The Afraid: A Short Story

The storm clouds were dark, gloomy and grim like a graveyard. They were near the surface of the earth. It was going to rain. They were lingering on. The soldiers’ uniforms were repeatedly buffeted by the howling gale. The sky was as black as a devil’s soul. A large boom echoed across the crimson battlefield as the lighting returned the thunder’s call. Endless calls for help could be heard. Then, the rain started pouring down, filling up the battle field, like a flood, as the constant sound of the rain pounding on the metal could be heard. Heavy boots pressed down on the wet mud, which would not be dry for the next week, due to the trenches. The trenches were six-foot-deep and reeked of dead bodies and human excrement.

There is no doubt that when war occurs, every single human being is affected by it even if it is just a little. In the novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front” written by Erich Maria Remarque, a group of teenage men, who also appear to by classmates, are in the German army of World War I because they have chosen to leave their adolescence at home and school for grown up work at the army. Throughout this fictional novel, they face many challenges that result in them not seeing each other ever again because of death. War affects individuals by leaving behind necessities such as education or jobs, not being able to watch over others such as their health, and injuries that soldiers receive while they are at war.

Since the beginning of mankind, war and the horrors that come with it have had devastating effects on both the minds and the bodies of human beings. Mentally, war drains soldiers of their ability to think properly. During a battle, soldiers witness bloody battles which frequently result in demise. Day after day of witnessing deceased fall to the ground, a soldier can do nothing but think about blood, gore, and his or her fallen comrades. Additionally, a war can be physically taxing on whomever takes part in it. Dodging or being hit by fists, swords, or bullets will inevitably cause pain and may disable somebody for the rest of their life. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque demonstrates through characterization, imagery,

In a terrain with no colour, the blood had seemed more vibrant than anything I had seen since the beginning of the Great War. My eyes assessed the blood seeping through the chest of a beloved soldier. I slowly approached with my hand outstretched. Weakly, he gripped my hand and gave me his familiar wide smile.

The Novel All Quiet On The Western Front illustrates the effects of war can be highly effective on most soldiers. In this particular novel these characters go through some many hardships and are tested to the maximum. In many ways, World War I demanded this depiction more than any war before it completely altered mankind’s conception of military conflict with its catastrophic levels of carnage and violence, its battles that lasted for months, and its gruesome new technological advancements that made killing easier and more impersonal than ever before.

Before, Erich Maria Remarque wrote “All Quiet On The Western Front”, a book respectfully known as ‘The Greatest War Novel of All Time’, war was glorified by man. The author wrote the book to give an accurate summary of the Great War by portraying the mental toll soldiers faced, the great number of deaths, and the fact young soldiers fought other men’s battles against each other. The main character in the true story, Paul Baumer, describes warring against the French in the battlefield. He tells of how they “have become wild beasts” who “not against men that [they] fling [their] bombs”, but death itself (Remarque, 113). Remarque, captures the mental toll on the soldiers by illustrating that the war turns soldiers into animals,

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.

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.

Shells exploded all around us, peppering us with shrapnel. Over the past months, I’d watched friends, enemies, and innocent bystanders die. Every time someone fell, I felt the briefest flicker of guilt. Had it been my bullet? Was more blood on my hands? Some nights I yelled, hoping more than just God and the stars would hear me; some nights I cried, praying no one was listening. Around me, I saw grown men falling to bits, their nightmares screaming them back to reality as they echoed through the trenches. Reality was no better than their nightmares.

My entrance into this world was eclipsed by the conclusion of America’s seemingly most gruesome war. The image of gore, limply lying upon field after field overshadowed the arrival of my newfangled existence. Brothers, fathers, sons—all drained of vitality, gray with decomposition, saturated mind after mind all for the sake of Confederate preservation. Perhaps, it was the mere thought of another demise to endless carnage that reduced my lively impact—the devastating sting of loss still coursing throughout the veins surrounding me.

My nose is bleeding profusely as they lead me away from the fighting. The blood is thick and warm on my skin. I try to see the people who are carrying me away from my comrades. All I can see are their uniforms. The ripped stitching along the sleeve, the muddied breast of the shirt makes the name barely legible. Then I realize, even if the uniform was in pristine condition, I still would not have been able to read the writing above the right pocket. It is a name different from the classic Russian names that I grew up with. The black bolded lettering on the soldier’s uniform spelled out a German name.

Horror Stories are a very popular genre of books. Some can be exceptionally malicious and gruesome in nature while others are tamer and rely on suspense. People tend to read these stories for the adrenaline rush, to explore the unknown, and to conquer their own adversities. Studies show that us as humans like to experience fear. We read and view scary stories so we can experience artificial situations of “fight or flight.” These scenarios, whether real or imagined, get your body ready for action by giving you an extra dose of adrenaline. The thrill and suspense that hangs over us while reading, is a welcomed feeling. Scary stories also allow us to explore the unknown. In books there are boundless supernatural realms, where wonder and horror walk side by side- realms were people rise from the dead, and fight their own

They looked like lepers, not heroic forward scouts. Their faces looked moss-grown, hatched and sorrowful without hope. It was a stinking life” When you are a part of a war you are out to fight for your country leaving everything behind, and your life is unpredictable as you are not aware of what might happen. You may die or you may be one of those lucky few people who survive the war and get to tell people stories about it. But the scars never fade. It’s a carving engraved in your brain that creates a picture you simply cannot erase no matter how hard you try. Some people pride in being soldiers while some think of it as a burden. But just because you are in a dejected atmosphere doesn’t mean you become the atmosphere itself. You should not forget who you

With a legacy of being one of the deadliest wars in history, World War I resulted in mass casualties for millions of military personnel and civilians alike. As nation fought against nation, brutal and sophisticated war techniques, such as chemical and trench warfare, were engaged upon. Furthermore, the effect each had on its victims were revolutionary. Soldiers wrestled with the idea of “Dulce et decorum et pro patria mori”, when in reality, war had horrific effects on their mental and physical conditions. Sweet had soon lost its taste when scenes turned from gaining respect from older men to being haunted by those who could not get their gas masks on quick enough. Eloquently explained in the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen uses vivid

Solstice laid on her side, successfully dodging the leap, but her captor managed to shoot it down quite easily. As much as she hated to admit it, he was a pretty good fighter. He had taken her down and successfully taken down that thing on his first try. However, she wasn't about to forget about him making her his human shield. That was a real dick move. So was not untying her. “You idiot!” She screamed at him as she pulled at her bonds. She tugged until her wrists bled, trying desperately to help, but it was all to no avail. These cords were filled with metal for the circuitry of her ship. There was no way that her unimpressive human strength would do any damage. She might as well have been offered to the hounds on a silver platter by the