Does Humanity Exist in War?


A common pattern I've noticed in reading the stories is whether humanity truly exists in war.  The nature of war is violent and can psychologically drive a person to make inhumane decisions.  Norman Bowker, an otherwise gentle person, had carried the severed thumb of a Vietnamese teenage boy.  He carried it for "good luck" as it was a gift by his friend, Mitchell Sanders.  They plumaged and looted villages without knowing what exactly they were looking for.  They simply did it because they were bored.  They took the lives of innocent villagers because it seemed like the right thing to do.  After Lavender was killed, the set fire to the nearest village out of rage and sorrow.  They blamed innocent people for their friend's death and punished them for it.

War clouded a soldier's judgement.  Jimmy Cross continued to bear the pain of Lavender's death as he considered it to be his fault.  He reflected on his actions during the war and acknowledged how the war changed his personality and morals.  Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk had made a pact that if one of them was injured to the point where they wouldn't be able to live their life to the fullest, one would kill the other.  It seemed inhumane when I read this story, but at the same time it did seem humane.  It made me question if there was indeed humanity within war.  By ending the other's life, they would set the other free of pain and a meaningless life.  On the other hand, having to kill their friend seemed wrong.  I imagined myself in Jensen's shoes; I couldn't bring myself to kill my friend.  Humanity can be seen in bits of war, but the nature of war seems to be inhumane and transforming to a soldier.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 15, 2017 at 6:09 PM

    Caroline,

    I think it's so interesting that you mention seeing the inhumane as well as the humane side of the acts the soldiers commit. I see where you're coming from regarding the agreement between Jensen and Strunk. Agreeing to kill your friend if either of you are seriously maimed is a hard deal to keep as it brings into question ones morals. I know I wouldn't be able to; I would be all talk during the idea, but if a time came where I had to kill a friend, there's no way I would be able to do it. It's a possibility that Jensen would not have killed Strunk if he had the chance, but that's something we will never know. I completely agree with your comment that humanity can be seen in certain parts of war even though death is the center of it. If war completely took away the humanity of people, conflict would be handled in a different way.

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