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War Escalates By Paul Boye Analysis

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War causes death, poverty, diseases, destruction, and many more devastating and unavoidable consequences. The government drafted men into military service, giving them no choice but to separate them from their daily lives, friends, and families. Soldiers fight in wars while putting their lives on the line and are only rewarded with physical or psychological injuries. Countries wage war against one another in order to resolve disputes and disagreements between them. Individuals, such as nurses, soldiers, and civilians undergo traumatic events when they are caught in the middle of a war. Although some may argue that war does not impact the self the most, based on the informational text, “War Escalates” by Paul Boye, the short story, “Where …show more content…

As an illustration, the author describes the scenery of the battlefield, “The most vivid images of the war show soldiers facing the hardships and terrors of battle. Some confronted the enemy in well-defined battles in the highlands. Others cut their way through the jungle, where they heard but seldom saw the enemy. Still others waded through rice paddies and searched rural villages for guerrillas… They were rarely safe. Enemy rockets and mortars could--and did--strike anywhere” (Boyer 2). By using descriptive language, the author illustrates the soldiers surroundings and evoke the reader’s sense of terror. With this in mind, this gives the readers a better understanding of how inhumane war is and how the severity of war torments soldiers by them through physiological traumatizing experiences. Furthermore, the author quotes a nurse recalling her experiences in a field hospital, “We really saw the worse of it, because the nurses never saw any of the victories...I remember one boy who was brought in missing two legs and an arm, and his eyes were bandaged. A general came in later and pinned a Purple Heart on the boy’s hospital gown, and the horror of it all was so amazing that it just took my breath away. You thought, was this supposed to be an even trade?” (Boyer 2). By using imagery, the author cites a nurse who describes the boy’s injuries in detail and appeals …show more content…

The first piece of evidence to support this is when the author writes to his family about his time in the Vietnam war, “I got to know this boy well, and he was my best friend. His name was Dan Davis. On Monday morning, the 15th of November, he died in my arms of two bullet wounds in the chest. He said, ‘Ken, I can't breathe.’ There was nothing I could do” (Bagby 1). This quote depicts how Bagby is unable to erase the memory of the death of his friends and the helplessness he felt in battle. Bagby demonstrates through imagery by describing his friend’s death in detail and evoke the reader’s sense of vulnerability. By doing so, the readers are able to create visual images of Dan’s death and the grief Bagby went through and is able to understand how soldiers suffer because they will never be able to forget their time in the war. For instance, “ The odor of blood and decayed bodies, I will never forget. I am all right. I will never be the same though, never, never, never. If I have to go into battle again, if I am not killed, I will come out insane. I cannot see and go through it again. I know I can't” (Bagby 1). The use of imagery allows Bagby to highlight the horrors he cannot unsee and his struggles of keeping himself sane, by Bagby's detailed recollection of his friend’s death and appealing to

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