Since becoming an independent country in 1776, the United States has only been at peace for 21 of those years. With many of these wars being fought overseas, citizens back home relied heavily on television broadcasts, newspapers, and other media outlets to keep them updated on the events and status of these wars. However, Carolyn Forché believes, “what comes to us in newspapers and on television is not necessarily factual, nor is it cogent…neither never true to objective truth or subjective reality” (Forché, 36). Following the end of the war, an entirely new perspective on the events of the war emerged through the poetry written by some of these soldiers such as Yusef Komunyakaa. The personal experiences of these soldiers allowed their poetry …show more content…
Komunyakaa uses it to blur the line between the reader and the poem. This becomes apparent as Komunyakaa transitions from first person to second person point-of-view towards the end of the poem. Following this transition, the pronouns “you” and “your” are used seven times within the last five stanzas. As a result, the reader feels as if they are a witness to the scene, which forces the empathy of the soldier to become communal (Hill 316). Considering the situation in this manner highlights the kind of moral ambivalence soldiers often experienced during the …show more content…
Even though “modernity has established the norm of individual integrity…it should be obvious…that the experience of [the 20th] century has done much to undermine this norm” (Forché 44). All of the previously discussed examples elude to this aspect by showing the disparity between the soldier’s actions and his morality. However, it is most prevalent when considering the soldier’s need to achieve moral dissonance in order to carry out his duty. Even though he knew killing was morally wrong, his particular circumstances forced him to disregard his morality in order to
In Komunyakaa’s “CtC” the poem focuses on a group of soldiers who are
War has always carried an amount of uncertainty. The harsh truths about war have often been looked at through rose colored glasses. However, the harsh, unromantic realities of war always seem to dominate . Writers, media, and organizations have portrayed soldiers in countless ways. However, the roles which these men and women have played in the defense of our country cannot be so easily summed up.
Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem and Stephen Crane's excerpt factor similar and different events throughout their stories. While Crane’s piece is written from one man’s point of view, Komunyakaa uses the collective voice of a group of soldiers. In Crane’s excerpt, it talks more about fighting, what’s happening and going on in the war. In the poem, it talks more about what the soldiers do to mask their feelings and their emotions to stay strong and not get distracted thinking of memories of family.
In Jane Brody’s alarming article, “War Wounds That Time Alone Can’t Heal” Brody describes the intense and devastating pain some soldiers go through on a daily basis. These soldiers come home from a tragic time during war or, have vivid memories of unimaginable sufferings they began to experience in the battle field. As a result these soldiers suffer from, “emotional agony and self-destructive aftermath of moral injury…” (Brody). Moral injury has caused much emotional and physical pain for men and women from the war.
The explanation of why upright people execute wrongful actions can be interpreted in multiple ways. In "The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience," Herbert C. Kelman, a professor of social ethics, and V. Lee Hamilton, a sociologist, discuss how the use of authorization, routinization, and dehumanization can be used to carry out unethical actions like in the My Lai Massacre. The American Law assumes that subordinates should be obeying orders, and when linked to obeying superiors, moral principles become inoperative. Erich Fromm, a psychoanalyst and the author of "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem," explains how the different types of mind set and authority can be noticeably effective in whether one is obedient. Humanistic
Perhaps the strongest example is during the 1940’s when both sides of the World War had soldiers going along with atrocities that they knew were wrong but were being ordered to do
Although both Atonement and Mountain Standard Time all deal with the topic of reactionary mob violence, they deviate from one another on the bases of the incentives behind the attacks, the reactions from the targets, and themes on human nature the authors send with these scenes. Ian McEwan’s Atonement contains a scene of violence where a crowd of British infantry in World War II come to surround a lone air force operative after their frustration over a perceived lack of support after suffering losses in a battle. The scene starts with a soldier named Turner calls out the operator, asking: “Where were you when they killed my mate?”(McEwan 1). The soldiers quickly come against the operator, accusing him to be responsible for the lack of air
“1776” is a story of war. This book chronicles the year 1776 and the different battles that took place during the year. Instead of exploring the political changes the year oversaw, Pulitzer Prize winner, David McCullough explores in a different perspective on the battles that occurred during the year. From battle strategies, to the lives of Major Generals, McCullough takes you through the story in a more realistic and factual perspective. “1776” offers an intimate look into the military aspects of the revolutionary war which creates a more lively and engaging literature.
Over all, this story allows us to observe changes within the mentalities of army officers. First, the trauma of living in a war zone can add a significant amount of intangible weight into someone’s life. In “The Things They Carried,” we discover that Cross’s men “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die (443).” Given that the majority of humans have experienced some form of trauma, we can understand how some men were driven to suicide and others into
A military commander from Chad boasts, “if you tell them to kill, they kill.” Most people believe that once a child has been forced into war and that there is no way to correct their negative views. Some believe that these damaged, scarred, scared children don’t deserve help or sympathy. Furthermore, many believe that they are evil criminals who deserve to stay in a jail cell, but these children can be reformed and overcome their struggles, even after manipulation and loss. Once a child becomes a soldier, people believe that there is no way to turn their violent views around.
Psychological Warfare in The Things They Carried Unless you have been in war or have read The Things They Carried, you can't fully understand the psychological toll on a person's mind and body, you can't understand the psychological hardship soldiers go through in war. However, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is written to where it shows the overall psychological effects of war on soldiers in and out of Vietnam; as shown throughout the story, the recurring themes of trauma, love, and guilt give the clear psychological implications of war.
According to Quora.com, the first ever documented use of snipers was in the American Revolution. The short story, “The Sniper”, takes place in the Irish Civil War. Two snipers discover themselves on the same territory, both trying to kill the other. After being hit, the protagonist fakes his death. His plan gives him an easy kill on the enemy sniper.
Guilt on a soldier’s mind Guilt often weighs heavy on many soldier’s conscience, as one marine puts it “I can't forgive myself, And the people who can forgive me are dead.” - Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo. In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, war-induced guilt can lead to psychologically isolation, distortion of the truth, and the breakdown of memory.
Unfair Judgment Shermer has pointed out an example that is still very controversial today when he referenced the 1992 movie A Few Good Men. The men and women fighting a war to protect our country and keep us free get criticized and ridiculed for the way they get it done. Not many of the people who try to talk down on them realize that the very thing they are fighting against is what allows them to speak so freely against military action. War has been seen as something evil in the eyes of many and for the most part they are not wrong, but they do not always take out their frustrations with the right people.
The book company K deals with pure cruelty, it explains how each soldier is affected during and after war. They were being brainwashed into killing each other, making it seem as if was ok to do shady things. They were manipulated into believing that they were doing the “honors” of saving the country by executing defenseless prisoners, which they were themselves. Company k’s soldiers had been lied to and robbed for their freedom and their own lives. They all were rewarded a new victim to kill each day.