Personal Narrative: The Justification Of The Face Of War

On January 3, 2009 around 11:00 PM the phone rang with what I thought was exciting news about my newly born sister, Tristyn ,but quickly turned to horror. I could heard the fright in my dad's shaken voice as he told me Tristyn had to go into immediate heart surgery because she needed a stent to open up the blood flow to her heart. Being eight at the time the only thing I could think about was how she might not make it. My dad said to me “look after your sisters, and tell them nothing about the surgery”, which terrified me more than before. I knew I needed to be brave and take charge of the situations for my sisters. Bravery is something I learned for a situation I never knew would happen.

If I could go back to any time in the world, I would go back to France in October 1944 on the Western Front. World War Two has always interested me. Being able to see the revolutionary weapons would be incredible. I would also love to take part in such a historic and epic war. War is a horrible event that plays a major part in human development.

I yawned and changed into my normal clothes. I saw it. I smiled and grabbed the teddy bear. I ran to the living room.

If there was anything more terrifying to a shy, introverted, teenage girl than the idea of being a in crowded room full of strangers, it would to be actually in one. Yet, there I was, surrounded by a numerous amount of impatient, jet-black cars that illuminated the dark streets, rows of musicians rehearsing their piece by playing a dissonance of sounds, and the expectant, motley crowd of people lining up on the sidewalk for the veteran’s parade.

It’s been three years I’m living in USA and each single day I'm hoping and wishing to turn back to my urban Syria where I born and grew up. Syria is a special place for me because it is full of memories friends and relatives in my entire life I never imagined to immigrate the reason of me to be here is the war in Syria .

In all of Human history, only 8% of that time has been completely at peace. From 150 million to 1 billion people in total have been killed by war. That’s 150 million families at least who have had their loved ones ripped from their grasp. This is far too many. War is unnecessary and barbaric. In “just and unjust war” by Howard Zinn the complexities of whether or not a war can be called just or unjust are debated. Peace can be achieved. the three crucial steps toward making world peace are education, open communication, and human rights laws must be strictly enforced.

Tiara, I think you hit the nail right on the head. The United States government is a case in point that has helped a lot of countries and we continue to do so, on a regular base. We the people or government that the people elected help so much throughout the world because of our Christian faith this country was built on. There are times, such as after a war, the United States disengages from the country early leaving the citizens and an unprepared military to fend for themselves. Although things may have been not the best before we engaged in war, when leaving a country in an unprepared situation can result in rebel forces taking over, creating a possible more threating situation.

After the war was over the family left the internment camp and came home and everything changed. “When we came back after the war it was fall and the house was still ours. The trees on the streets were taller than we remembered, and the cars more run down, and the rosebush our mother had once planted alongside the narrow gravel path they led up to the front steps of our house was no longer there” (Otsuka 106). This describes how during the years they were gone the entire street changed. When the family entered the house it smelled really bad. “We did not care. The paint was peeling away from the walls and the window frames were black with rot. Shreds of lace curtain dangled in front of the soot-covered panes and the floor was littered with

turning my head again I saw Simon dive to my aid. He did not utter a

It was mid-October and in the twenties, because it was October as was I am finishing my route. As I biked the town seemed so beautiful. I like this job because it helps me get away. I had woken up with Abelard screaming about friends lost in the war. Jacob had to come over help him. Jacob was a friend of the family and was also referred as an hyphenated American. The two had been bullied at the start of the Great War long before it came to America.

Cornered, Terrified, and feeling the despair of the situation creeping in, I was numb. Staring at Drew and trying to grasp the situation, a flash of rage overpowers my anguish as I suddenly have a flashback of Drew welcoming me into the squad with open arms. The warmth of that time would be heaven compared to this agonizing heat and sand blasting into my face. Now though, here he is in my arms, with his pulse slowly fading. I get snapped out of it by gunshots followed by hoarse screams. We were being subdued, I had to think fast. My heart was racing out of my chest, wanting to escape this hell but my eyes scanned the situation. For a split second, everything seemed to be in slow motion and I sensed danger and instinctively ducked. Something grazed my hair, I look up to see a bullet zoom on by. With nowhere to run and location found out, I had to plant my feet and fight.

The Generation of the World War 2 era benefited from the hardships they had to face. Nothing like their childhood has been prevalent in the years to follow. From searching for food in the dirty 30s to killing for freedom on the beaches of Normandy, they had a lot of growing up to do very quick. The qualities that these people had was a strong work ethic, patriotism, and the determination to fulfill one's potential. Those traits in it of themselves changed America forever.

First, the cost of war is tremendous. America is so in debt, and instead of trying to pay it all off, they’re using it to buy weapons of mass destructions. As our national debt goes up, so do our problems. The money that is being spent on the transportations for the soldiers, the food/ shelter being paid for, the weapons, can all be used to pay for much more important things. The taxpayer’s money could be used to fund underprivileged families and schools. Schools could be using the money to fund the music and arts programs that could help the students express themselves. The money can also be used to help keep people off the streets, and even fix roads and buildings all over the country. We can make this country beautiful, but instead the

Many times readers lose interest in stories that they feel are not authentic. In addition, readers feel that fictitious novels and stories are for children and lack depth. Tim O’ Brien maintains that keeping readers of fiction entertained is a most daunting task, “The problem with unsuccessful stories is usually simple: they are boring, a consequence of the failure of imagination- to vividly imagine and to vividly render extraordinary human events, or sequences of events, is the hard-lifting, heavy-duty, day-by-day, unending labor of a fiction writer” (Tim O’ Brien 623). Tim O’ Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story” examines the correlation between the real experiences of war and the art of storytelling. In O’Brien’s attempt to bridge

War is not a necessary evil. Even though people fight for the protection of their country, it seems like a waste of time. World peace has been going on for a while around with world deciding whether or not to stop a war all together. But, people do not listen for many reasons. War may just one day altogether stop or become a never ending battle. Of course everyone wants war to stop but people continue on fight for either freedom or rights. But isn’t there a more simpler and more calm way of settling things? I get from very sad to very mad thinking about war. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “There was never a good war, or a bad peace.” To this day, there are many reasons to why war is not a necessary evil.