Betrayal Of Soldiers Analysis

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In this essay I have chosen to connect all four texts by the “Portrayal of Soldiers”. I am also using the two themes “War changes people for the worse” and “People in power sacrifice others for personal gain” to connect two texts to each theme.These themes are present in the songs Hero of War, by Rise Against and War Pigs, by Black Sabbath. They are also present in the films Rambo: First Blood, by Ted Kotcheff and Siege of Jadotville, by Richie Smyth. The song Hero of War shows the theme “War changes people for the worse” through the main character while he tells his story of what he did while he was a soldier in the military. “I told them to stop but then I joined in. We beat him with guns...” This shows that the main character acted against …show more content…

This text can also be linked to the theme “People in power sacrifice others for personal gain” through the secretary-general of the UN at that time. There is a scene where Pat Quinlan (commander of Irish company) sends a sergeant to HQ to alert them about an incoming attack from Katangese forces and how the Irish will need more supplies and backup, the sergeant arrives at HQ and is told to take a seat. Several hours later the secretary-general’s “man on the ground” brushes the sergeant off, telling him that Pat Quinlan is just being paranoid. This scene demonstrates that the people higher up in power at that time had no respect for subordinates. Another scene shows Pat Quinlan talking to an officer, the officer says: “There’ll be no mention of this… By surrendering you made us look bad… If we treat your men like heroes then that’ll damage the institution.” This scene and quote show that the officer didn’t care that the men had risked their lives until the very last bullet to defend their position. The Irish had no choice but to surrender and be taken as Prisoners of War. The details of this mission were released 40 years later. This makes me wonder whether these kinds of things are happening today in the military; soldiers serving their country and risking their lives only to be shoved under the carpet and forgotten about. Hiding the truth for 40 years rather than facing a sliver of embarrassment makes the UN look worse in my opinion. Richie Smyth helps us comprehend that instead of putting aside mistakes and waiting for them to inflate and become a bigger problem, we should take responsibility for all of our

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