Summary Of Testament Of Youth By Vera Brrin

In the opening remarks of the first chapter, Ernst Junger describes the idealistic origins of many of the soldiers called to action. Most of the soldiers drafted into the war were students and factory workers, all of whom lived a fairly sheltered life beforehand. Being drafted was seen as the adventure of a lifetime. They “shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary.” Much like his comrades, Junger had the same sense of adventure, seeing the war as merely a new challenge to conquer. After his first real experience with war however, his enthusiasm is quickly dashed. The harsh reality set in that this war was not, in fact, an adventure. Junger and the former schoolboys and craftsmen quickly learned that life in the trenches was a challenge of endurance. As the war persists, reality slowly sets in and Junger learns the true violent nature of the war and the constant threat of imminent danger through which he must persevere. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of a soldier in World War I and the taxation of enduring such great trauma.

A very clear example of the heinous injuries given by battle, a soldier’s comrade had a “mouth of broken teeth” and the first soldier sat across from him, he stared into the massacred mouth, the entire night (Purdy 5-6). In modern day wars, the soldier may not suffer as many hand to hand combat injuries, but now they are more severe. The soldier can be gravely hurt within seconds with the newer technology and warfare advancements. One soldier was “exposed to IED blasts six times and shot once,” and still was not allowed to return home until he had finished his term of service (Wood). That specific soldier took those injuries to spare his comrades, he cared for them more than he cared for himself.

By reading both “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Testament of Youth”, we learn that World War 1 had a tremendous effect, not only on the men in the trenches; but essentially on everyone; of all genders throughout Europe and the World. Vera Brittains, “Testament of Youth” tells the tale of her experiences working as a V.A.D (Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse) in many areas, however in chapters five and six, she is stationed in London. She describes, in vivid details the struggles of working as a nurse in London during the war. In Remarques’ novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front” we follow the life of a soldier, Paul Baumer who essentially enlists in the Army and is later deployed to the western front. Baumer experiences the horrors of war in many ways, due to this; he undergoes severe physical and psychological stress and he feels as if he will never be able to recover and become an ordinary civilian.

Those who were recruited to fight in the war often came from lower class families and many were not disappointed to go to war as there were promises of bonuses, as well board and keep (Nash et al.,2008). Sadly, many of the promises did come true and the soldiers suffered overdue payments, which lead their families to much distress. During the war, the soldiers did not have enough supplies to satisfy all of the men they had in their army, so many went without proper clothing, food, and treatment for illnesses. The war was fought in close range because of the weapons that they were using, which meant that the soldiers often became face-to-face with the individuals that they killed. Because the medical services were so underdeveloped at that time, the soldiers were often better off without seeking treatment after being wounded. Overall, the war was trying for the army men both physically and

The Great War marked a time of extreme horror for the world, especially for the soldier. The novel begins introducing Paul, a young recruit to the German Army, just coming back from the front lines. Before discussing battle, the soldiers’ poor living conditions are described. Bad hygiene conditions are apparent. This is highlighted when Paul’s friend Kemmerich dies of an infected amputation, that he may have otherwise survived. Although living conditions are less than desirable the battlefield itself is incredibly dangerous. When they are attacked shells fly and people fall and the men have to lay on the ground and in trenches to avoid death, even gas masks are worn at one point. The soldiers have found ways to cope with the terrible situations, Tjaden resorts to scraping lice off himself. Some of these things are even caused by the higher officers, when Himmelstoss found out Tjaden was a bed wetter he forced him to sleep on bunk beds with

The classmates are tough group of men; they fight a war from both sides. From one side a well provisioned force of French and American soldiers. From the other, they fight the limitations of their own country. The men have food but they are malnourished. They have clothes beaten to rags only to not be replaced. They fight from defensive positions that are uprooted from constant artillery shelling. The barrels are worn smooth on their own artillery; inaccurate shots often land on their heads. They are forced to loot the dead for anything of value. They are able to identify what kind of shell is falling solely from the sounds. These men knew nothing about life before the war and now

This had destroyed their mind and any sain part of their body that was one their. This had lead them to deprive sleep, eat and to communicate. These soldiers were not the same, that they were once. In the war they had said, “It is just as much a matter of chance that I am still alive as that I might have been hit”. Every second that they had been on the fighting field this the what is going through their mind.

A lot of things happened to the soldiers during the war. Sometimes they would lose their eyes from poisonous gases that went through the trenches.

During and after the war, some soldiers had PTSD, which is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a psychological disorder. Their technology wasn’t as advanced as ours, like the guns, trains, tanks and planes, so they couldn't fight as well as we could now. There weren’t a lot of tents for the soldiers, so they had to sleep outside in the cold. The hospitals were riddled with soldiers, making it harder to heal the soldiers and get them back to war. If a soldier had gotten shot in the arm, that arm would have to be amputated because bullets were a lot larger back then compared to

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay We learn about past wars in history. We hear stories from soldiers that partake in these wars, but do we really understand what goes on out on that battlefield? We would have to see and experience it ourselves to fully grasp why soldiers come back so scarred. Not only physically but emotionally, and socially as well.

not a memoir--but an angry postwar statement about the effects of the war on the young

Each soldier went to the war with a distinctiveness about them, an identity, eventually this was lost as they went to boot camp.

Soldiers during this time period on both sides had very little to live off of during their service. During the being of the war, soldiers would receive 11 $ per month. Gradually, the pay would increase from anywhere from 16-18 $. They were also not giving very good sanitary conditions. It was typical for a soldier to be shot in the arm, and have that arm be amputated. There were very little medical resources during this time, and that caused soldiers to become very ill with disease and infection that many of them died due to the lack of cleanliness.

Soldiers lost their innocence the moment they stepped onto the battlefield. They become so numb to the horrors of the war, which no longer feel a sense of

A Post-First World War occurrence, the concept of youth emerged as a historically comprised debate in response to the social, political and cultural shifts at the time. Youth became a label used to categorize a particular age group, with education and perceived life progress used to mark the unfixed period between childhood and adulthood. It has been suggested that there has been disruption in the general 'life patterns’ for young people present around the time of, or born just after the First World War (White & Wyn, 2008). The statement is helpful