The Sergeant Was The Primary Person

Through the distress of a single man, Jarrell is able to depict the fears of a lonely soldier in an extremely vulnerable position, and invites us into the heinous reality of war which forces us to question our impressions of soldiers having no fear yet not questioning their bravery. War can produce gruesome situations that can cause even the bravest men to face their fears, but it is how they deal with this fear that is the important part. Ball turret gunners were courageous warriors. They were fully aware of how susceptible to death they were, nevertheless, they would continue to fight time after time. WWII was a dreadful episode in human history that killed millions of people, and its bloodshed is described by the UN Charter as a scourge that “has brought untold sorrow to mankind”. Jarrell had served in the military himself, thus he knew - at least to some extent -

The fear of killing and being killed in battle is no easy thing to contemplate or to inspire. Inspiring soldiers to participate earnestly in battle is crucial to winning wars. Approaches to accomplish this have been studied and tried by military leaders for millennia. George S. Patton attempted this very thing in his speech to the Third Army. Patton delivered a profane and vulgar speech to untried soldiers who have yet to see combat. Patton is able to inspire his soldiers by using his reputation while dismantling his authority, using obscene humor, and appealing to their sense of honor and courage.

“They were tough. They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--...They carried their reputations. … carried the soldier 's greatest fear,which was the fear of blushing. It

Just like their constant companions the lice and the rats, the soldiers in the trench adapt to the hell that they find themselves trapped in – doing whatever it takes to survive. They even fight each other over food ‘at each others throats like hungry, snarling animals’. As the novel & the war progresses so does the inhumane side of the soldiers who become increasing more detached from killing, unconcerned with the death of friends. The soldiers are conditioned, hardened up and desensitised with self preservation becoming a key motivator. This is shown as the soldiers plunder the city of Arras allies ' town and vandalize houses with no consideration of the local

"Awkwardly, the men would reassemble themselves, first in private, then in groups, becoming soldiers again. They would repair the leaks in their eyes... light cigarettes, try to smile, clear their throats and spit and begin cleaning their weapons."(O'Brien 860). From this passage we see how the men hid their feelings from each other. Often when coming close to death the men defuse the tension by joking, saying things like "that's sure as hell was close" or "I almost shit my paints"(O'Brien 860) and pretend like the war doesn't bother them. All the solders are trying to portray a stereotypical image of a "tough guy" because that's what they have been culturally conditioned to think. When in fact bravery is the ability to stand up for what you believe in despite what others think. For instance, it takes a lot more courage to allow yourself to cry in front of your peers. A coward hides his emotions because he's afraid of what others might think.

It was poorly constructed, polluted with human excrement and contained pools of water. Buried about a foot deep, hundreds of Germans and French lied in the trench since last October. Mud was my best friend, and sleep was interrupted by the booming of German shells. There was infection everywhere. Men were blown or shot to pieces, and their bodily fluids fed the rats. Those malicious critters were immense, crawling on and eating the decaying bodies. Some of the men had gotten a nasty disease that ate away at their feet. Trench foot, they called it. Unless we could dry our feet, our feet began to rot. Making up the majority of our diets were stale bread. With no appetite, I starved for most days. And containing no proper washrooms, we had areas in the trench where we relieved ourselves. Oh how the banging never ceased for sixty seconds! Some men were terrified of fighting, mama. Their minds went crooked, and their bodies twitched and trembled constantly. They wouldn't fight, or listen to orders. Most of them were executed, unless they had an injury that could send them home. Mama, Riley was shot in the heart yesterday. But, he died grateful. "It's an end to those shells, bombs, rats, lice and mud," he spoke his last

Thinking about war is a vile image to civilians, but also shallow in knowledge; their conception of war is nothing compared to the horrors that come with the experience of war including what it feels like to have to avoid constant attacks, to have run on minimal food, and to experience death on a daily basis. On the front, soldiers are forced to be on the lookout for random incursions that come their way; it can unexpectedly appear in a variety of deadly forms including shells, gas attacks, open fire, etc. When daylight falls, shells “[boom] through the night like an organ” with a blow so vast that if a soldier were to be hit by “one of those [they’re] killed at sight”; forcing their animal instinct to be awakened which is “far quicker, much more sure” and “less fallible than consciousness” (Remarque 56)(Remarque 59)(Remarque 103).

They provided a type of freedom; no rules or regulations were present on the front lines, as if that’s what Pyle was searching for his whole life. Along with freedom were lasting images of chaos. The scenes on the front line were bonding; the only way someone could understand the horrors of the war was if they could see it for themselves. The men experiencing the daily punishment of the front were a source of great admiration from Ernie Pyle. “The God-damned infantry, as they like to call themselves,” “the mud-rain-frost-and-wind boys … that wars can’t be won without.” (pg. 91, Ernie Pyle’s War). Pyle understood how important the role of the “common man” was in Europe. He loved the underdog aspect to them, as if he could see himself in their unit fighting bravely. These men scrapped through the teeth of the German resistance, and Pyle would be damned sure they were recognized for

Living in the trenches is extremely horrible, even though I have only been in it for two days. Although, it is clever that these trenches, that are created by digging in the mud, are designed to protect us from machine gun fire. They are muddy, and when it rains, the mud can slowly trickle onto my outfit. These trenches are rat infested, and the filthy rats always steal the last morsels of food that we have. We use the backside of our shovel to smash and kill the filthy rats. When I first smashed a rat, blood oozed out of the rat and its body was twisted. Nobody could bear to watch that horrendous sight anymore. I immediately ran away; it was the first living thing that I had killed in my entire life. I felt happy but remorseful at the same time. Here in the Western Front, clouds always block the rays of the vivid sunshine; the

Blind to the truth of what really happens. It’s times like this where I am forever grateful for the experience I have already been faced with gruesome events. Yet that hateful feeling of dread continues to tower over me each and every day. It’s challenging to recall what it was like for me the first I set foot on the battle field, as it seems like a lifetime ago. I suppose that I have lived a lifetime in these trenches. I wish that with every enemy I shoot it shall not say with me. A constant reminder of our sacrifices, I’m on edge as it feels like a continuous want for death. Bewildered as to when it will strike again shaken by the fact that it could be me carried away, or left in the barbarous

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.

Every soldier hears the horror stories of war but never really understands till they are in war themselves. In the short story, “The Things They Carried” all the soldiers are constantly dreading every second. For example it is not good news when a high command orders the soldiers to search the tunnel before having to blow them up. No one knows what is going to be in the tunnels and for the lucky ones that do not have to search the tunnels still feel the panic. The soldiers kneel down facing away from the tunnel. The fear causes them to think of anything that is down there such as, “cobwebs and ghosts” (O’Brien 103). However, the soldier that is not so fortunate crawls down into the hole shoving him self deeper into the ground. Worry and concern drips over him as he starts to think what if the flashlight dies, or if the rats have rabies, or what if a he gets stuck in the tunnel can the other soldiers rescue him? Fear can get the best of soldier and cause them not to be the best soldier they can be. Apprehension can weigh a soldier down mentally and physically. It can cause a soldier worry about things such ghosts while their main concern should be on their objective. At night the soldiers place claymores, which are bombs set on the ground to go off on an intruder then they crawl into their holes, “lie down and spend the whole night waiting” (O’Brien 103). It was impossible for the soldiers to get rest because they constantly

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

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

The troopers unaccustomed the War was pictured as ignorant and immature once it came to the ins and outs of war. The hierarchy of ranks between world organization agencies those that people who supply orders and penalization and other people who receive the orders and penalization is created painfully obvious. Those that do not adapt well square measure weeded out, scolded, and punished until Associate in nursing adjustment is created. As Associate in Nursing example, Forrest Gump is instantly scolded upon incoming inside the sphere once he salutes his commanding officer; the Vietcong would possibly are wanting. Another example is that the beating of a marine United Nations agency is slow to control absolutely Metal Jacket gets overpowered by his entire unit. They claimed he needed facilitate along with his motivation.