The obligation a citizen feels to serve their country is a common sentiment. Despite this presumed duty resulting in countless deaths of men and women, many still make the brave decision to enlist themselves during a war. This can be attributed to how those who serve their country’s military are touted as courageous, selfless and heroic. Timothy Findley’s “War” follows the tragic story of a young boy named Neil growing up during World War II. Neil finds himself in a difficult situation upon learning that his father has enlisted himself in the army. Neil’s characterization which embodies an ordinary child, is expressed through his apparent naivety and innocence. Furthermore, “War” strongly displays three of Neil’s character traits which in turn, …show more content…
To begin, Neil can be viewed as immature by literally running away from a problem that he is not capable of handling. The initial shock of his father joining the army is apparent through his emphasis and repetition on the statement, “Joined the ARMY?” (124). This is the moment where a problem that he must deal with is introduced. Following this reveal, without any confrontation, he flees to a hayloft in a barn (125). It is obvious that Neil does not take the news lightly and, like most children, lack competence when approaching their problems. The unexpected and sudden reveal activates Neil’s defense mechanism where logic and long term consequences of this act is ignored by Neil. The lengths at which Neil voluntarily took to not confront the issue of his father leaving could have caused himself harm. What is often a completely ordinary characteristic of most children that is safely expressed, slowly manifests itself into a major downfall in Neil’s life. This tendency is a product of the helplessness Neil feels when he has little control over his circumstances. Secondly, Neil resorts to violence when dealing with his anger as he is immature. When coming into contact with his father after his temporary isolation, he gets the urge to hit him and does (131). Here, a negative characteristic of him comes to light. Despite the loving …show more content…
Readers are enlightened to the perspective and struggles of the most neglected group of society during war, which is youth. Firstly, Neil proves himself to not be a stranger to war by being a witness to military related consequences. Secondly, while Neil is well-informed beyond his years, his immaturity continues to play a role in his life and his actions. Finally, Findley ties himself together at the core of who he is, a growing child filled with needs and the potential to develop into the person he inevitably becomes. A standard citizen’s desire to be viewed as heroic by serving in combat only serves to validate a system that views their citizens’ bodies as interchangeable and disposable tools in war. It is crucial that governing individuals prioritize the well-being of youth over their fiscal, power or political conflict when those who suffer the most are struggling youth. Those who are the most vulnerable, the neediest, also have the most potential to revolutionize and alter the state of a chaos-filled, weapon-fuelled world. They are the
The American Revolution marked the history of many heroic events that immaculately stand as true inspirations for the generations to come in the United States. Even today, the gallantry of a few soldiers that won independence for the country is not only kept in the hearts of the people but run in the American blood to demonstrate acts of valor at times of war and hardships. One such story recorded in the history dates back to 1776, about a sixteen-year old juvenile, Joseph Plumb Martin, joined the Rebel Infantry and recorded his tribulations about forty-seven years in a memoir titled as “A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier”. The book mainly focuses on the sufferings through the tough situation he went through.
Responsibility often comes with the connotations of burden and sacrifice and most of the time, this is true. In The Wars, by Timothy Findley, the concept of responsibility is demonstrated in the character of Mrs. Ross whose duties as a wife and a mother may be viewed as cold, cruel, and purposefully isolating; the complete opposite of the archetype of a compassionate mother figure. However, like each unique individual in society, the way one responds and takes responsibility varies infinitely; Mrs. Ross attempts to dissociate from society when she feels she has not fulfilled her duties and responsibilities. However, her empathetic nature prevents her from completely isolating herself from all sentiment. Rather, she subconsciously internalizes the welfare and hardships faced by others while sacrificing her own well-being.
War’s Reality We as humans find conflict to be rash and futile, but to the soldiers that fight for our freedom, it is an honor and a privilege, but it is dreadful nonetheless. We are going to be discussing Tim O'Brien's intentions in writing the short story “Where Have You Gone Charming Billy.” It is my understanding that he wrote the story to tell us about war as it is hard to imagine its entirety and that war takes lives. Finally, I believe that he wants us to see how dangerous and terrifying war really is.
In the beginning of the story, he was an innocent kid without any worries or fears about his father or things that coming up. He tends to think positively about things around him. When the boy witnessed his father was about to beat his mother, he was scared, but then, he decided to stop his father from doing it. "The boy rose from his chair. ' No!'
This chapter “The Ghost Soldiers”, showed us how Tim O’Brien and the other soldiers were dealing with the war both physically and psychologically. It also shows us how the Tim O'Brien behaved and felt when he was shot, wounded and had a bacteria infection on his butt and how the war changed the way he thought, and viewed the other soldiers around him. This chapter also contain a lot of psychological lens. From the way Tim O’Brien felt when he was shot and separated from his unit to a new unit to when he wanted revenge on Bobby Jorgenson for almost “killing” him.
Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.
Hidden somewhere within the blurred lines of fiction and reality, lies a great war story trapped in the mind of a veteran. On a day to day basis, most are not willing to murder someone, but in the Vietnam War, America’s youth population was forced to after being pulled in by the draft. Author Tim O’Brien expertly blends the lines between fiction, reality, and their effects on psychological viewpoints in the series of short stories embedded within his novel, The Things They Carried. He forces the reader to rethink the purpose of storytelling and breaks down not only what it means to be human, but how mortality and experience influence the way we see our world. In general, he attempts to question why we choose to tell the stories in the way
War is the graveyard of innocence for boys who become men through the loss of humanity. The book “Fallen Angels,” by Walter Dean Myers, is a story about Richard Perry, a young man who mistakenly joins the Vietnam War to avoid the shame of not going to college. As the book goes on Perry discovers his mistake and in the process, not only loses his innocence, but also his humanity. Wars will always be the dark parts of our history and no war is devoid of horrors that can strip anyone of everything they are, and in war soldiers must use coping mechanisms to deal with these very apparent horrors.
¬¬¬¬¬The Wars Essay The concept of resilience is often described as being able to recover from difficult experiences or pasts, where one’s resilience could be impacted by drastic changes that occur in their lives. It is something that guides one’s decisions and often defines their morals and what individuals perceive to be right or wrong; depending on the situation they are encountering. Resilience is highly dependent on the thought of empathy, where the resilience of people who have experienced empathy will be different from others who haven’t. How individuals deal with these differences determines one’s level of empathy and also impacts their resilience.
Throughout the entire movie one of the main characters Neil Perry is seen trying to embrace his decisions against his father 's which makes them fight very often making Neil want to become a nonconformist to not only his father but against society. Neil’s father always
It was not Tim’s sense of nationalist loyalties that caved him; rather, it was helplessness and his reputation that was at risk. Tim O’Brien longed to be that “secret hero” or “Lone Ranger” in order to impress those around him. However, he ends up learning that courage does not come in finite quantities. He finds himself resenting authority, “If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line”. No matter how much he may find the law cruel and inhuman, he has is too prideful and decides to comply with the rules.
The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.
In the drama “The Blizzard,” Neil shows a strong example of being a comedic hero. Neil shows the traits of disorder, ordinary stature, and he is detached emotionally. Everything is out of order, they have no phones or radio. Neil is expecting his brother and sister-in-law. Neil should turn Natasha and Salim away, but he does not value his own safety.
The Wars is a symbolic masterpiece that illustrates the great impact war brings on the microcosm of society and how individuals juxtaposed to the war are affected. The novel itself requires active reading; because without it, the novel would seem very simplistic; however, after further examination, readers can evidently recognize the complexity of Robert’s character with the aid of many heteroglossic components, techniques, devices, and the reworking of literary conventions. Robert’s physical, mental and emotional journey he endeavours, followed by the constant re-evaluations of his truths and becoming a more proficient soldier, can be seen through a formalist perspective with the use of foreshadowing to signify Robert’s transition from a sane to insane soldier; the utilization of animal imagery highlighting Robert’s development through the horrific experiences of war; and the several themes in the text to illustrate Robert’s evolution as a soldier through his inner
He comes from a very wealthy family. Neil’s dad wants Neil to become a doctor. Neil has different plans; he loves to act and what to be an actor. Neil’s dad is overbearing and tells Neil he will have nothing to do with acting. This back and forth disagreement makes Neil’s commit suicide.