Sonya Hartnett’s ‘The Midnight Zoo’ a touching story that explores the effect war had on animals, children and nature. Both human and animal characters speak about their experiences throughout this period. The book tells about how a hunger for power over something that is not owned impacts everybody and leaves innocents caught up in a large mess. Two young boys Andrej and Tomas are forced to live their life traveling from town to town scavenging for things to keep them alive whilst caring for their baby sister Wilma after soldiers tore them away from their family. Experiencing their family being ripped apart and loved ones murdered before their eyes the boys are left questioning what did they do to deserve this? The boys have learned to live …show more content…
No earth, no air, no light-” (page 61) Stories told about how beautiful life was before the war, beautiful towns people once called home now remain as empty plains of rubble after the bombs have destroyed them. ‘“ If the old bell had been hanging in the steeple it would have rung to announce midnight, twelve solemn iron kongs which would have woken the villagers from their sleep and startled any small creature new to the village and unaccustomed to the noise. But the bell had fallen from its height weeks ago, and now lay buried in silence beneath rubble;”’ (page 7) The damage to a once beautiful place was caused quite simply by greed, greed for something that was not theirs. The wolf’s wise words were correct “ When a wolf clan battles another, it’s usually over territory, Probably this is the reason for your warring,” (page 59), this war was over territory, people wanting to take what was not theirs and having the power to destroy anything that got in their way, leaving everyone and everything caught up in an unpleasant mess. “Every war is everyone’s war”... war will bring out the worst in even the strongest and kindest people. The book tells about how ones greed for something can destroy everything for both people and animals leaving them broken beyond repair, leaving them only with questions… Will they ever see their family again? Will they ever experience what it’s like to
Demolished cities, torn families and decimated countries are a few of the destructive properties of war. Throughout history, the world has been through war after war, never ceasing. Two of the greatest and most destructive wars were World War I and World War II. These wars involved most of the world’s countries and ended with tragic results. The wars also left many soldiers with various mental and physical problems that ruined their social lives. John F. Kennedy once said that “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” For the most part, he is right; if war does not end, it will end humankind. The main problem with this is that most people barely even know how destructive war can be; people believe war is the only way to solve problems with other countries. The problem with that is that war often uncovers or starts new problems that can affect others more than the past problems. Literature has helped people grasp at the understanding of what happens during wars and the problems that it can create. Some go into deep aspects of significant wars while others go into wars that everyone fights within themselves. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Beowulf and John Milton’s Paradise Lost are a few pieces of the thousands of works of literatures that capture the tragic, destructive power of war, global and small.
My thoughts after reading this book are that war can really take a toll on someone and war can bring out the worst in everyone. Works Cited:.. Caputo, Philip. The. A Rumor of War.
The title of this novel, “The Wars” is illusory. Upon first glance, it makes one expect a protagonist who goes to an actual war, uses physical strength to fight on the battlefield and becomes a war hero.While part of that is true, there are also other significances of the war associated with this title. This novel recounts the journey of the protagonist, Robert Ross as he starts out as a shy, introvert and an inexperienced person before he goes to war; he experiences a change in himself as a result of the people and the battle(s) that he fights with the factors in his surroundings. Therefore, “The Wars” doesn’t necessarily mean the war with the enemy but it includes the wars at home, wars against nature and wars of relationships. Which
The dramatic realization of the fact that the war will affect a member of the Chance family is apparent in this quote. The amount of sorrow and emotions felt by the Chance family, and for that matter, all families who had children, brothers, husbands, or fathers, drafted into what many felt was a needless war. The novel brings to life what heartache many Americans had to face during the Vietnam era, a heartache that few in my generation have had the ability to realize.
He notes, “So we knew a war existed; we had to believe that, just as we had to believe that the name for the sort of life we had led for the last three years was hardship and suffering. Yet we have no proof of it. In fact, we had even less than no proof; we had thrust into our faces the very shabby and unavoidable obverse of proof.” (94). Because he has not seen the battles, he has difficulty acknowledging the reality of war.
during the war. This novel is able to portray the overwhelming effects and power war has
Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is, as suggested by the title, a novel describing a crusade that stretches beyond the faint boundaries of fiction and crosses over into the depths of defogged reality. This satirical, anti-war piece of literature aims to expose, broadcast and even taunt human ideals that support war and challenge them in light of their folly. However, the reality of war, the destruction, affliction and trauma it encompasses, can only be humanly described by the word “war” itself. Furthermore, oftentimes this term can only be truly understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. Therefore, in order to explain the unexplainable and humanize one of the most inhumane acts, Vonnegut slants the hoarse truth about war by extrapolating it to a fantasy world. Through this mixture of history, reality and fantasy, Vonnegut is able to “more or less” describe what he believes truly happens in war yet, at the same time, reveal a greater truth about humanity's self-destructive war inertness. Vonnegut's use of fantasy in Slaughterhouse-Five unveils mundane war misconceptions as it rallies action against war through a comparison and contrast between the Tralfamadorian world and philosophy and Billy Pilgrim's existence and war experiences.
...as they dread wound and death. They have nothing to look forward to but years of rage. They have experienced the horrors of war but have not experienced the enjoyments of life. They will be pushed aside and forgotten and the years will pass, and in the end they will fall into ruin.
What is war really like all together? What makes war so horrifying? The horror of war is throughout All Quiet on the Western Front. For example Albert says the war has ruined them as young people and Paul agrees. “Albert expresses it: "The war has ruined us for everything." He is right. We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war.” (Remarque, Chapter 5). The way the war has affected each soldier has changed them forever. The boys who were once school boys will never be the same.
War always seems to have no end. A war between countries can cross the world, whether it is considered a world war or not. No one can be saved from the reaches of a violent war, not even those locked in a safe haven. War looms over all who recognize it. For some, knowing the war will be their future provides a reason for living, but for others the war represents the snatching of their lives without their consent. Every reaction to war in A Separate Peace is different, as in life. In the novel, about boys coming of age during World War II, John Knowles uses character development, negative diction, and setting to argue that war forever changes the way we see the world and forces us to mature rapidly.
Three quotes in this book stood out the most to me the most about the concept of war. One quote stood out was, “There’s another question people ask a lot: Did it bother you killing so many people in Iraq? I tell them, “No.” And I mean it. The first time you shoot someone, you get a little nervous. You think, can I really shoot this guy? Is it really ok? But after you kill your enemy, you see it's ok. You say, Great. You do it again. And again. You do it so the enemy won’t kill you or your countrymen. You do it until there’s no one left for you to kill. That’s what war is.” (Kyle 6). Kyle's perspective on war is that bloodshed is necessary to protect your country and that when you take a human life it is to protect more in your country. Another quote that Kyle shows to describe his view on war and how he viewed it is when he wrote, “In a way, we all thought that we were invincible. In another way, we also accepted the fact that we could die.” (Kyle 269). This shows that Kyle understands the concept of death but he doesn’t fear death because he sees himself as invincible. The final quote on war death and poverty describes the families mourning. This is proved when he thinks, “I’d see the families of the insurgents display their grief, tear off clothes, even rub blood on himself. If you loved them, I thought, you should have kept them away from the war.” (Kyle 273). This shows how other people have
...it may help us arrive at an understanding of the war situation through the eyes of what were those of an innocent child. It is almost unique in the sense that this was perhaps the first time that a child soldier has been able to directly give literary voice to one of the most distressing phenomena of the late 20th century: the rise of the child-killer. While the book does give a glimpse of the war situation, the story should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is apparent that during war time emotions are checked at the door and ones whole psyche is altered. It is very difficult to say what the root causes of this are due to the many variables that take play in war, from death of civilians to the death of friends. However, in "Enemies" and "Friends" we see a great development among characters that would not be seen anywhere else. Although relying on each other to survive, manipulation, and physical and emotional struggle are used by characters to fight there own inter psychological wars. Thus, the ultimate response to these factors is the loss and gain of maturity among Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk.
When the war breaks out, this tranquil little town seems like the last place on earth that could produce a team of vicious, violent soldiers. Soon we see Jim thrown into a completely contrasting `world', full of violence and fighting, and the strong dissimilarity between his hometown and this new war-stricken country is emphasised. The fact that the original setting is so diversely opposite to that if the war setting, the harsh reality of the horror of war is demonstrated.
This isn't exactly like one of your swaggering tale of conquer and triumph that is so often sought by the people who think war is thrilling rather it actually unveils all the dirt and forlorn that takes place behind the scene that makes it all the more ugly as condemnable. It is really hard not to relate to this book as the horror which it unleashes is still a part of our lives. The play of death and chance