Asphalt Tango

To someone just picking up this book, this scene would simply look like some poor soldiers developing a temporary and innocent coping mechanism to deal with Death as they face him head on. But

This action is one that could only come about in war. Due to the war people are more willing to act out of character and in some situations even forced to. This is best represented when Thucydides writes “Ill-considered boldness was counted as loyal manliness; prudent hesitation was held to be cowardice in disguise, and moderation merely the cloak of an unmanly nature” (3.82). The soldiers who are committing these atrocities are simply followers of a democratic regime. The leaders of this regime are in fact giving them the command to slaughter innocent people simply because they stand for an opposing cause. No leaders of good virtue, would command their followers to commit such acts, in modern society acts such as this would be considered war crimes.

All bullets were counted, beds made, uniforms cleaned, this occurred until suddenly 03:45 arrived. “Men, the time is nearly here,” my words choked as self-hatred flooded my body, “What we do here today will be remembered for generations to come, we fight today not only for ourselves, but all who we know. All our mates and family who live back home!” A faint cheer followed my speech as I steadied myself for what was to come. “We charge in 5 minutes. We charge not only for our freedom but for the freedom of our country. For the freedom of the world!” Spit filled the air from the cheer which erupted from my unit this time. A unity formed over the men, a cold malevolent sweat captured me. Who was I to send these boys to their death? A resolve set inside me, I would fight alongside my men, their lives are worth the same as mine. 04:00 “THIS IS IT MEN! WE FIGHT FOR THE WORLD!” I screamed as I led the charge. Vaulting out of the trench I saw no man’s land clearly for the first time. Death was everywhere, flies swarming the pools of blood. The land so barren of life no greenery was seen. A cold resolution set over me, it was the Germans fault, they caused

This story brings back some harsh truths about warfare, and explains why so many naïve young men joined up, only to suffer deaths well before their time.

Our trenches are deep and at regular intervals along the trench a firing step would be positioned so that the soldiers could stand on it to see over the top of the trench and fire a weapon into "no-man’s land". Some would ‘go over the top’ and sacrifice their life because the trenches were regularly flooded, and we sleep in such inhospitable conditions. Corpses of colleagues once living, scattered around the trench, would pass on diseases as well as bring parasites such as lice, maggots, fleas etc. But even though our life is in ruins, it is better to take your chances in the open than stay barricaded inside. If you’re blown up, you’re blown up. But, its better to die than be like inexperienced new recruits who get amputated legs, shot, and are thrown in a ditch.” A young soldier wrote this extract in his diary hoping that one day it would reach his family. He talked nothing but torture about how the way war life was treating him. The dead were unburied as the shells covered them; the honor they were suppose to receive was all talk; the cigars they had all ran out; and most of all, the feeling of returning home never left a soldiers mind.

This proves that the soldier did not have time to think twice, but had to react instantly. He was compelled to “get up close to the parapet”, or he would be seeking death. Given a choice, no human would “sit on top of a dead man” because it is inhumane and cruel. Therefore, these instances tell of the severity the soldiers had to deal with physically and emotionally in the midst of the death and despair. The dire situations left them with no choice but to forgo human morals to survive. Also, the fact that “shells were falling all round” shows how much artillery was used. It depicts the perilous

In Erich Maria Remarque’s gruesome WWI novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, German soldier Paul Baumer faces ““bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades,” which he explains are only “words, but they hold the horror of the world” (Remarque himself was a veteran of the war) (Remarque, 63). This statement reflects that Paul, like so many other soldiers, is traumatized by the ease with which men can be slayed. Edward Glendinning was an English private in World War I who was sent to France to fight. He recounts a time he walked around the trenches surveying damage after one particular battle: “Quite a number of the men were still alive, and they were crying out and begging for water.

Fulfilling this order, I came on that day with a child without things because I knew that we were going to be destroyed, so I didn’t take valuable things, as well as thousands of others. When I arrived at the gathering place, where the terrible picture was created the whole huge crowd of people, ranging from infants to the elderly, were heavily guarded by German soldiers armed with machine guns. Here they unloaded stuff in a bunch of carts that people brought according to the order, the citizens of hand luggage diverted to the side - the shelter and there were taken all the way, removed the gold rings, earrings, brooches, watches and more. When I was brought, among others, to the ravine, I was in that group, we stopped. Babies were taken away from mothers and cast aside, as the wood where they were shot with rifles and machine guns. Because I was in the middle of the group and was dusk, I was not waiting, when they will shoot and fell to the ground, and put a child under me. At this time I heard the noise of the gun, and the men fell dead to me, dripping with blood. In this position, I lay for two hours until everything was quiet; I stayed alive and kept the child's life. And when it was quite dark, I carefully stood up and made sure that no one was there, took the child and began wading through corpses to hide somewhere in order to survive. With great care and the risk I hardly went settlement of "Babi Yar" and hidden in a basement four days completely without food. In order not to die of starvation, I went out at night from hiding in piles of garbage collected leftover food, potato cleaning, etc. and ate and fed the baby.” There are not many people who were able to escape death at Babi

At the beginning of the war, the duties behind what the soldiers had to do were largely appreciated and they were held above others as heroes. People of warring countries were rushing to battle and their loved ones were supporting them all of the way. Battalions were even formed from work groups, as they already withheld an established chain of command, the members had a close knit bond, and there was a charismatic feeling about representing the country they worked in. The glorified fighting and risking of one’s life was soon changed.

When the action finally begins, there is a sense of tension and frustration among the men and the officers. Orders are never clear, and are usually contradictory and confusing. The battalions are constantly made to risk their lives on small outings and missions to capture trenches that have no real purpose. This generally results in needless fatalities and injuries. George and his fellow officers know they are frequently being forced to go on suicide missions, but they are powerless to do anything about it.They just accept that they are part of the war and have to play their role just like everyone else. It is fascinating how Sassoon portrays the almost fatalistic attitude of the men; for many there was no sense of anger at the position they

Fourthly, repeating the existence of soldiers in the painting creates rhythm, and it leads to movement. Movement is created by the tendency which soldiers are getting more and more transparent at the back. You can actually imagine there is still countless amount of solders coming to join their crew and posting the same ‘ready-to-murder’

Salsa dance socials ar usually command in night clubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outdoors, particularly if a part of an out of doors pageant. condiment saltation is a global dance that may be found in most metropolitan cities within the world.[5] Festivals ar command annually, typically known as a condiment Congress, in varied host cities aimed to draw in kind of condiment dancers from alternative cities and countries. The events bring dancers along to share their passion for the dance, build community, and to share moves and tips with one another. These events sometimes embrace condiment dance performers, live condiment music, workshops, open saltation, and

It was the first day in the trenches. I woke up, carnivorous rates scuttled like the Germans around me, as I stood up, I felt my un-admitted fear engulf my mind. I walked through the corridors of our safe nest, our bunker. As I walked out into the open air, I was cradled by mother nature's walls of mud. General Frank called all of us to attention we stood straight with our right hand in salute. He shouted ‘ alright boys!’ for king and country we shall fight! She needs us, we are invincible!'. I could tell by the general's face, he doesn't believe his own words. General Frank articulates and keeps a mature tone, but he knows, deep down, we will become statistics. I grabbed my gun and placed the bayonet secularly on the end although I hoped to

In Rich Schweitzer’s article Born to Kill: S. Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket as Historical Representation of America’s Experience in Vietnam , he comments on the military’s concern with: “how to inculcate civilians reared in a western tradition, which emphasized the sanctity of life, with a willingness to kill” (Schweitzer 64). Schweitzer’s observation is most prominently debated in the beginning of the film. Split into three segments, the film illustrates the phases of re-birth, life, and death. The opening sequence depicts re-birth through the physical stripping of the individual identity. As the hair of the recruits is shaved off while the men wear the same dull blue capes, their faces begin to blur together into one unified identity. This is then furthered when the recruits are forced to say an oath to their rifles during the beginning of their military training on Parris Island. The scene is shot from one point perspective and displaying prominent symmetry in the composition. The room is stark and clinical. The recruits are all dressed in white which is a colour often associated with innocence. The men lay on their bunks in a head to toe formation which parallels with the scene of the mass Vietnamese grave in which the bodies are laid in the same manner and covered in white Lime powder. However, the putrid green colour is reminiscent of death or rather the process of dying which is contrasted by the violent red of the floor.

Considered uncivilized prior to the war” (Vargic). There was worldwide outrage over the chemical killing of soldiers from blistering, internal bleeding, choking and eventual death. No one could justify the killing of soldiers in this way, including Owen, as he declares “the lie” of a soldier’s loyalty in