berlin was not emotionally ready for his tour in the Vietnam war, as the events he had witnessed start to have a large effect on his level of fear and anxiety. A good guess would be that Private Berlin will continue to have fear and anxiety issues throughout the rest of his tour, a hint of this might be how he thought he would find consolation at the beach but instead he realizes that he was still impacted by the fear and anxiety and found no

When people think of the military, they often think about the time they spend over in another country, hoping they make it back alive. No one has ever considered the possibility that they may have died inside. Soldiers are reborn through war, often seeing through the eyes of someone else. In “Soldier’s home” by Ernest Hemingway, the author illustrates how a person who has been through war can change dramatically if enough time has passed. This story tells of a man named Harold (nick name: Krebs) who joined the marines and has finally come back after two years. Krebs is a lost man who feels it’s too complicated to adjust to the normal way of living and is pressured by his parents.

“The Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story that tells the story of a soldier who returns home but realizes that war has changed his life. Hemingway ensures that the readers fully understand the purpose of the short story by using a detached tone, brief sentence structure, and a lack of imagery help develop the short story. The use of these literary techniques in Hemingway’s story allows him to develop his plot without losing his audience’s attention and include a message in the story. The story is told in third-person which allows for the reader to have a clear image of the soldier Krebs and his return home.

Two brave men who have bought the enemies and persevered the horror that laid ahead of them. “The Sniper” a short story by Liam O’Flaherty, takes place during the irish civil war. A trained sniper is given a mission to kill. Where as Private first class paul berlin the protagonist in “Where have you gone charming Billy” by Tim O'Brien, he is a young soldier drafted and sent off to fight in the vietnam war where he must face inner struggles and the violence during the 1960s. Though they both are two different people, the two protagonists have similarities and differences in their own unique ways.

In the short story “Soldiers Home” Ernest Hemingway tells of a young soldier named Harold Krebs who has finally returned home after fighting overseas during World War I (WWI). Fighting in a war can be very devastating to a person’s mental health and overall wellbeing. After reading the story, readers will soon find that this is exactly what Krebs’ battles as he strives to go back to the normal ways of life. Over time, many critics have analyzed this short story and have voiced their different opinions, perspectives, and understandings of how they believed the story to be perceived.

Finkel just looks at the soldiers lives like it would be his life, he wants them to keep living, to keep enjoying life and not die in this horrific war. The author adds great detail and thoughtfulness to the story to describe the soldier’s tormented lives and the horrible, and depressing side effects from the war.