War is not like any other job on earth. It’s not a nine to five desk job where you get to leave and go home every day. There isn’t even an option to quit. That’s because war stays with you, it’s part of you for the rest of your life whether you like it or not. However, it stays with people differently based on their experience in war. In my collage there are some images that almost contradict each other. Such as the depressing message of the PTSD butterfly and the hopeful image of the amputee track runner. These diverse images are placed together to cover the different types of post-war life. For example, a vietnam veteran who I recently saw speak about his life both during and post-war said that he had little to no trouble with anxiety when he returned back home. Even though he mentioned that he did have rough experiences in the war, such as witnessing the suicide of one of his officers while on break. However after the war, he said he focused on the anti-war movement, like the men depicted in my collage. He also told a story of how his military roots stay with him. He told us how different branches of the military did not get along well, and when he saw a member of the army at the gym, way after the war, him and his friend started to jokingly take jabs at the army member. This shows how the military culture stays in the blood of veterans throughout their whole life. However, some veterans do not have as easy of an exit of the war as others. This is what the butterfly represents. A pureness going into the war but then having your mind and body decay because of the immense pain from the memory of war. A good example of this was in Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried. In his book, one of the characters named Norman Bowker struggled to reintegrate himself back into society, so much so that he eventually committed suicide. O’brien writes “Bawker described the problem of finding a meaningful use for his life after the war”(155). The war changed Bawker’s mental process, his mind was too focused on the war to ever reintegrate himself back into society. Just like the decaying of the butterfly. Despite the horrors of PTSD, there are ways to combat it and make sure veterans have a life after the death of war. O’brien writes “It occurred to me that the act of writing had led me through a swirl of memories that might otherwise have ended in paralysis or worse.”(152). There are methods, such as writing, that can help these veterans find purpose. A few of them are listed in my image, hobbies like running or veteran clubs are great ways of coping for veterans. They can help stop what happened to that butterfly and what happens to countless veterans. Instead of decaying, they can learn to thrive.
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"Closing Local Veterans Office Is "insulting," Rally Hears." Windsor News Breaking News Latest Headlines Windsor Star. 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
I like your intro, it shows the intensity of being in war.
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ReplyDeleteThe explanation of the different types of soldiers experiencing PTSD is clear and insightful. The advice/hope given at the end of the post can be really helpful to a soldier who is experiencing PTSD. Hopefully words like these can help veterans transition smoother into our world like our speaker.
ReplyDeleteI like how you explain that complexity of war and display pictures that contradict each other because war itself is complex. I think it is interesting how you talked about war being a lifelong contract and not just a nine to five desk job because I think that is one of the hardest parts of war. When a soldier is in war, they have to be in it fully and sometimes all day long and then once soldiers are done, it is almost like they are still in that war state because it is hard to forget the memories. So it gave me new insight into how soldiers might be some of the most passionate people about their jobs since they pretty much never get to retire.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument 100%. I love your analogy of how war isn't a nine to five job, and the soldiers don't get to go home after a long day's work. They don't get to hug or kiss their loved ones good night. Every day they have to watch their backs. The land they are living on is not there own. They don't get to take a day off. They don't get to call in sick. It brought a whole new light onto how I look at war and soldiers/veterans.
ReplyDeleteYour opening line about how talking about how war is unlike any job really pulled me in. The explanation of you images, and how some contradict each other and how its that represents the different aspect of post war life was very powerful. The fact you talked not only about the sad things but how the cultures of the military stays with people, ties your argument together really well. I also really like the sentence "There isn’t even an option to quit."
ReplyDeleteReally nice job here Casey. I think you did a good job explaining how impactful war is. Throughout this unit the topic of the post war experience has been controversial. I think you did a nice job giving examples of some post veterans and explaining how they were effected by war, even if that wasn't in a negative sense. I think it is very difficult to explain how serious war is to people who havent been permanently effected by it. I think the way you gave examples and explained about the effects of war makes one feel like they have a connection to war, something similar to how Tim Obrien did in the book we read, The Things They Carried. Awesome job intriguing the reader and making the reader feel the urge to keep reading and learning. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteReally nice job here Casey. I think you did a good job explaining how impactful war is. Throughout this unit the topic of the post war experience has been controversial. I think you did a nice job giving examples of some post veterans and explaining how they were effected by war, even if that wasn't in a negative sense. I think it is very difficult to explain how serious war is to people who havent been permanently effected by it. I think the way you gave examples and explained about the effects of war makes one feel like they have a connection to war, something similar to how Tim Obrien did in the book we read, The Things They Carried. Awesome job intriguing the reader and making the reader feel the urge to keep reading and learning. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteThis is very well done. I really like the many forms of art not only in your collage but the quotes from O'Brien as well. There is many visuals that all go hand in hand but the one that strikes me the most is the one of the butterfly. Not just because of the PTSD, but as you put it,"A pureness going into the war but then having your mind and body decay because of the immense pain from the memory of war." I think it was very well put and your analysis really helps to explain how war isn't one tour in Afganistan and then a happy time at home. It is something that will change you forever and has long term effects. The thesis was poetic and you tied it into your visual very well in a way that is easy to understand and well put. This is a very complex idea and it is hard to understand but you did a great job of putting all of the pieces together and making it so that it can be understood. Nice work
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