Burdens Of War

Submitted By Allyanny
Words: 1549
Pages: 7
Open Document
Ally Johnson
English 123: Writing Assignment- Major Paper #1
1/23/2015

Burdens of War
The burdens of war go beyond disrupting a person’s life, beyond missing out on years at home with family and friends. Holding the tittle of a soldier delivers immense weight to put on their shoulders. Being a soldier means not only determining their own fate but the outcome of hundreds of lives. Along with this new title comes the beginning of a new life, because when they finish their service, life will never be the same. Once a soldier has ended his or her duty and becomes a veteran, various aspects of time consumed in war will follow them home. Ideas about life before and after war can be identified and interpreted from the poem The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy along with the short story, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Together these texts present the theme, “burdens the war forces upon soldiers are not always left on the battle field”. Both texts show the perspective of veterans who have been consumed by war. Men who know firsthand the burdens a soldier must face and can help show the other sides of war.
The first typical stress a soldier confronts during combat is trying to survive. Although survival is key to war, when looking deeper into everyday life, stress can be more than what meets the eye. Once fire is ceased and it is time to head back to base there is time to think. Hours to contemplate the various outcomes that could have happened throughout that day. Thoughts such as these create nightmares and sleepless nights. Slowly the determination and hope a young soldier started with is wearing away. Now nights include the uncertainty of whether or not they have what it takes to be a soldier. Simply in these cases their doubt doesn’t matter, “they march for the sake of the march” (pg. 356), as O’Brien states. And the meaning behind that statement is that they are doing what they have to do because it is what they are expected to do. No matter how many sleepless nights are tolerated, or how much doubt is taking over, the march continues. Soldiers are expected to do so much and perform to the highest standard of honor for their country, forming high anxiety. This anxiety is followed by fear, not fear of death but the fear of failure. Failing to do their duty could result in the death of a fellow soldier, or an innocent person they had been sent to protect. Forcing a soldier who no longer has any fight left in them makes a very risky and depressing life.
Not only does high anxiety and fear distract them regularly, longing for home fills their minds with fantasies. Throughout the story The Things They Carried a never ending amount of physical items each soldier has to carry are listed. In addition to the physical weight, there are emotions they must psychologically carry with them. Required every day to ponder about what they could have had if being a soldier wasn’t a part of their fate. Draining their souls of all that is happy, filling it with darkness and depression. O’Brien recalls feeling shame after letting his thoughts of his love Martha take over while watching over his men. “He loved Martha more than his men and as a consequence Lavender was now dead and this was something he would have to carry like a stone…” (pg. 353). Even a small memory of love from home triggered a vast consequence. Although he lost a man, a greater concern is discovered by O’Brien. After he realizes the thoughts of Martha put him in this position, in order to protect his men O’Brien burned all of Martha’s letters and pictures. From then on the rest of the war for O’Brien was spent alone with nothing to look forward to, any hope of loving Martha was now gone. All she would ever be associated with would be death and blame.
O’Brien found himself taking on a tough role of a proper soldier, following every set of instruction. No matter what the nature or how grueling the mission, commands were to be followed. O’Brien describes how “they were
Show More

Related Documents: Burdens Of War

PSY 480 Week 2 DQs Essay

find the next information: DQ 1: How have World Wars I and II affected the evolution of psychology, especial psychological testing? DQ 2: How did Vietnam contribute to our understanding of trauma? How has trauma treatment changed? General Questions - General General Questions PSY 480 Week 1 Examination of Clinical Psychology Paper PSY 480 Week 2 Major Approaches to Clinical Psychology Presentation PSY 480 Week 3 Application of Clinical Psychology Paper PSY 480 Week 4 Professional…

Words 430 - Pages 2

Week 2 Written Work Feedback Client Understanding Paper Victoria Polk

Problem Solving Approach 50 Percent Percent Possible: Percent Earned:42 Comments: All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way. See breakdown below 1,050 to 1,400 word report 4 2 I noted the length of the paper was approximately 780 words. Included information about the following topics: Adjusting lower of cost or market inventory on valuation. 9 7 I saw a good discussion on the topic of inventory and the allowance account. I thought you might have discussed…

Words 631 - Pages 3

CJA 374 Week 3 DQs and Summary Essay examples

This document of CJA 374 Week 3 Discussion Questions and Summary shows the solutions to the following problems: DQ 1: How are the operations of the juvenile court system and adult court system similar? How are they different? DQ 2: What are the major decisions of the Supreme Court in the area of juvenile justice? What is the effect of these decisions on the juvenile justice system? DQ 3: What are the pros and cons of securely detaining a juvenile prior to any formal action to adjudicate…

Words 418 - Pages 2

ACC 491 Week 2 DQ 1 Essay

2 Discussion Question 1 comprises: What is the purpose of engagement planning? What critical information should the auditor consider during engagement planning? How will this information affect the scope of the audit? Business - General Business ACC 491 Week 1 Individual Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Paper ACC 491 Week 2 Individual Assignments From the Text ACC 491 Week 2 Learning Team Auditing, Attestation, and Assurance Services Paper ACC 491 Week…

Words 448 - Pages 2

Psychology: Typography and Assignment Essay example

Running head: INSERT HERE 1 This is the Title of My Assignment My Name Course Name Walden University Repeat Your Title Here This is where you introduce the purpose and format of the paper (Note that you do not type “Introduction”). Keep in mind that each section (under each heading) will need at least one paragraph (i.e., a minimum of three sentences). The maximum page length for this Assignment is four pages. Please note that the title page and references…

Words 443 - Pages 2

Ethical: Academic Journal and Term Paper

excellent website on APA format). You must submit your paper to blackboard via safe assign and to live text. The term paper is a requirement for this course. Write a 5 – 7 page (body of the paper) APA term paper from the list of ethics topics below. Ethics Topics (Please select one) 1. Politicians often say that President Bush’s tax cuts were for the rich. In 2005, the top 10% of the tax payers paid 70% of the total income tax paid. The top 1% of the taxpayers paid almost 40% of all income…

Words 627 - Pages 3

Assignment 2: Progressive Era Through The Great Depression

“Progressive Era through the Great Depression” Must be in zip format! Write a four to five (4-5) page paper on the period from the Progressive Era through the Great Depression. Your paper should cover the following: 1.Identify at least (2) two major historical turning points in the period under discussion. 2.Analyze the impact of the two (2) or more major historical turning points selected on America’s current society, economy, politics, and culture. 3.Speculate…

Words 417 - Pages 2

Composition Guideline Essay

this format: 1) Typed and not hand-written. 2) Double-spaced, 1 inch margin, font size 12, Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri. 3) Have appropriate heading (your name, class, teacher’s name, date) and title. 4) Include page numbers (preferably at the lower right-hand corner of the paper). 5) 5 pages in length (you may add more) B. Submission: You must submit the paper in person. You will lose points if you submit it by e-mail. You will have until 4:00 PM to submit your paper. C. Expectation:…

Words 385 - Pages 2

Report Of Paper TopicYou Are Expected

Report of Paper Topic You are expected to read the requirement of term paper (you can find the document of term paper in dropbox) and decide a topic of your own paper. Please upload your answers to dropbox under “paper report” by Dec. 1. 1. There are many different opinions pertaining to the criminal justice system in the united states. A common opinion is that the system has both pros and cons. The system is both good and bad based on several different things. Personal experience can have…

Words 541 - Pages 3

Crim 206 Term Project Rubric Summer14 1 1 Essay

Absent Thesis Statement (1) Clearly and concisely states the paper’s purpose in a single sentence, which is engaging, and thought provoking. Clearly states the paper’s purpose in a single sentence. States the paper’s purpose in a single sentence. Incomplete and/or unfocused. Absent, no evidence Introduction (3) The introduction is engaging, states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper. The introduction states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper. The introduction states…

Words 836 - Pages 4