Summary Of 'Collateral Damage' By Bolger

Paul Bäumer is a German, young boy, who, together with his classmates, enlists for the army to fight in the Great War. Full of enthusiasm and adventurous thoughts, they arrive at the front, but then are faced with the horrific and soul-destroying war. One by one the classmates are fall in action…

Other journalists would be with the soldiers and learn about their lives. Sebastian Junger is an author and journalist who wrote the book titled War. Joseph Goodwin read War and got the understanding of how the fierce bond of friendship the soldiers formed with each other. Goodwin continues to talk about how Junger vocalizes that some men justify killings. He said, “People think we were cheering because we just shot someone but we were cheering because we just stopped someone from killing us” (Goodwin). One of their friends was murdered and some were trying to justify that killing. Junger remembered when he contemplates about someone whose IED, improvised explosive device, was close to killing him. Further on in the article, Joseph Goodwin talks about post-traumatic stress disorder and how actions cannot be justified. He also explains that, “The returning soldier is no longer part of a group bound together by a clear sense of purpose, familiar rituals, and shared experiences” (Goodwin).The kind of relationship, friendship, or bond that is created during is not like a relationship that would be made outside of war. No one would understand such a situation unless they have been in it themselves. If a

Actions tested there ethical and moral values. After this point these soldiers have to cope with the cause and effect from their actions. Coping can cause mental illnesses, and addiction but also you can cope with these some things plus more things such as love, and mortality. This is the most important struggle that had to take care of for their survival. But why is this still relevant to today's society? Tim o’brien used many methods while writing this book to help the reader to understand the soldiers experiences and feelings throughout the war. These methods include imagery, repetition, hyperbole, metaphors, allusions, and many

Many people say that war is worse than Hell because innocent people die in it. In Beah’s life, this is most definitely true. Throughout the war, Beah goes through many hardships and witnesses the deaths of innocent loved ones, and Beah’s writing reflects how he felt during these times. Beah uses rhetorical strategies like diction, imagery, and detail choice to convey the emotional process he had to undergo in order to survive.

In his 1986 commonly known book, “War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War”, American Historian, John W Dower, examined and explained the relationship in Japanese and Americans during World War II and studies links between culture, stereotypes, and ultimately the high levels of violence. From the start he mentions that “World War Two changed the face of the globe”. He further explained that during the Second War, society had to witness the rise and fall cycle of the empires and what it did to everyone. Dower’s statement of “… racism remains one of the great neglected subjects of World War Two” is definitely the most relatable and true quote from the entire piece. This is a large aspect that the world and society views from and that is why it is such a popular topic throughout the entire text. Even in today’s society, more parts of the world than others, racism still controls how we treat people, who we hire for a job, and what we say in certain environments. He goes on to mention the racist code words and imagery that came with the war in Asia and makes remarks in regards to the “dominant perceptions of the enemy” on both sides of the war. Part One of the book focuses on the relationship between the two whom are at war and the correspondence and differences between the “Enemies.

War is a transformative event because it changes people’s perspectives on how they view other people. In the war novel, Paul Baumer’s view of war had completely changed after seeing the French soldier that he has killed. While on the battlefield Paul is in a trench with the French soldier he has killed. “Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it”(Document B).

In the aftermath of a comparatively minor misfortune, all parties concerned seem to be eager to direct the blame to someone or something else. It seems so easy to pin down one specific mistake that caused everything else to go wrong in an everyday situation. However, war is a vastly different story. War is ambiguous, an enormous and intangible event, and it cannot simply be blamed for the resulting deaths for which it is indirectly responsible. Tim O’Brien’s story, “In the Field,” illustrates whom the soldiers turn to with the massive burden of responsibility for a tragedy. The horrible circumstances of war transform all involved and tinge them with an absurd feeling of

A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe." (560) In this writing, Tim O’Brien explores what it means to have a “true war story.” He uses a contemporary style of writing, such as explaining ideas through stories, using frequent repetition, and having an informal tone, which helps the reader achieve a thorough understanding of a “True war story.” O’Brien is specific in saying that “was is hell,” (561) which simply has no impact because it is so general and clichéd. A true war story is not about valor, but is simply about the outrage a soldier faces during a

It is obvious from the opening chapter that this novel will center on the war and the effects it has on a young group of soldiers, none of them more than twenty years of age. They are all friends and former classmates of Paul Baumer, the narrator and protagonist of the book; they have enlisted in the German infantry because their teacher, Kantorek, had painted for them a glorious picture of fighting and saving the homeland from destruction during World War I. In this first chapter, Baumer and his friends are away from the front lines, relaxing a bit after two weeks of fierce fighting. As each of the young men is introduced, it is apparent that they are tired, hungry, angry, and disillusioned over the war.

            Baümer has "grown accustomed to it. War is the cause of death like influenza and dysentery.  The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible."  He has rid himself of all feelings and thoughts.  His emotions lie buried in the earth along with the soldiers who fell prey to them.  His dullness protects him from going mad at the sight of a slaughtered comrade or butchered friend.  He wants to live at all costs so "every expression of his life must serve one purpose and one purpose only, preservation of existence, and he is absolutely focused on that" (page #).  The cost of life is the death of his emotions; his survival depends on it."  Every shell that falls, every shot that fires, a soldier must face the possible certainty of death.  To Baumer, death carries hand grenades, a bayonet and a rifle to take away what he has long protected -- his life.

CERF, CHRISTOPHER AND SIFRY, MICAH L., THE IRAQ WAR READER: HISTORY, DOCUMENTS, OPINIONS, SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK, 2007.

Chapter 2 sums up the war in a different fashion, showing the contrast between the uselessness of past knowledge and the “raw and emotional skills necessary” in the trenches (20). The duties imposed on the camp by Corporal Himmelstoss symbolize the hours of work and duties done before enlistment that mean nothing during the war. Being “put through every conceivable refinement of parade ground soldiering” shows how schoolbook tasks were diligently performed only for fear of how society would perceive the boys if they were to do otherwise (26). Himmelstoss himself is the embodiment of previous responsibilities that only make the men “howl with rage” at present (26). The death of Kemmerich goes hand in hand with the death of innocence, Kemmerich’s shiny boots being the small glimpse of hope that keeps the men going. Baumer receives saveloy, hot tea, and rum from Muller for salvaging the boots. In return for giving Muller a sense of hope, Baumer receives a more needed sense of comfort and satisfaction. His hunger, one “greater than comes from the belly alone” (33), is thus satisfied. Chapter 7 directly reinforces this transition from an old life into a new one. Baumer “feels an attraction” to the

The adventure began on July 28th, 1914 and Paul Baumer is five miles behind a French front. As the First World War begins, the soldiers believe it is honorable to join but as they spend more time in war and gain experience they realize war is a lot different from what they had in mind. The soldiers become more hopeless as the days and years pass. The life in the trenches was risky, and every day could be the soldiers last. “I am so alone and so without hope that I can confront them without fear” (Remarque 295). This quotation shows how Paul Baumer has lost all his hope, and desire. The soldiers no longer fight for their country, they do not desire to make it out alive, the First World War has made them so miserable, and so hopeless they have lost feelings for everything. Everyone except for Paul Baumer has died from his class. It is the beautiful season of autumn, and it starts by

Fulfilling this order, I came on that day with a child without things because I knew that we were going to be destroyed, so I didn’t take valuable things, as well as thousands of others. When I arrived at the gathering place, where the terrible picture was created the whole huge crowd of people, ranging from infants to the elderly, were heavily guarded by German soldiers armed with machine guns. Here they unloaded stuff in a bunch of carts that people brought according to the order, the citizens of hand luggage diverted to the side - the shelter and there were taken all the way, removed the gold rings, earrings, brooches, watches and more. When I was brought, among others, to the ravine, I was in that group, we stopped. Babies were taken away from mothers and cast aside, as the wood where they were shot with rifles and machine guns. Because I was in the middle of the group and was dusk, I was not waiting, when they will shoot and fell to the ground, and put a child under me. At this time I heard the noise of the gun, and the men fell dead to me, dripping with blood. In this position, I lay for two hours until everything was quiet; I stayed alive and kept the child's life. And when it was quite dark, I carefully stood up and made sure that no one was there, took the child and began wading through corpses to hide somewhere in order to survive. With great care and the risk I hardly went settlement of "Babi Yar" and hidden in a basement four days completely without food. In order not to die of starvation, I went out at night from hiding in piles of garbage collected leftover food, potato cleaning, etc. and ate and fed the baby.” There are not many people who were able to escape death at Babi

“The Tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst” wise words from Henry Fosdick. When it comes down to the time where an individual hits rock bottom, a man either do its best or do its worst. Although, Man can do its best and do its worst at the same time. There are many reasons how man’s best can result to man’s worst. Henry Fosdick statement is both true and false.