How Does Society Depend On Soldiers

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Society depends on these soldiers to be brave and courageous and they feel an unspoken duty to protect and serve their country. This pressure can sometimes take an emotional toll on them. When O’brien got the call to be in the military, he took the offer only to protect his reputation, not to serve the country. As the reputations of soldiers are said to be strong and brave, some of them do not live up to that standard because “they carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to” (O’brien 20). Society depends on veterans to protect them, and they feel a special duty to serve their country. They sacrifice their lives in war in order to prove their worthiness in battle …show more content…

Soldiers sacrifice a lot to go to war, and it is even more difficult when it seems that they do not have a choice. Trying to make the decision whether to go to war or stay home, he felt the immense pressure from the people around him because “all those eyes on [him]-the town, the whole universe-and [he] couldn’t risk the embarrassment … that swirl of faces along the river, and in [his] head [he] could hear people screaming at [him]” (O’brien 57). When people are watching someone make a big decision, the pressure becomes even more extreme and his decision becomes altered by the minds of those watching. He is almost “forced” to go to war, in order to prevent self-embarrassment which does not promote a healthy mindset. Soldiers are being put to their misery everyday in order to prevent being ashamed from society. Following in his father’s footsteps, O’brien looks up to his veteran history because “the ribbons looked good on the uniform in his closet, and if his father were to ask, he would've explained what each signified and how he was proud of all of them ... because it meant he had been there as a real soldier and had done all the things soldiers do, and therefore it wasn't such a big deal that he could not bring himself to be uncommonly brave” (O’brien

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