Being Left at Home or Being Sent to War - Essay Example

Being Left at Home or Being Sent to War? It is more difficult to be sent to war than to be left at home. This is particularly because the Challenges and hardships of being in the battler field significantly outweigh the fear of being seen as a coward for being left home. Although the boredom of being left at home compounded with feelings of cowardice makes is a challenge to many young men, being sent to war meant was more difficult as it meant having to spend several months away from home or loved ones and enduring hardships including diseases, long hours of drill, inadequate food and even death in the battlefield (Wiley 233). According to Crane (28), despite the honor and heroism that comes with being sent to war, the army life was filled with horrors and rigors. This paper argues that it is more difficult to be sent to war than to be left at home. During wartimes such as the American civil war when many young Americans were faced with the dilemma of either being left at home or sent to war (Heiser 87). Many Americans particularly came to this realization that being sent to war is not romantic as they had previously thought after the American Civil War. Billings (56) suggests that one of the greatest difficulties faced by people who were left at home during war times was the fear of being seen as a coward. For example, throughout the civil war, the motivation of joining the army rather than being left at home is rather than being left at home is primarily driven by the instinct of self preservation and the desire to be seen as courageous like a classical Greek hero (Wiley 102). On the other hand, according to Crane (5), many parents and communities actually wanted their children to be sent to war and fight due to the heroism and honor attached to being in the battlefield even though being sent to war so often meant death. “I do not know what else to tell yeh, Henry, except that yeh must never do any shirking, child, on my account” (Crane 6). Although Henry’s mother was at first reluctant to allow his son enlist in the army, she advices him to meet his responsibilities and never to bring her shame even if it costs his life. “The line soon encountered a body of a dead soldier laying upon his back and staring at the sky. The corpse was dressed in an awkward brown suit and the youth could see that the soles of his shoes had been worn to the thinness of writing paper. Death exposed to his enemies the poverty which in life he may had concealed from his friends” (Crane 23). Generally, people only realized that being sent to war is not romantic as they had previously thought after getting first hand experience of the horrors of war. Many of the young men later discovered that being in war is not romantic as they had previously thought (Billings 61). Most Americans particularly came to the realization during the American civil war when people soon experienced and witnessed the real difficulties of being sent to war including the terrible deaths and destruction that were taking place (Crane 23). The horrific conditions and experiences in the battlefields made it is more difficult to be sent to war than to be left at home. In the battlefields, soldiers are often constantly being faced with death from bullets, artillery cannons, debilitating injuries, poor living conditions and diseases. “Other men were punched by bullets and they fell in grotesque agonies. The regiment left a coherent trail of lifeless bodies” (Crane 167). During the civil war, medicine was particularly less advanced and doctors would casually amputate arms or legs of soldiers instead of healing them if the limbs were shot during the battles. According to Heiser(68), the absence of antibiotics meant that that the injured soldiers were more susceptible to wound infections. Additionally, illnesses that could not be treated by doctors quickly spread through military encampments sometimes decimating entire regiments. “In the end I saw my self as a real man who had survived the red sickness of battlefield” (Crane 148). The author suggests that the youth who was at first thrilled to be enlisted in the army eventually begins to question the value of being sent to war and dying simply to be honored. For example, Wiley (99) argues that most of the young men sent to war soon leant that life in the battle fields was filled with horrific conditions characterized by food rations, vermin as well as extreme weather conditions. In the contemporary times, many of the images people see about wars in the movies of televisions are sometimes strikingly different from the conditions of life during the actual wars (Heiser 83). Despite the dream of heroic return from wars, the contemporary soldiers are often disabused of these assumptions after their experiences at the frontlines. “Men and women who were sent to war in the recent military conflicts in various parts of the world such as in Afghanistan and Iraq have faced a number of difficulties in their line of duty” (Billings 204). Although some of the returning veterans are often honored with medals for their patriotic role in defending their country and citizens, they are often faced with numerous challenges and difficulties such as spending several months away from home and loved ones, long hours of drills, inadequate food and sometimes facing debilitating injuries and the fear of getting killed in the battlefield (Heiser 45). Lastly, even with the most well equipped and well trained soldiers, there are always concerns about ones safety and some of the front line experiences affect their lives even after returning home. According to Billings (208), some of the complications common in the contemporary war veterans include post traumatic experience related disorders among others. In conclusion, in the past, the hardships and horror experiences of soldiers in the battler field significantly outweigh the fear of being seen as a coward for being left home. Even today, despite the dream of heroic and glorious return from wars, the contemporary soldiers are often disabused of these assumptions after their experiences at the frontlines. It is therefore, considered more difficult to be sent to war than to be left at home. Works Cited Billings, John D. Hardtack & Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life, Benchmark. New York: Glendale Publishing Corp, 2007. Print. Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. New York: EMC/Paradigm Publishing Company. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Heiser, John. “Soldier Life in the Civil War: Soldier Life in the Civil War.” Gettysburg National Military Park. 1998. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Wiley, Bell I. Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1992. Print. Read More