What Is Henry Norwest's Life Like Life In The Trenches

Henry joined the army and returned back home a changed man. Before the war, Henry was happy, carefree, and full of life. He also shared a great bond with his brother Lyman, but after he returned from

First, one should focus on the language and Henry's ethos. The soldiers are burdened with the thought of a

Starting with trench foot, trench foot was a condition caused by the water in the trenches. This happened because the poorly built trenches caused water to stay in the area.The water started to get muddy and since they had no bathroom, the area would just flood with muck. As you would walk back and forth through the water your feet could start to decompose and rot, it could cause hypothermia and many other medical conditions. Another danger was raids and gun fire, The raid would last for a long time . The soldiers would aim to kill the enemy, they would open fire and carry knives , they would try to kill as many on the opposing side as possible. This excerpt from ‘Neath a Foreign sky’ written by paul allen says “men are being evacuated with frostbite and exhaustion by the hundred. Today four men were dug out of the mud who had been unable to move for three days. The conditions were so bad that we were unable to see the actual trenches” this is showing the sickness and dangers of the trenches this shows how terrible the trenches were and how they caused sickness and cold greatly affected the way the soldiers

The diseases that most affected the soldiers,while they were fighting for a cause in the trenches were,Trench Foot,The Trench Influenza and Shell Shock.

World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.

He was now a more courageous man from that point on. He saw his wound as a fact that he survived the shot, and he believes that he can survive what comes his way instead of running. When he ran back into battle one his friends had been killed. The man killed was the flag bearer. Instead of running in fear he pried the flag from his hands and ran into the heat of battle. Henry did not think about the possibility of himself being the one that could die. He decided to fight for his own honor. Henry grew there his experience n the Civil War because of things like his red badge of courage.

Initially, Henry fears that he will run like a coward when faced with his first battle. He’s been in the army for a while now but hasn’t seen any action yet. Talking with the other men, he tries to get them to admit that they are scared as well. No one wants to say as much; they all seem perfect examples of fearless men, which leaves Henry feeling even worse about his own apprehension. Shortly before his first battle, he sees his first dead body, a gruesome corpse.

As he is walking, a few soldiers that seems to be fleeing run into him. As Henry tries to stop them to ask what’s been happening, one of the soldiers swings at him with a rifle, opening a bloody gash on the top of his head. After a long while of waiting, a friendly soldier finds him and leads him back to camp, where a friend tends to his wound. After a few days of waiting, they come across another battle. This time Henry doesn’t flee, instead he thinks about all the people who have fought and died in the war, and decides to do the same: fight. Not only for the glory this time, but for the people he was

These endless zigzag trails were the soldiers’ home for as long as they were assigned duty to them. The trenches were often infested with “rats and lice… ‘There are millions! Some are huge fellows, nearly as big as cats…’ The soldiers often went weeks without washing or changing clothes, and most were infested with body lice” (Newman 141). Conditions were so wet and dirty and the men had to live with it. As a result of the wet and dirty conditions, many soldiers got ‘trench foot’. “Their feet swelled up to two or three times their normal size and went numb…but when the swelling went down, the pain was agonizing.

First, Henry might have been scared. He saw what happened in the first battle and it affected him in a way it didn't the others. This was the first time he fought in a war or battle with other men. He made friends with some of the soldiers in his regiment. If he stuck

After the war, Henry remained cold to everything around him. “He sat in front of it, watching it, and that was the only time he was completely still. But it was the kind of stillness that you see in a rabbit when it freezes and before it will bolt. He was not easy. He sat in his chair gripping the armrests with all his might.” By comparing Henry to a rabbit frozen in fear, it really shows how immense his anguish is. “I looked over, and he’d bitten through his lip… So we went and sat down. There was still blood going down Henry’s chin, but he didn’t notice it and no one said anything even though every time he took a bite of his bread his blood fell onto it until he was eating his own blood mixed in with the food.” This quote uniquely shows how closed off he is emotionally. He has experienced so much pain from the war that he ignores his own suffering. It is clear that Henry had some extent of PTSD from the war. He was drowning in pain so much that he ignored his own purpose and value, so much so that he ended up taking his

Henry Louie Norwest was born on May 1st, 1884 in Fort Saskatchewan, a small town outside of Edmonton in Alberta. He was a very unique solider as he was Metis. His mother, Geneviève Norwest was of French descent, and his father, Louie Norwest was a member of the Kiskaquin, a Cree first Nations band. Henry was one of three siblings, he had a half-brother named Joe Norwest, as well as a sister, Madeline Norwest who lived in Lacombe, Alberta. His parents later moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Growing up with a First Nations heritage, Henry learned many valuable skills that would later help him during life in the war. The most notable of these skills was the ability to hunt, as it thought him invaluable camouflaging and gun skills. Growing

At the time of his death Henry was only 34 years old. After his death, Henry was awarded the Bar to Military Medal for his “Bravery and Gallantry in the Field.” . This prestigious double honor belongs only to 830 members of the CEF. Private Henry Norwest had an irreplaceable impact of the war. His 115 accredited kills were all time high at the time for the CEF. He was a respected and well know figure throughout the CEF. At the site of his temporary grave his comrades wrote, “It must have been a damned good sniper that got Norwest.” In an appendix letter, his Lieutenant colonel praised Henry Norwest, he said “I doubt anyone in the Canadian Corps or even the whole British army had a better record than him” he also condemned him on what he did for all future First Nations people, and called him an “inspiration to future soldiers”. It was only fitting that Private Norwest was buried in a city that he helped take. His final resting place is at the WARVILLERS CHURCHYARD CEMETARY EXTENSION, in Somme, France. The cemetery is approximately 4 kilometers north of Bouchoir, a town on the main straight road from

     It is always said that war changes people. In the short story 'The Red Convertible', Louise Erdrich uses Henry to show how it affects people. In this case, the effects are psychological. You can clearly see a difference between his personalities from before he goes to war compared to his personalities after returns home from the war. Before the war, he is a care-free soul who just likes to have fun. After the war, he is very quiet and defensive, always watching his back as if waiting for someone to strike.

He described that he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. Through this analogy, the reader can see that Henry is reducing the soldiers to unthinking, unfeeling machines, performing their duty without taking into account the threat of injury or death. As he looks around at the faces of the rest of the soldiers in his regiment, he notices their focused commitment to the firing of their rifles. He wonders if he is the only one faced with questions of morality. While the regiment began to advance, Henry was shocked to receive a packet of letters from Wilson, who feared he would die in battle. After the battle, he is glad that he made it through the first day. He begins to lose the romantic vision of war by seeing the realities, but he starts lying to himself about who is really is.