Comparing 'Early Purges And The Destructor'

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

In the short story "The Destructors" we are introduced to a group of young men that seem to be surrounded by destruction. The setting of this story takes place after the World War. It depicts an atmosphere of dilapidated buildings destroyed by bombs. As the story unfolds one can see that the boy’s surroundings have caused them, to have a pretty negative outlook.

The thought of going to war excites many young men that have not experienced or have been a part of one. Individuals want to find a way out of the routine, mundane lifestyle that plagues many suburban households. People that just want some excitement enlist in a military branch that will not benefit them or anyone for that matter. In Philip Caputo’s book titled A Rumor of War, the true side of how war demolishes the human spirit is shown. His nonfiction novel captures the nasty side to war. Philip informs us how the mentality of a young man can change with the constant thought of death and fear as a daily ritual. Men do not think about death occurring to them at a young age. This changes when death is surrounding them on a daily basis during wartime. Caputo intended to inform the young public about the horrible nature of war. Mistakes are doomed to repeat themselves if people are not well informed and Caputo is trying to avoid future mistakes. Death surrounded him and many of his comrades during the Vietnam War. When the life of anyone is on the line, one tends to do drastic and sometimes unthinkable things to cope with the fear of death.

War is a traumatizing experience for anyone, but especially for children. A Long Way Gone demonstrates how a child’s innocence can be taken away

War is often thought about as something that hardens a soldier. It makes a person stronger emotionally because they are taught not show it and deal with it internally. People say that death in war is easier to handle because it is for the right reasons and a person can distance themselves from the pain of losing someone. However, there is always a point when the pain becomes too real and it is hard to maintain that distance. In doing so, the story disputes the idea that witnessing a traumatic event causes a numbing or blockage of feelings. Rat Kiley’s progression of sentiment began with an initial concern for the buffalo, transforming into an irate killing of the animal, and then ending with an ultimate acceptance of death. These

War can destroy a man both in body and mind for the rest of his life. In “The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers, but also by showing its psychological effects. We are left to wonder which has the longer lasting effect—the visible physical scars or the ones on the inside?

Literature is the foundation of our beliefs, cultures and traditions. It is why as human beings we thrive in the world, learning from the past through stories and illustrations that create emotion, desire and inspiration. It was literature that started Adolf Hitler’s reign, through the simplicity of words. When World War 2 began, literature was a basis of hope, it would encompass emotion and for many their last mark on the world. Little Polish Boy, (1969), written by Peter Fischl, a survivor of the Holocaust, explores the war through a child’s perception. The poem highlights the naïve nature of children, witnessing an act of inhumane proportions, their voices suddenly neglected and powerless. In comparison, the Boy in The Striped Pyjamas, a novel written by John Boyne in 2006 demonstrates children’s willingness to defy an ingrained war culture due to the naivety of their actions and understanding.

It is often said that loss of innocence is an essential part of the process of growing up. Usually, it is a personal experience, happening at unique rates for every individual; however, time and time again a case occurs where this change is experienced collectively. Timothy Findley’s novel, The Wars, tells the story of such an occurrence. The reader witnesses the horrors of the First World War through the eyes of Robert Ross, a young man who enlists in the army to escape a troubled home life. Along with several companions he meets during his tour of duty, Robert is subjected to a sequence of events that cause them all to realize that the world is a much uglier place than they had known it to be. Following his first kill in the trenches and

Inhumanity Morphs Alone… Forgotten… Hurt… The worst of inhumanity is being caught in it. Many survivors of the Holocaust recognize this and just fall in grief; some just don’t react at all. Either way, the inhumanity that the Holocaust inflicted upon countless souls was not easy to adapt to.

not a memoir--but an angry postwar statement about the effects of the war on the young

In my book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the most intriguing aspect is the loss of innocence by the main character, Paul, and his fellow soldiers. This is a recurring thought that is shown throughout the novel. For instance, when the author writes, “It is not fear. Mean who have been up as often as we have become thick-skinned” (53). When he says this it is amidst the noises of explosions and gunfire. It makes it very evident that the soldiers have become used to the constant racket of war even during the pitch black of night. The author illustrates another example when he writes, “I was sitting in a dugout playing skat; after awhile I stood up and went to visit some friends in another dugout. On my return nothing

A gloomy mood is shown through phrases like “warping clapboards,” “decayed stumps,” and “failing flame.” Finally, a violent mood is shown through the phrases “terrified beyond the power to cry out,” “deranged,” and “dreadfully lacerated.” The theme of the story is that you must stay alert to protect yourself and others.

Violence has been interpreted in various way by authors as the centuries have gone by. In Candide, Voltaire paints a picture about violence in the 17th century as war that continues to rage over centuries between empires with the main protagonist Candide, and his fellow members being subjected to all kinds of hardships as they themselves become casualties of war. In the Dew Breaker, Danticat discusses the extent of the everlasting damage, both physical and psychological, that is caused by totalitarian regimes, such as the Duvalier’s in Haiti in the 1970s. The central character in this story, The Dew Breaker represents an individual that is the product of such regimes, with his cruel and sadistic past as a torturer epitomizing violence. On the

One does not easily recover from such a detrimental experience as experiencing the terror of destruction firsthand. Critic, Harry L. Watson writes about the Civil War and the impact physical destruction has on one’s mind and culture: “The bloodshed and physical destruction have devastating material consequences, and the emotional and cultural damage can be just as severe” (Watson). Although the protagonist of Incendiary does not encounter war, the aftermath from the terrorist attack is similar. The “emotional and cultural change” London endures after the bombing compares to the same change the South endures after the Civil War. After facing the physical destruction from the bombing, the main character construes different ways to cope with the emotional change. The physical damage to London is evident and repaired with time,

After seeing a troop of soldiers pass by his house as a child, he begins to glorify war and death, especially his own. His weapons of choice are primitive and savage: arrows, daggers, and spears. He frequently envisions scenes in which men are brutally stabbed in the stomach, leading to slow and agonizing deaths - the true marker of beauty. As a child