Analysis Of `` Toward The Flame `` By Hervey Allen

Generals Die in Bed certainly demonstrates that war is futile and the soldiers suffer both emotionally and physically. Charles Yale Harrison presents a distressing account of the soldiers fighting in the Western front, constantly suffering and eventually abandoning hope for an end to the horrors that they experience daily. The ‘boys’ who went to war became ‘sunk in misery’. We view the war from the perspective of a young soldier who remains nameless. The narrator’s experience displays the futility and horror of war and the despair the soldiers suffered. There is no glory in

Martin describes the travel and the toll it took on men. “I had now to travel the rest of the day, after marching all the day and night before and fighting all the morning. I had eaten nothing since the noon of the preceding day, nor did I eat a morsel til the forenoon of the next day, and I needed rest as much as victuals. After the army had collected again and recovered from their panic, we were kept marching and countermarching, starving and freezing” (Martin

People both today and back then have been traumatized by war’s brutal combat, fallen victim to cruel soldiers, and had war cause sorrow and grief to them. Through characters seeing death, characters that are soldiers, and characters that are not in combat, Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See demonstrates that war affects individuals negatively, even if they are extremely

It’s no surprise that soldiers will more-than-likely never come home the same. Those who have not served do not often think of the torment and negative consequences that the soldiers who make it out of war face. Erich Remarque was someone who was able to take the torment that he faced after his experience in World War I and shed light on the brutality of war. Remarque was able to illustrate the psychological problems that was experienced by men in battle with his best-selling novel All Quiet on the Western Front (Hunt). The symbolism used in the classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front is significant not only for showing citizens the negative attributes of war, but also the mental, physical, and emotional impact that the vicious war had on the soldiers.

Beginning my love of reading an early age, I was never the type of child who was drawn to fictional stories. As an 8 year-old child in West Virginia, I was recognized by the local library for my love of biographies, autobiographies and recollections of world events. This love has continued throughout my adult life, desiring to read novels such as “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young” by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore rather than watch the major motion picture “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson. Even though the motion picture received multiple awards, when reading the recollection of Mr. Moore’s accounts, the feeling of loss, distress, anxiety and fear can be felt in each word that he has written while reliving this horrendous war.

The soldiers continued to survive off of very little supplies, from having little to no food to survive off of or clothing that can not protect them and more. Due to such sever conditions, Dr Albigence Waldo, a Connecticut surgeon wrote down in his diary at the camp "A general cry thro' the Camp this Evening among the Soldiers, "No Meat! No Meat!" - the Distant vales Echo'd back the melancholy sound - "No Meat! No Meat!" (Document B). Because of the lack of supplies, some of these soldiers can not stay healthy enough to fight since they could have become incredibly malnourished. Others would say that even if they had less supplies, they still could have surivied with what items they had, even if it could cause them to be uncomfortable or even a possibly of getting sick. However, Along with Dr. Waldos diary,

Albigence Waldo, a surgeon from Connecticut, very detailedly explains the horrid conditions of the Army, “which had been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly from the continued fatigues they have suffered this Campaign.” Ranging from the poor/ lack of food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty clouds, nasty cookery, vomit, freezing temperatures, and poor/ lack of clothing , everything seemed almost not endurable. He himself heartily wished himself at home, and he was only the surgeon. The vomit and unhealthy conditions can all lead to diseases and to possible death. I would much rather not have to endure these things and be with my family instead; knowing they're safe and not having to worry whether someone got sick or

For anyone to be productive in what they are doing, they must have the energy to do it. This would be especially true for soldiers being in an extreme environment all day. The food shortage in the South was a considerable disadvantage. Before the war, the South was receiving grain from the midwest and salt from whales, which was crucial in preserving meats. The government tried undoubtedly their hardest to replace these commodities but it was denied by Union Naval supremacy. Rebels then turned to printing money, extreme price control, and seizing property. This created inflation, hoarding, and riots against food shortages. When one gets hungry, it causes a serious change in the mind. This affected the soldiers in a dominant way in which they were not able to deliver their full potential during battle. This made them weak and unable to function properly. (Gilbert, Taylor. Starving the South: How the North won the civil war) This created an extensive advantage for the North because the soldiers in the South were essentially starved. In fact, once Robert E. Lees supplies were captured by Ulysses Grant, he surrendered. The North was then able to proceed and win. The food shortage definitely had a huge impact on the South and how they performed under pressure. With not enough strength to carry on and perform at their best, this was a major advantage for the North.

Conditions were terrible but there were still loyal soldiers who stayed with. In doc c Dr. Waldo states “ I am sick, discontented, and out of humor, poor food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty cloths, nasty cookery, vomit half my time, smoked out of my senses, I can’t endure it.”

One could argue that although the soldiers were starving, they had high spirits that overcame the starvation. As in Document C Dr.Waldo writes, “Yet they still show a spirit of Alacrity (cheerful willingness)” Even so, the current situation is difficult to surpass as in Document E, Washington quotes, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.” Even with their high spirits, it doesn’t stop the fact that people are starving. The fight is going to be immensely hard and to some soldiers, it’s just too hard. Link. Not only that, but without proper food, the body is more susceptible to

In document C, Dr. Waldo quote, “ Poor food - nasty cookery - fatigue - vomit half my time.” This quote stands out for the idea of lack of food, because in a soldier's point of view, the food was either poor, or enough to make one vomit. Also, in document D, Thomas Paine quote,” THESE are the times that try men’s souls.” This quote means that the soldiers at Valley Forge fought almost every minute for their lives and were forced to eat the utmost disgusting and repulsive food. I would have quit due to the lack of quality food, because it would cause me along with other soldiers to get sick while in terrible conditions.

Correspondingly, the sun was blazing hot and soldiers lived with severely small rations, making it hard for them to adjust to such brutal conditions. Because

While it is true that wars are fought and won with weapons and selfless sacrifice, it is also true that wars cannot be won on an empty stomach. Hunger can zap a solders moral, confidence, and he can find himself lacking the energy to even aim his rifle. This is a real threat to any company, or to any army. One might even say this could be a war within a war for the starving battalion that faced such adversity. They would be faced with the loss of muscle tissue, the inability to fight, think, let alone to defend a fort. Moral breaks down, some will desert, or commit mutiny as they lose faith in their commanding officers. During war, food can be taken for granted, more faith is put on the weapon you carry, the men you serve with. However, little thought is given to how truly important food and clean water can be until you have none. When it is gone, it’s all you can think of, thoughts drift to warm meals, clean clothes, clear cool water. Then one’s soul sinks into depression, the feeling of defeat, the temptation to give up and surrender just for a taste of some food. This is just the war that General George Washington and the continual army faced in the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge.

Ilan Stavans says that Juan Rulfo’s book, The Plain in Flames, is best represented by the phrase realismo crudo. Stavans defines this phrase as “a type of realism interested in the rawness of life”, meaning that he characterizes Rulfo’s writing as an unfiltered view into the lives of the average Mexican (Stavans, xi). By writing in this style, Rulfo is able to provide “an image—instead of just a description—of our landscape” as stated by Octavio Paz (xv). To create this image, Rulfo broke his story writing the process down into three separate steps. As paraphrased by Ilan Stavans, the first step “is to create a character”, the second step “is to place him in an environment where he might move around” and the third step “is to discover how the character expresses himself” (xiii). Rulfo was able to repeatedly crafted stories that were filled with high levels of realismo crudo by using that special three-step process. By creating his protagonist, crafting an environment for said protagonist, and allowing the character to express themselves within this environment, Rulfo crafted a three-tier image of post-revolutionary life in Mexico that has never been seen before.

In this essay, I will discuss how Tim O’Brien’s works “The Things They Carried” and “If I Die in a Combat Zone” reveal the individual human stories that are lost in war. In “The Things They Carried” O’Brien reveals the war stories of Alpha Company and shows how human each soldier is. In “If I Die in a Combat Zone” O’Brien tells his story with clarity, little of the dreamlike quality of “Things They Carried” is in this earlier work, which uses more blunt language that doesn’t hold back. In “If I Die” O’Brien reveals his own personal journey through war and what he experienced. O’Brien’s works prove a point that men, humans fight wars, not ideas. Phil Klay’s novel “Redeployment” is another novel that attempts to humanize soldiers in war. “Redeployment” is an anthology series, each chapter attempts to let us in the head of a new character – set in Afghanistan or in the United States – that is struggling with the current troubles of war. With the help of Phil Klay’s novel I will show how O’Brien’s works illustrate and highlight each story that make a war.