War Was A Cruel And Dark Life For A Soldier

Don’t leave me here alone.’ The narrator simply shakes him off and moves on. The soldiers have been trained like beasts and they have been dehumanised; they have been taught that no life is to be spared. Death is now the norm and they have been desensitized to it. The narrator relates an incident where he volunteers for a raid on the German trenches. He experiences much trauma; he kills a soldier, Karl. Karl’s death is terrible- the bayonet is trapped in Karl and eventually the narrator has to shoot him. When he returns to the trenches with two German prisoners he tries to suppress what has happened: ‘It is better not to think’. The narrator knows that he would indubitably go insane if he thinks about his action. Karl’s death epitomizes the fact that soldiers on both sides are killed in horrific way for no discernible reason. There is definitely nothing glorious or heroic about war.

Imagine you’re lying on the muddy, damp Earth and all around you can hear the screams of people you know dying. Shells explode, bullets race through the air, and poisonous gas seeps around you, all with the intent to harm you in some way. Yet, you willingly put yourself in that position day after day, year after year. The question surrounding this situation is, why? Who would be masochistic enough to choose to put their lives in danger and live in the most perilous environment possible? Two very different books give us insight into the thoughts of the soldiers who continuously put themselves in these environments. Your Death Would Be Mine by Martha Hanna and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque lets us into the minds of Paul Pireaud and Paul Baumer as they try to survive life as a soldier in the Great War. I argue that Pireaud and Baumer had very different reasons for continuing to fight despite having suffered beyond belief. In this paper I will analyze how the varying degrees of patriotism, brotherhood, family life at home, and age affected how these two men endured the treacherous life on the front of World War I.

The rise of World War I caused millions of casualties and was yet another demonstration of how supposedly civilized nations could be led into a chaotic war of power over lands and people. Since the beginning of civilization, war has been the way of the world. However, with major advances in technology, this idea of war has since become mechanized and deadlier. There is no doubt that the powerful men who lead wars often don’t care to think of nitty gritty of war, to them, rather, it’s a matter of power and legacy. In Remarque’s novel, the particular story of Paul and his comrades is a perfect example of how a generation can be used and manipulated to drive the agenda of power- hungry men. Through Remarque’s own personal experience and unparalleled writing ability, this novel presents many first-hand experiences into the living conditions of soldiers and peoples.

Through the soldiers’ experiences, the narrator shows only the dark side of human nature. Discuss.

The harsh reality of war distinguishes the leaders that exert power and the followers that can’t. In the novel, Generals Die In Bed by Charles Yale Harrison, Harrison outlines the hardships of a soldier’s life. As the story progressed the soldiers learned the bitter truth of war when they realized how small of a saying they had in the grand scheme of things. The soldiers had no control over their own decisions as their lives are exploited for the benefits of others.

Fire!’” (Bierce 472). Although the narrator is clearly exaggerating for effect, with hyperbole, by claiming the military men “accurately measured” the “interval” of their words in order to be perfectly in sync, he brings to light that each soldier is almost robotically yelling the same choppy, memorized commands in unison with the others. Moreover, the use of overtly simplistic, “cruel,” commands further distances the men from the human qualities of empathy, as the narrator believes the men’s “cruel” behavior denotes that they disregard Farquhar’s sentiments and life to the point where they fail to empathize with him, and the soldiers declare short, one-word commands because they want to downplay and understate the significance of killing Farquhar. So, since the soldiers are so nonchalant about killing civilians, Bierce conveys that military life provokes the desensitization of a soldier towards death.

Since the beginning of time, humans have sought after power and control. It is human instinct to desire to be the undisputed champion, but when does it become a problem? Warfare has been practiced throughout civilization as a way to justify power. Though the orders come directly from one man, thousands of men and women pay the ultimate sacrifice. In Randall Jerrell’s “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner”, Jarrell is commenting on the brutality of warfare. Not only does Jarrell address the tragedies of war, he also blames politics, war leaders, and the soldier’s acknowledgement of his duties. (Hill 6) With only five lines of text, his poems allows the reader to understand what a soldier can go through. With the use of Jerrell’s poem, The Vietnam War, and Brian Turner’s “Ameriki Jundee”, the truth of combat will be revealed.

            Whenever he looks into the eyes of an enemy soldier, he does not see a man, but sees death staring back at him.  He has no choice; the enemy cannot and will not coexist with him.  It

Throughout human existence war has been a glorified way of settling disputes and asserting dominance, a place where powerful men have proven themselves, a place where glory and honor were achieved and a place where noble heroes died. Continuously through history humans looked past the horrors of war and misleadingly saw it as a glorious manner. This glorious view on war went unchallenged for centuries when finally the general William Tecumseh Sherman spoke out about the horrors of war and famously quoted that “war is hell”. In All Quiet On The Western Front William Tecumseh Sherman’s words can been seen in Remarque’s portrayal of the First World War by making display of the close similarities that war and hell have. Remarque exposes how truly horrendous the conditions at the front were displaying similarities between the conditions at war and to conditions described of hell. Remarque shows how the weapons used in the war turned man into ashes and countrysides into dead zones creating a real hell like environment. Lastly Remarque manifests that the horrors that war brought were so deep that the suffering would become eternal just as the suffering of hell. Therefore in the novel All Quiet On The Western Front Remarque brings life to William Tecumseh Sherman's famous quote “War is hell” by exposing how alike war and hell are by virtue of their similarities: How the conditions at the front were so horrendous they resembled conditions of hell; How new warfare technology turned

This extract shows that when someone dies, or gets so injured they cannot keep on fighting, there is not a lot of respect given to them. The word ‘flung’ indicates this, illustrating the fact that they are not provided a lot of care; and that they are just one person in about 20,000,000 who will not survive the war.

“On this I gave directions to the troops to move forward, but on no account to fire, or even attempt it without orders; when I arrived at the end of the Village, I observed drawn up upon a Green near 200 rebels; when I came within about 100 yards of them, they began to file off towards some stone walls on our right flank. The Light Infantry, observing this, ran after them. I instantly called to the soldiers not to fire, but surround and disarm them, and after several repetitions of those positive orders to the men, not to fire, etc. some of the rebels who had jumped over the wall fired four or five shots at the soldiers, which wounded a man of the Tenth and my horse was wounded in two places, from some quarter or other, and at the same time

What is important to anyone curious is the thought that goes into the title of the book, or translation in this case: The Sorrow of War. It is short and effective, if a little plain, as it exposes the main theme of the book right away while inviting the reader to see how and why. It says what it says: war is bad. War will do nothing but take away everything one knows and loves. War shows the worthless sacrifices of the noble and the virtuous. War forcibly warps human beings into inhuman beasts capable of heinous deeds much like any serial killer. Lucky survivors are themselves cursed as they have to adapt to a society zombified by the infected wounds of past bloodshed. What was curious was the alternative translation: The Understanding of

Many peoples’ nature and function of love are totally different in many confusing ways. However, one might consider love as the center of understanding one another and how to function and build each other as a whole. Nature of love involve the surroundings and how a couple uses their adaptability to find comfort in their relationship. Many people use their surroundings to help their relationship or use their surroundings that can be detrimental to their relationship. Most peoples’ function of love are different from others. Others have to deal with a lot far as separation due to violence, cheating, divorces etc… However, throughout the novel Sorrow of War, Kien suffered from his love, loss of innocence, and his anguish at the memories of war.

Patience wears thin. “And there was death in the air, hovering and waiting…”(57) The eager young soldiers of the occupiers have become disillusioned, distrusting. They are restless for news of the war, news from home and friendly faces. A soldier cries, “If home crumbled, they would not tell us and then it would be too late. These people will not spare us, they will kill us,”(59) Tensions grew as the soldiers waited. The soldiers spoke amongst themselves remembering “stories of their men retreating…when every peasant’s pitchfork tasted blood and the snow was rotten with bodies.”(59) “Thus it came, the conquerors grew afraid of the conquered and their nerves grew thin and they shot at the shadows of the night.”(59) The soldiers became restless and

The first and the greatest confrontation of the armies at a global level has most certainly been a real slaughter. The men who have managed to escape this great tragedy of the XXth century have been left with unforgettable scars, that have irrevocably changed their view points. It is the case with the male protagonist of the novel, when stating: If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” (cf. Hemingway,