The pyschological results of war, using "Catch-22 by" Joseph Heller, and "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane as examples from literature.

Essay by Daytona955iHigh School, 12th gradeA+, March 2003

download word file, 8 pages 4.3

Downloaded 62 times

In the course of human events there have been countless instances of conflict between people. Everything from fighting brothers, combating nations or in some cases a nation divided against itself. These conflicts often result in armed combat, battles on fields of grass, the streets of a city, or desert sand. For countless generations young men and now young women have taken to arms and put their lives on the line for the problems of their governments, or lack thereof. These soldiers have risked life, limb, and even their sanity in battle. War affects everything it touches. Whether it is the blood soaked land, the destroyed buildings, the dead men and women, or the living ones, war is a dreadful thing. Blood washes away, cities can be rebuilt, and the dead can be laid to rest but not forgotten. However the living soldiers must do just that. They have to live with the memories of what occurred.

The effects of war on soldiers are not present only after the battle itself; there have been many documented cases of psychological stress during combat. The horrors of war can and have changed the lives and mindset of countless people. In literature, popular and classic stories usually involve conflict. Perhaps the greatest conflict of all time is war. Various authors have portrayed war as a terrible thing that shouldn't be dealt with, and to add an extra part to their stories they have put their characters through vast psychological stress. Joseph Heller and Stephen Crane, authors of Catch-22 and The Red Badge of Courage, respectfully, are such authors that use war to bring out the human characteristics that they tell their stories about. War causes psychological stress on the human mind that results in changing actions that are not characteristic to that person...