Rifleman Dodd Essays

After coming up with enough money to eat for the day he would go get himself some lunch. He couldn’t get any perishable foods do to the fact that he didn’t have amenities such as a refrigerator. Therefore he had to rely on bread, chips and vegetables that could be eaten raw, not the greatest of a diet but enough to get him by.

“Rifleman Dodd” is a novel written on the account of a certain British foot soldier of the “Ninety-Fifth Foot” named Matthew Dodd who encounters

Surviving the war was not a matter of intelligently planned decisions, but a series of reactions triggered by primal instincts. The animal instincts within strong soldiers inhibited

After arriving at Valley Forge Martin and his fellow soldiers were about to go through the famously long cold winter that awaited them. Martin wrote, “Our prospect was indeed dreary. In our miserable condition, to go into the wild woods and build us habitations to stay (not to live) in, in such a weak, starved and naked condition, was appalling in the highest degree” (Martin 89). He talks about lying there “two nights and one day, and had not a morsel of any thing to eat all the time” (Martin 90).

     Gun control is a very controversial issue among society at present. Many feel guns are the cause of a great amount of crime. This has been an especially popular topic recently in lieu of the shooting at Columbine and other high schools across the country. Are these crimes reason to take away our freedom to bear arms? I do not believe so. The average person uses guns mainly as a means of protection. If limitations are placed on guns, they will only stop the average American from obtaining a gun. The real criminals out there will still be able to obtain guns through the black market. Every American should have the right to protect them self.

Conditions of no sleep and hearing impairment caused by bombing,artillery,the constant sound of gun fire, made it hard to sleep.Cramped conditions and rough rugged terrain made it hard for the Soldiers to find a place to rest.Severe exhaustion caused by lack of sleep from the constant noise meant thesoldiers would fall asleep at thier posts positions.

"At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage." (Ch.9, Pg. 61) Jim Conklin, Wilson, and the tattered man are not only alike in some ways, but also have differences. The purpose of this essay is to tell you the similarities between the tall soldier, the loud soldier, and the tattered man, how they are like or unlike Henry Fleming, and what roles these major characters seem to play in the novel.

Throughout the novel, we saw the men of the Second Company adapt to the harsh conditions of war and fighting on the front line. The first instance was the men going to relieve the front line. It had been fairly quiet for them, so the quartermaster requisitioned the normal amount of rations for an entire

While obtaining food seemed to be the entire purpose of life for the people imprisoned in the camps, it often killed more people than it saved. Though focusing on food seemed like a logical

Moving closer to the battle, Henry, the rookie private with a lack of self-confidence and courage, starts thinking if he should run away from a battle or fight in the battle. With a lack of war experience, he feels insecure going to battle and does not know what to do. He starts to ask his fellow soldiers on their thoughts and opinions about running away from a battle as he felt cowardliness of doing so. He also asked one

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,

The story focuses on the emotions of the soldiers and describes how they endured extreme emotional torture during their time at war. All of them taken away from their homes and being thrown into a terrorizing unfamiliar area then given a gun and being told to fight most of them being young and having no combat experience. Tim O’Brien explains the amount of emotional stress each man carried “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing-these were intangibles, but intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight” (89). He describes how their fear affected even what supplies they brought with them from the amount of ammunition, to pocket knives, and even food. One of the soldiers in the story, Ted Lavender carried tranquilizers with him because he was scared of the physical pain he might endure. “Depending on numerous factors, such as topography and psychology, the riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines” (82). All the men struggled through

Rifleman Dodd is a light infantryman in the English army. England is engaged in a war with France throughout the Portuguese countryside. Matthew Dodd is a veteran who has survived several campaigns over five years of service. On several occasions Dodd encounters a French sergeant, Sergeant Godinot. Sergeant Godinot is a platoon sergeant who is trying to get his men through the war safely. He also tries to keep their morale up by promising his men that they will soon find his uncle who is a commanding officer for a French unit in Portugal.

The infantry soldiers of the war the wised up to their situation wrote many interesting letters. These “grunts” knew what they got themselves into and their letters reflect this. Most of them wrote letters home the described their everyday routing during the war. Back at home a lot of pressure was being put on politicians to end the war. Unlike previous wars many believed this wasn’t their place and believed America shouldn’t have gotten involved. The letters sent home during this time was a way to persuade people to fight to end the war. Although, not as important as other things the letters sent during this time are still important as they describe the reality of the Vietnam War. One of these letters was very detailed and describes what was important to him even if it wasn’t important to others. Cameron MacDonald wrote this letter while in Vietnam in October 1968. MacDonald begins his letter to his mom stating, “We’ve been running around these mountains every day without a break.” He starts the letter by expressing something that is very important that most people don’t talk about; the fatigue from walking. The constant walking soldiers must endure

He did not want to be greedy and he knew how to treat his body so he had to plea to not have to eat the junk they wanted him to eat.