Please don't turn this into a discussion on the philosophies of war. I am a pacifist, and that's all you need to know about my thoughts. I just want to know what people think of my essay-writting before I go back to school.
The novels Generals Die in Bed and A Farewell to Arms are novels that were written as a result of World War One. The authors, Charles Yale Harrison and Ernest Hemingway, both drew on their experiences in the war to write the books. Harrison chose to write his own story in the form of a memoir, which shows the true horrors of war, and Hemingway used his experiences and knowledge to write a fictional, romanticized, account of an American working as an ambulance driver in the Italian army. Until soldiers read books such as Harrison’s, they were frustrated with the romantic myths that had previously been used to portray war. Hemingway’s war novels might have been among them. Books like Harrison’s show that soldiers are the most qualified to write books about war. Although people can read the facts and about soldiers’ experiences, only the actual experience can allow them to understand the true horror of war.
The first World War was very different than past wars, although it started just as wars have in the past. In 1914, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist group, assassinated the heir to the Austrian thrown, Archduke Francis Ferdinand. One of the circumstances that caused what should have been a conflict between only two nations into what has been called “The Great War” was the alliances that many European countries had formed. Austria was a member of the Central Powers, or Triple Alliance, so the other members of the Central Powers, Germany and Italy, became involved. When Russia, a member of the Allies, or Triple Entente, supported Serbia, this caused the other Allies, Britain and France, as well as their colonies, to become involved.
Another significant difference that existed in this war that had not existed before was the technology available. Harrison provides some horrifying descriptions of what some of these new weapons were capable of. War was once considered a testing ground for young men, where skill and bravery were typically the only thing needed to survive. If one was skilled with a sword, and had good aim with a rifle, or a bow and arrow, his chance of surviving was much greater. However, skill and bravery mean little with more powerful bombs, and air crafts that were able to drop bombs on an enemy with little risk to the one dropping the bomb. Bravery also did little to save soldiers against another new weapon being used by the Germans. Mustard gas, which was introduced by the German army, might have been thought as an efficient method for wiping out enemy troops over a large area; unfortunately, Germans suffered from mustard gas poisoning as well. In his novel, Harrison shows how he quickly learns that the best thing to do is stay low. “Instead of rushing into battle, you kept your head own, and your mouth shut.” (Harrison, p.9) Approximately 10 000 000 soldiers were killed in World War one. The young men who died, including some of Harrison’s friends, were called “The Lost Generation.” (Harrison, p.7)
As well as having very different writing styles, and ways of portraying war, the protagonists of the novels are very different. Harrison starts out as an inexperienced, eighteen-year-old boy, and knows little about women or about war, nor what he should expect when he arrives in Europe. Lieutenant Henry, the protagonist of A Farewell to Arms, is a man who has become quite cold and hardened by the war, and it is suggested that he has had experience with many women. On the surface, he may appear to have few emotions as well.
The characters’ motives for joining the war also differ. Harrison does not give any specific reasons that he had, but it seems likely that he did so because it was what many other boys his age were doing, and he had friends who had joined. Many young men likely did so for the same reasons. Lieutenant Henry, on the other hand, did not seem to have any particular reason. The only explanation he can offer to those who ask why an American would join the Italian Army is, “I was in Italy . . . and I spoke Italian.” (Hemingway, p.22)
One thing that shows how horrible conditions were in the trenches is that the soldiers want to receive what the British and Canadian troops call a “blighty.” None of them really want to die. “‘You’d think a guy would like to die living a life like this,’ said Fry, ‘But we flop just the same.’” In any other situation, people tend to want to do anything to prevent injuring themselves. Modern factories are filled with equipment for the purpose of preventing injuries. In Generals Die in Bed, the soldiers speak enviously of comrades who have received a blighty because they do not have to fight anymore. It is possible that some soldiers intentionally injured themselves so they would be able to leave the front. “The lieutenant said I slipped on purpose.”(Hemingway, p.34)
In A Farewell to Arms, there is a significant contrast in how the characters respond to injuries. Early on in the novel, Lieutenant Henry is injured in an explosion. The injury requires surgery to repair the damage. Any soldier would probably have been pleased if this had happened to them, particularly if the doctor had recommended that they wait six months to perform the surgery, as was recommended to Henry. He, however, is not a soldier, but an ambulance driver. He insists that the operation be performed as soon as possible. “‘You are in such a hurry to get back to the front?’ ‘Why not?’” (Hemingway, p.98)
One cannot discuss war, whether it is in fiction or in nonfiction, without addressing views on killing. It is almost inevitable that a soldier will kill at least one person when they are in battle. There is a great deal of irony and hypocrisy in war when it comes to killing. In Canada, if one is convicted of first degree murder, he or she receives an automatic sentence of life imprisonment, with no opportunity for parole for twenty-five years. In war, it is expected that soldiers will kill, and is even encouraged at times. One example is when a general reminds Harrison’s troop that if they take any prisoners, they will have to share their rations among more people. (Harrison, p161)
In both Generals Die in Bed and A Farewell to Arms, there are specific scenes in which a character is killed. In both books, the character starts out as an anonymous soldier. When Harrison kills a German soldier, he describes the scene in such a way that suggests that he does not realize what he is doing until he has rammed his bayonet between the ribs of the German. When Lieutenant Henry and one of his friends, Bonello, kill an unnamed sergeant, they are fully aware of what they are doing. The reason they shoot him is because he, and one other sergeant, are afraid of being caught by enemy soldiers and run away, refusing to help Henry and the others to help get their truck out of the mud. The first shot, which Henry fires, does not kill the sergeant, so he helps Bonello “finish him.” (Hemingway, p. 204)
The characters’ reactions to these scenes are very different. Harrison deeply regrets what he has done, and thinks of himself as a murderer. He wonders why he had to kill this man, whose name Harrison learns from the soldier’s brother is Karl. Although he considers what he has done a murder, which he tells, Gladys, whom he meets on leave he has received as a reward for his actions, she shows how differently some civilians view his actions in comparison to how he views them. “Silly boy. I thought you had really murdered someone.” (Harrison, p.112) Lieutenant Henry and his friends, on the other hand, do not seem to care that they had killed a man, and are even excited about it. They crack jokes, and Bonello even says, “. . . all my life I wanted to kill a sergeant.” (Hemingway, p.207)
On his leave, Harrison is confronted with many civilians who do not understand what it is that Harrison has been through. On the day he meets Gladys, they go to a small dinner theatre. One of the performances for that night is a comedian. The first blow is how he is introduced. A group of dancers sing a song called, “Oh it’s a lovely war.” (Harrison, p106) It is typical of many comedians to discuss world issues, which can be seen today on television programs such as “The Daily Show.” This comedian tells jokes about the war. Everyone else in the theatre laughs at the jokes. Harrison is only angered, rather than comforted by the atmosphere. When Harrison tells Gladys that they have no right to laugh, she insists that they are trying to forget. He believes that nobody has a right to forget, which makes Gladys uncomfortable. When others notice his behaviour, all they can say is that he is shell-shocked. The tone with which it is written suggests that they likely spoke without understanding why Harrison felt the way he did.
The third blow to Harrison occurs shortly after leaving the theatre. When he talks to an Anglican currate, the currate says that “the best thing about the war is that it brought out the most heroic qualities in common people.” (p114) The real experience is anything but heroic. The currate does not know about how Harrison and his companions have been “fighting among our own people over a crust of bread.” He is not aware that these soldiers are not brave men rushing into battle, ready to die for their country. Many of them are boys who can do little more than tremble and cry for their mothers. As well, most of the people who died as a result of this war did not die of wounds from a rifle or a mortar shell. They died of diseases. Rinaldi, a friend of Lieutenant Henry, who is a doctor, observes, “ . . . we have nothing but frostbites, chilblains, jaundice, gonorrhea, shelf-inflicted wounds, pneumonia . . . There are very few real wounded.” (Hemingway, p12) Inflicting a wound on oneself is not a heroic action, and it is difficult to see how dying of pneumonia can be considered dying for one’s country.
Sometimes, such as in World War Two, war is justified. However, even in a justified war, the experience is horrible for the soldiers, as well as the civilians who get caught up in it. With technology improving constantly, armies will be able to build bigger and stronger weapons. It is frightening to think that when America dropped those bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, that it might have been foreshadowing an even bigger, more devastating attack on other countries. World War One was called “The War to End all Wars.” This turned out to be false. Perhaps there will be a day when international conflicts can be resolved peacefully. Until then, people should continue reading books like Generals Die in Bed. Even if the true horrors of war can only be understood through real experience, perhaps such books will provide insight into the minds of many soldiers and help bring peace to the world.
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