It had destroyed a whole generation leaving the soldiers who had fought in it broken shells of the young men they had once been. It drove a wedge between society and soldier as no civilian would ever be able to understand what atrocities the young men had experienced while fighting at the front. This left the soldiers feeling betrayed by their nations who had forced them to carry out their patriotic duty and sent them to their deaths. Both novels describe how the soldiers felt alienated from the lives that they had left behind. One British soldier wrote of how “despite the flag-waving that greeted us [Britain's returning troops] many felt nothing but hatred for the leaders and those back home who'd sent us to die.” Both novels, “Regeneration” by Pat Barker and “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque discuss how the brutalities and horrors experienced at war have left the men who fought in it feeling alienated and ostracised from civilian life.
When his soldier Ted Lavender died all he could do was cry and blame himself for his death, “He felt shame. He hated himself.... this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of war.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 42) but he didn’t let that very heart-wrenching emotion of feeling responsible for someone’s death cloud his judgment or cause him to take his job lightly. Towards the end of the story he stepped up, over-coming the guilt he felt after the death of Ted Lavender. Learning from his mistakes and changing the way he lead his platoon “He would not tolerate laxity. He would show strength, distancing himself.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 100) He showed courage while seeing the bigger picture telling himself “that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 101) Masculinity is very apparent in this platoon.
On top of their horrible conditions, there was food, clothing, supplies, and weapon shortage. This novel truly describes how soldiers die and in what true conditions they are when in war. This book made you want to hate Germany because these young boys were in a hell hole and all authority ignored them. Even though this book was published before all Nazi violence broke out against Jews, it still seemed like a threat. The world looked at Germany as a very powerful country especially when it came to war, and this book screamed the opposite.
His love for her was also a huge distraction from what truly was important. Lieutenant Cross shows shame and fear. His love for Martha distracted him so much that Ted Lavender, a soldier in his platoon, died under his watch. O’Brien states, “He felt shame. He hated himself.
Some died a quick death while others died a slow, painful death, showing the reality of war. Paul and his friends have realized that the ideals of patriotism are hollow. They no longer believe that war is honorable. The reality of war becomes evident to Paul when he kills the French soldier, Gerard Duval, in his first face-to-face combat. He is distraught to kill a man that he finds out has a wife and child.
Although they identify that there is a sniper, they still fear him because they cannot discern exactly when he will strike. “Sooner or later this German sniper, who keeps us cowering in cold fear, will be caught in an advance by our troops.” Also in this chapter, the character of Brown, is killed by the sniper. Brown’s death would’ve made the narrator even more fearful of the unknown because he now knows what
This is a dangerous trap for the highwayman – these guys will shoot to kill. The phrase ‘and hell at one window’ meant that the cruelty of the soldiers and the pain of her situation have put Bess in a private hell. Not only do the soldiers tie Bess up, they make fun of her too. They make "sniggering jests" (mean little jokes).Then they tied up a gun next to her, with the barrel pointing right at her chest. I believe they did this to scare her, to keep her in line, although the speaker doesn't exactly say.
Throughout Birdsong, Destruction of man is a constant theme conveyed by Faulks. In part two, Stephen is showed as distant to his to his men, lacking the ability to comfort his men, specifically when Weir refers to Stephen as a “cold bastard” as Stephen is not capable of comforting him. This is completely contradicted in part four, as Stephen expresses that “the grimmer, harder, more sardonic they became, the more he cared for them.” As they have fought together and killed together, the bond between the soldiers is forever growing. Negative diction is used to enforce the terrors of the war and enforced with the ‘rule of three’ showing the forever degrading effects to the soldiers on the front line. The destruction of man is also shown in a more psychological way.
War conveys the unleashed monster within a soldier and the kidnapping of a physically-healthy survivor’s mental aspect. The traumas of battle encourage feelings of indignation and antagonism in a soldier and the generals’ orders denies a corporal’s humble character. The sight of a fellow countryman riddled with bullets in his chest instigates sentiments of resentment and rage in a soldier’s mind, rendering them to retaliate with vehemence. Life in the trenches is completely opposite to normal life back at home and the disconnection from family and friends only keep soldiers persisting. During a soldier’s time at war, they develop many relationships in the trenches and on the frontline, many of them go as quickly as they came, however, some are evolve into close relationships.
The emotion a soldier experiences cannot be understood by anyone except those in war. This emotion is unique to each individual, as we all have different outlooks on life, death and war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s experience of the death of Lavender undoubtedly illustrates the effect war eventually makes on a soldier. Due to his mistake, Cross “felt shame. He hated himself.