War And Pain Essay, Research Paper
As stated in the Oxford Desk Dictionary, “war is 1 a armed hostilities, especially between nations; conflict; 3 a hostility or contention between people, groups, etc.” War has become an event that many countries have relied on to end disputes or settle conflicts. As a result of “winning,” whether it is land, money, or just working out a common flaw of society, many lives are lost. An unknown source once said “war is like an endless waltz, you can sit out as many songs as you want but the music will flow on forever” and this demonstrates the truth about war that it will constantly be in effect. Many inspirational and great American authors of novels, short stories, and poems have either served in a war and were affected by it personally, or have been affected by the disruption and pain that times of war create. Some of these authors include Stephen Crane, Tim O’Brien, John Steinbeck, Ambrose Bierce, Ernest Hemingway, and Randall Jarrell. These authors have shared different struggles, views, and feelings of war with the American public that have touched our hearts and impacted our lives. Just as war has the potential to help a country or a nation gain power and control, war can also cause many human beings to endure long term pain and suffering and risk their lives for a cause that they may believe is worthwhile.
Besides the obvious physical dangers, there are many other ways that soldiers can be hurt; firstly, one of these is emotional. The emotional pain and suffering of leaving one’s home is another risk that soldiers take when entering a war. War can be emotionally damaging due to the necessary separation from familiar surroundings which can become hard to remember. John Steinbeck writes, “But in addition to these ills, which come from the inside of a man are given him so that he can temporarily withstand pressures beyond his ordinary ability, there is the further stress of explosion,” in “Why Soldiers Won’t Talk” to stress the point of inner sickness opposed to the outer sickness.
Another form of psychological harm is the terrors that war can instill in a soldier. Many dramatic and violent situations can cause anxiety and paranoia. Tim O’Brien illustrates in “The Thing They Carried” the thoughts and conditions of such paranoia: “Will your flashlight go dead? Do rats carry rabies? If you screamed, how far would the sound carry? Would your buddies hear it? Would they have the courage to drag you out? In some respects though not many, the waiting was worse than the tunnel itself. Imagination was a killer,” stated as a soldier is making his way through a tunnel. In most cases these side effects do not fade or lessen with any amount of time. In “Soldiers Home” Ernest Hemingway writes, “he tried so to keep his life from being complicated. Still, it had touched him,” portraying the idea that the war had taken over this soldier’s mind and no matter what he tried to do, it wouldn’t go away. These symptoms persistent and recurrent for veterans of wars.
Thirdly, psychological pain and suffering is another risk that soldiers take. Randall Jarrell states it well in “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” when he says “[the soldiers were] six miles from earth, loosed from [their] dream of life,” explaining how war pulled the soldiers away from reality and forced them to loose contact with their dreams. Many people don’t realize the psychological damage that war can do to a person unless one has experienced it. The severity of violent acts and events that war brings about can lead states of withdrawal and disassociation. For instance, in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Ambrose Bierce wrote ” despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he sees another scene-perhaps he had merely recovered from delirium” to show that killing a single man can send you into a state of shock and deliriousness.
Fourthly, war can puncture religious beliefs and faith in destiny. War is a fight against fate that cannot and will not ever be won. In “A Horsemen in the Sky”Ambrose Bierce states that “No country is so wild and difficult but men will make it a theater of war” to show that naturally and instinctively the majority of men would never righteously kill another human being. However, the military drills it into the soldiers’ heads acts of war are ultimately for a good cause. To feel that killing someone is not bad or harmful thing is not a natural feeling. Tim O’Brien states that he was thinking “There were no thoughts about killing” as he killed a soldier in cold blood. Also in a poem entitled “War is Kind” by Stephen Crane, it is stated that “[soldiers are] little souls who thirst for fight, these men were born to drill and die, although most soldiers do not enjoy killing and being drilled to violence.
In conclusion, war brings soldiers an excessive amount of internal pain that unanticipated when they enlist in the war. But they soon realize that while physical injuries will heal and bruises will clear up; psychological and emotional will never heal. They are symptoms that last forever. So in the end, as the band War puts it “War- what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”