As the history of the United States has progressed, the motivation for starting a war has varied over the years. Something that has been consistent throughout every war are the emotions behind the soldiers fighting it. This can be seen in the books Gone with the Wind and The Things They Carried, and the document Letter to Elmer J. Sutters. Gone with the Wind is a novel that is set during the civil war. During the second part, the protagonist Scarlett reads a letter that was sent by a confederate soldier named Ashley. The letter talks about his opinion on the war and the reason he fights. Ashley joined the war with the hopes of fighting for States’ Rights and preserving the old ways. However, once the fighting started he realized that the old ways are not going to come back, “And I belong in those old times. I do not belong in this mad present of killing and I fear I will not fit into any future, try though I may.” He is not happy about fighting in the war, and he does not have confidence …show more content…
Sutters is a letter that has been written to a family member of a soldier that is fighting in World War I. Compared to the previous two books, this document had a very detailed description on the combat and fighting that the soldier went through. His first kill happened when he got into a close quarters fight with a German. The opposing soldier thrust first, but the “doughboy” parried the blow, and stabbed him in the throat. After this, him and the rest of the soldiers were to fight in hand to hand combat the rest of the battle, which shows how brutal the war was at that time. He says something that is very similar to a section of The Things They Carried, “I sure was afraid, and you and any other chap would be too, but what I was afraid of the most, of getting a yellow streak.” Even though the wars are around 50 years apart from each other, the fear of showing cowardice is still prevalent among the soldiers in both the story and this
How is the conflict in the story affected by the civil war? In the story Jayhawker by Patricia Beatty, a action story, the conflict is where Elijah Tulley is pulled to the fact where his father was killed and he wants his revenge. He goes as a Jayhawker to fight the bushwackers and he is put into a situation of war. He would have to go as a spy as a bushwhacker to understand. This is a affected by the civil war because one side wants slaves and the other doesn’t want slaves. They believe for freedom, so they will want to fight each other for one right.
Nevertheless, an attitude they show is their cause for engaging in the war. On page 110, Lee describes, “With every step of a soldier, with every tick of the clock, the army was gaining safety, closer to victory, closer to the dream of independence.” His words reveal that their reason for coming was to gain their long overdue independence. Without a cause worth fighting for on each side, the war would have no fuel or reason to continue. In like manner, another attitude of the South was their admiration for their commander general. On page 251, Longstreet proclaims, “Colonel, let me explain something. The secret of General Lee is that men love him and follow him with faith in him. That’s one secret.” I believe this clarifies that the bond of brotherhood and respect for each other in this army would allow for these soldiers to follow their leader blindly. The overwhelming amount of faith and trust among the Army of the Northern Virginia is inspiring. The Confederates prove in these appearances that they do indeed have an important cause that they are willing to die
The book “For cause and comrades” written by James M McPherson is not one of your typical civil war books. This book is completely different than what everyone would expect, McPherson tries to explain the why of the war behind the scenes of it. He goes into great detail onto how dissects the initial reason of both sides North and South by concentrating not on battlefield tactics and leaders but what emotional and great experiences the men had to face in the battle field.
The book “For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War” by James M. McPherson examines the motivations of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. McPherson wanted to understand why the men fought in the Civil War and why they fought so ferociously for such a large amount of time even though there was a huge possibility of death, disease and injurys.To answer the question regarding the reasons why men fought in the Civil War so viciously, and for such a long period of time, James McPherson studied countless amounts of letters, diaries and other mails that were written or sent by the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
Though morale became very low toward the end of the war, Watkins recounts the passion the privates felt for both the war and for their beloved South. He believed that the Confederate Army were “…trying to protect their homes and families, their property, their constitution and their laws, that had been guaranteed to them as a heritage forever by their forefathers.” Though slavery was an issue, it was not the primary concern and was rarely mentioned in the memoir. However, Watkins did write that any man who owned twenty or more slaves back home was allowed to leave the army, and he notes the war “…was a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”. The South and its inhabitants especially believed that they were fighting for the faith that each state was a separate sovereign government, as laid down by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Many southerners felt that the North was invading their country and doing despicable things all under the name of the “Union”, and that the war was a necessary last resort after all efforts to conciliate the North had already been made.
In James McPherson’s novel, What They Fought For, a variety of Civil War soldier documents are examined to show the diverse personal beliefs and motives for being involved in the war. McPherson’s sample, “is biased toward genuine fighting soldiers” (McPherson, 17) meaning he discusses what the ordinary soldier fought for. The Confederacy was often viewed as the favorable side because their life style relied on the war; Confederates surrounded their lives with practices like slavery and agriculture, and these practices were at stake during the war. On the other hand, Northerners fought to keep the country together. Although the Civil War was brutal, McPherson presents his research to show the dedication and patriotism of the soldiers that fought and died for a cause.
The Civil War, World War I, the Vietnam War, World War II, and the conflict in the Middle East are all wars that have been fought over the difference of opinions, yet come at the cost of the soldier 's fighting them; Humans killing other humans, and death is just one of the many emotional scars soldiers of war face. Why do we go to war when this is the cost? For many it is because they are unaware of the psychological cost of war, they are only aware of the monetary cost or the personal gains they get from war. Tim O 'Brien addresses the true cost of war in "The Things They Carried". O 'Brien suggests that psychological trauma caused by war warps the perception of life in young Americans drafted into the Vietnam War. He does this through Lieutenant
“All up and down the lines the men blinked at one another, unable to realize that the hour they had waited for so long was actually at hand. There was a truce…” Bruce Catton’s Pulitzer prize winning book A Stillness at Appomattox chronicles the final year of the American Civil War. This book taught me a lot more about the Civil War than I ever learned through the public school system. Bruce Catton brought to life the real day to day life of the soldiers and the generals who led them into battle.
to deteriorate the human spirit. Starting out leaving you're home and family and ready to fight for you country, to ending up tired and scarred both physically and mentally beyond description. At the beginning of the novel nationalist feelings are present through pride of Paul and the rest of the boys. However at the end of the war it is apparent how pointless war really is.
The soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War had to endure many incredibly horrifying experiences. It was these events that led to great human emotions. It was those feelings that were the things they carried. Everything they carried affected on them whether it was physical or mental. Every thing they carried could in one-way or another cause them to emotionally or physically break down. Pain, loss, a sense of safety and fear were probably the most challenging emotional, and psychological feelings for them to carry.
In “What They Fought For”. James McPherson engages the reader with the general themes of what motivated the individual soldier to enter to fight in the Civil War. The book is divided into three chapters, giving the insight of many soldiers being divided by the border between the north and south. The lack of censorship at the time allows the reader to clearly see the insight of what these soldiers were trying to display. Although the soldiers are not equally represented by these few letters. There are still a lot of factors that could ultimately affected the overall believes of the soldiers. For example the opinion of the illiterate soldiers were not disclosed because they lacked the ability to write, the unskilled and farmers were also under
The United States wanted to spread around all the corners of the world. The government officials spread around the media that the USS Maine had been attacked by the Spaniards however, that information had also been a false statement to make the people believe that a war had to be the solution to stop the Spaniards. This made Americans angry and yet again the government sold us another war with propaganda about patriotism. Nevertheless, the real reason behind provoking another war was money. The profit from every war is huge to the United States, and to make that profit larger, they had to make Americans want to fight for the US. An example of this is the “Coal and Iron trade which have not been so healthy” as the past previous years. This had been continuously a joy for the upper class , however; it was devastating for the poor, “which found themselves paying almost entirely” the whole cost of war with high prices for sugar, taxes and other
At the beginning of the War, men felt that being part of the troops that were on the frontline was an honorable thing to do. Men who joined the army were seen as patriotic and loyal to their countries. In this perspective, any man who had the strength to go out to fight would voluntarily join the force without any resistance. The feeling was that of enthusiasm as many men wanted to serve their countries. In Britain for example, joining the army was seen as a noble cause and many men would volunteer to leave their families and join the frontline. In addition to this, it was seen as betrayal for fellow countrymen to be on the frontline while one was left at home. Such a person would not earn the respect of the society as he was seen as a traitor who did not love nor respect their country. In this perspective, the thoughts and experiences of men ...
Margaret Mitchell's romantic epic, Gone With the Wind, owes its remarkable popularity to the climate of sudden self-destruction and dreariness the Depression created. The Old South's grandeur, coupled with its Civil War-era decadence, provided much-needed escapism for readers, as well as paralleling the U.S.'s own plight in the 20s and 30s. In addition, Scarlett O'Hara's feminist role, her devotion to her land, and her indomitable optimism lent hope to those who had lost faith in the American Dream.
In closing, W.D Howells is successful in his use of these methods of argument. “Editha” paints a clear picture of the men who must fight and the people who casually call for war. He proves Editha’s motives are unworthy of devotion. After all, it is easy to sit back and call for war when it will be the common enlisted man who will die to provide this luxury. In the end, Howells made his point clear. War never comes without sacrifice or consequence.