The only thing that is different between war is that different people die. The theme still remains.
Last week in my English class, we had to read “Testament of Youth” by Vera Britain. After reading the book, the class discussed main themes that were prevalent. One theme that caught my attention while reading the book was “War affects people directly and indirectly.” This theme was also mentioned in our class discussion. In addition, another theme that caught my attention was “War affects people psychologically.” The two themes made me realize that the effect of war affects a greater number of people than we realize.
The theme, “War affects people directly and indirectly,” tells us that war affects those who are in the war and those who are not involved in the war. One way to have indirect connection with the war is by having some type of relationship with those who are in the war. It could be family, friends, or relatives. The second theme, “War affects people psychologically,” talks about the mental and emotional side of war. War worries those who know people who are in the war. They fear that their friends will be killed. They fear that they will not see their partner in the future.
When I was reading the book, one of the passages that emotionally lifted me was when Vera Britain described her dream of her husband being dead. In her dream, a group of men was chit chatting in a circle. Standing in one corner, said she “Somehow I realized that the people I the room were speaking of Roland.” Then she heard one of them yell out “He is dead: he has died of wounds in France.” She hurried over and demanded that who was dead and quickly found out that it was not Roland. Instead, the name was Donald Neale. She described, “I awoke, feeling very limp, staring at the window and repeating to myself in a kind of ecstasy: “That wasn’t his name! It’s all a mistake. It isn’t true-thank god” (pg. 168). After reading the passage, it made me question who suffers more in war, those who are in the war or those who know someone who is in the war. Soldiers are torn physically and mentally when they are engaged in battle. Friends, family, and relatives are torn mentally when they do not hear from their love ones. Some may say that soldiers suffer more because they suffer physically. But I would disagree because physical pains sometimes help numb the mental torture that is given off by our thoughts of despair and hopelessness…
It is so true that war affects so many people directly and indirectly involved. The families of our heroes have to endure so much emotional struggle when their loved one(s) are away from home for months and even years at a time. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a close relative or friend in the war. I think that we need to give more support to the families of those loved ones who are fighting in war for not only the people of the United States, but the for the freedom of others in foreign countries. I think that the people of the United States need to be constantly more supportive of the troops. For example, when a soldier walks through the airport I think that people should (and I know some think about it) stand up and give recognition by saying thank you or clapping. I know that there is widespread support but I think our citizens can easily forget our troops.
I would have to say that I think that the troops are physically and even more so, psychologically affected from the impact of combat. Although it is pure speculation, a soldier endures mental impacts that one cannot measure, especially if one has not been involved in war. The impact of war does affect a lot of people and I think lending support for those affected the most will give people strength to continue living their lives in peace.
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