Even the Winners are Losers: "Generals Die in Bed" by Charles Yale Harrison

?We argon being eaten resilient by lice. We endurenot sleep?? (p. 28), ?I begin to sob? (125), ?I?m dying-God-and I?m glad? (264). Does this sound like a soldier who ?won? the warf ar? Even though their side may protest won, the fibber and entirely his friends were definitely victims of the war in Generals go on in Bed, by Charles Yale Harrison. The reader learns that the soldiers were not manoeuvre the fielding solely, or regular(a) mainly, against the Germans. You also learn that during the war, soldiers crumb be dour into ?insane? and ?reckless? despatching machines who lag their humanity, and fin eachy you pay back forbidden that these workforce may generate victim to the agonized memories that they necessitate to carry with them for the rest of their life. The soldiers in this book, and in each war, leave many an(prenominal) more things to flummox about than the tangible human enemy they are fighting. ?We have learned who our enemies are-the lice, a lmost of our officers and Death?(43). The men are continually trying to fight off the lice that eat at them night and day. churl tied(p) tries to ?iron the lice out of (their) clothes? (45), use a red-hot iron, but when the question of, ?what about the straw?...its alive?(45) is brought up, they complete that although they seemed to have won, they have indeed dis golf-clubed the mesh to the lice. In impairment of the officers and generals, the common soldiers basically have no chance. They eject say all they want, like embrown who says, ?I?ll protrude the bastard?I?ll plug the son of a visit between the shoulder blades? (38), when speaking of his officer Clark, but in the end the officers always end up on top. In this particular situation, all Brown gets out of it is two hours of pack-drill; (this is w here the soldiers are put in full equivalent and equipment and made to ramble on in line, in this discipline for two hours straight.) Finally, in basis of their fi ght against death, many soldiers leave out ! this action as well. Although the fabricator keeps his life, all of his friends, Cleary, Fry, Brown, Broadbent, Anderson, and Renaud, lose the battle to death, and many of them lose this battle in a rattling acheful way. Some volume may say that they cute to die for their country, but I disagree. The truth is, nearly all the men wish they hadn?t been there at all. unrivaled man even up says, objet dart arguing with Broadbent, ?If we had any crashing(a) brains we wouldn?t be here in the first move into?(236). Aside from these three main things, the soldiers also had to fight against famishment due to lack of rations, crowd trenches, and of course, they had to fight from losing their humanity. Losing your humanity is a factor that can ill-use many soldiers. This is especially plethoric when it fares to ?shock march?, troops who are to lead the attacks and infiltrate the enemy?s initial walls. With these troops it is very matchlessrous to maintain whiz?s huma nity because if you quaver for a second you can be killed, so it turns into an ?I kill you earlier you kill me? attitude. about all the soldiers are victimize by this, including the narrator who says that he has blend ?care-free and reckless? (107). iodine man speaks, before the final exam maraud, when asked about using his stab on a German, and says, ?It?d give me fold of satisfaction, believe me? (250). Gaining pleasure out of foreign extreme pain on an otherwise man. If that isn?t a loss of humanity, accordingly what is? These men had been completely relegated to killing-machines when told by their Colonel before the final raid to take no prisoners. They didn?t even k instantaneously why they were fighting, or what they were fighting for, but when told to go fight, that?s exactly what they did. When they found a sniper on one accepted raid and he pleaded for mercy by sheepcote his transfer and kneeling before them, they did not even hesitate before, ?Broadbent r uns his bayonet into the kneeling one?s throat? (187)! . These men had been victimised by the need to kill, and yet again, although their side won the war, they had become casualties to something else. Lastly, every soldier who was lucky enough to come out of the war alive will forever be a victim to his/her own memory.

The chilling memories of the events they either motto happening, or committed themselves, are not the type of things you can advantageously forget. After learning that he was lied to in regards of Lland everywherey fortification the narrator thinks to himself, ?I see the clasped hands upraised over the lip of the shell-hole as we fired into it-clasp ed hands mutely enquire for pity?? (269) and obviously this unholy memory of how they slaughtered Germans would be abominably hard to rid oneself of. He also witnesses Broadbent?s terrible death; ?one of his legs hangs by a unadulterated airstrip of skin and flesh to his thigh? (262). He watches as, ?Fry?s legs from the knees follow out are torn from under him? (200). Brown is sniped down right in front of him, and the narrator looks on as, ?his cutting edge snaps back viciously from the impact of the bullet? (62). Finally, the narrator himself stabs a German with his bayonet only to see that, ?I have caught him between his ribs. The bones grip my blade. I cannot withdraw? (111), and subsequently to find out he cannot even unwrap his bayonet because, ? the wound which I have been clumsily mauling is now a gaping hole? (114). in all of these examples, along with unbounded other ones unmentioned, are events that would stick with you for your entire life, and once more, even though their side came out on top in terms of th! e war, these men fell victim to a contrary force. All soldiers, regardless of winning or losing the war, become victims in one way or another. These three reasons mentioned above - they lose the battles against their real enemies, they are turned into killing machines with a lost moxie of humanity, and they have to keep their memories forever, are just the graduation of the many ways that ?even the winners are losers in war?. Whether it be a reason spoken of above, or something unmentioned, all soldiers are victims when it comes to war. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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