Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Prisoner Of War

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a writer that served in the military during World War II. Vonnegut was a Prisoner of War (POW) and was present during the bombing of Dresden. Vonnegut wrote several novels about his experience, and Slaughterhouse Five is one of his most famous works. Duong Thu Huong is a well-known Vietnamese writer because of her experience on the front line as a young soldier during the Vietnam War fighting for the Communist Party. She has written many novels to include Novel Without A Name and was the first woman to have her work translated into English. Beah Ishmael is the author of A Long Way Gone and at a young age, he had to evade for several months throughout Sierra Leone and was the army soldiers eventually detained him who forced …show more content…
One example is when the Germans capture Pilgrim and Weary and the captors take their shoes away and make them march several miles under severe weather and road conditions. First, Pilgrim and Weary experience tremendous pain and humiliation and second that eventually result in Pilgrim to some difficulties and he try several mechanism to suppress these emotions for numerous years, because Weary will later die “of gangrene that had started in his mangled feet.” (Vonnegut 79) This illustrates the severity of the conditions they endured during the march. Another example from the novel is how the Germans treat the POWs before they board the boxcar and one American makes a comment that the guards do not like. “The guard knew English, and hauled the American out of the ranks, knocked him down.” (Vonnegut 91) That is one event of many that Pilgrim sees during his time as a POW and one of the reasons why he has difficulty sleeping upon his discharge from the military. Quan is not foreign to these types of …show more content…
Everyone is unique, and the effects of events vary by person, but they all cause stress. The loss of family or friends in a combat environment is a significant event for anyone. Similarly, many conduct violent crimes or atrocities and the people that noticed them or on the receiving hand are going to have some repercussion. Lastly, seeing the amount of death has the same result. All these factors have long-lasting effects, and they can take a long time to overcome. Leaders must recognize that the impacts of the war on all party involved and be able to identify the symptoms of PTSD and provide the people with the proper tools because it is the right thing to

Show More

Related Documents: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Prisoner Of War

Kurt Vonnegut Research Paper