Storm Of Steel Character Analysis Essay
Haosong Wang
An Analysis of Storm of Steel Storm of Steel which was written by Ernst Junger creates for the reader a picture of war as seen from the eyes of a German soldier who has found himself in the fields of battle during World War I. Through the novel, the German soldier attempts to dispel what nice ideas the reader may have about war. It may be true that to many men like the young German soldier in the story, war is all about glory. For the German soldier, to fight in the war is to bring glory to one 's country. "The war was our dream of greatness, power, and glory." 1 But one does not come to see the real face of war until he/she finds himself/herself in its fields of battle. After having encountered the enemy, the soldier says, "The war had shown its claws and torn off it pleasant mask."2 After having fought in the war for some time, one would come to realize that war is not all about glory but human suffering. "I could tell from talking to my companions that this episode had somewhat damped their martial ardour. It had affected me too." 3. From the soldier, the reader learns that one does not experience any kind of comfort in war. "It may be imagined that this unaccustomed life came very hard on us, particularly as the old soldiers were quite knowing …show more content…
enough to take advantage of us in every possible manner."4 After reading this novel, the author hope that the reader would come to understand that war brings nothing but suffering for the soldiers involved as well as the civilians who get caught in the fighting between the opposing parties. Junger believes that nothing can be gained from the war except unnecessary of property as well as human lives. Junger also hopes that the reader would realize that the soldiers involved in the fighting did not really want to fight in the war and they too are victims just like the innocent civilians who get caught in the shooting between the opposing forces.
An Analysis of Under Fire Henry Barbusse paints for the reader a picture of war for the reader in Under Fire from the point of view of French soldier fighting in the fields of battle in World War I. The French soldier does not only give the reader a real idea about war from what he has seen but also from what he has heard from his companions who also experienced the difficulties of fighting in a war. One of the horrifying pictures that the French soldier describes for the reader is that of dead men who have drowned in the river either because they were trying to cross it to achieve an objective or simply drowned when they fell into it after being shot.
“They are men who have drowned. Their heads and arms were underwater but you can see their backs with the leather of their equipment emerging on the surface of the pasty liquid.”1 And what is sad about the war is that men who perish suddenly become nameless victims. This is made evident in the words of the French soldier who says, “You cannot determine the identity of these creatures, not from the clothes buried under a layer of mud…”
2 Through the French soldier in the story, Junger expresses the idea that war brings end to one’s life as well as to enjoyment of one’s personal properties. When war claims its victims, everything ceases to exist. He makes this clear in the words, “It is the end of everything. For a moment, it is the great stoppage, the epic cessation of war.”3 This is the reason why those who are captured and wounded feel relieved to be out of the war just like that German prisoner who said, “Yes..I’ve had enough.”4 For Junger, war is nothing but destruction. The real image of war is “blurred shapes of hillocks, swamped its steely plain, rusted in parts…scattered here and there like garbages, the shattered bodies breathing or decomposing.” 5 He further adds that “this war is about appaling, superhuman exhaustion, about water up to your belly and about mud, dung, and repulsive filth.”6
End Notes
Storm of Steel
1Ernst Junger. Storm of Steel. (Penguin Group.:Australia, 2014), 1.
2Ibid ,3.
3Ibid.
4Ibid., 7.
Under Fire
1Henry Barbusse. Under Fire. (Start Publishing:USA,2012 ), 297.
2Ibid., 299.
3 Ibid.
4Ibid., 301.
5Ibid. ,302.
6Ibid.
Bibliography
Barbusse, Henry. Under Fire. Start Publishing: USA, 2012.
Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Group: Australia, 2014.
An Analysis of Storm of Steel Storm of Steel which was written by Ernst Junger creates for the reader a picture of war as seen from the eyes of a German soldier who has found himself in the fields of battle during World War I. Through the novel, the German soldier attempts to dispel what nice ideas the reader may have about war. It may be true that to many men like the young German soldier in the story, war is all about glory. For the German soldier, to fight in the war is to bring glory to one 's country. "The war was our dream of greatness, power, and glory." 1 But one does not come to see the real face of war until he/she finds himself/herself in its fields of battle. After having encountered the enemy, the soldier says, "The war had shown its claws and torn off it pleasant mask."2 After having fought in the war for some time, one would come to realize that war is not all about glory but human suffering. "I could tell from talking to my companions that this episode had somewhat damped their martial ardour. It had affected me too." 3. From the soldier, the reader learns that one does not experience any kind of comfort in war. "It may be imagined that this unaccustomed life came very hard on us, particularly as the old soldiers were quite knowing …show more content…
enough to take advantage of us in every possible manner."4 After reading this novel, the author hope that the reader would come to understand that war brings nothing but suffering for the soldiers involved as well as the civilians who get caught in the fighting between the opposing parties. Junger believes that nothing can be gained from the war except unnecessary of property as well as human lives. Junger also hopes that the reader would realize that the soldiers involved in the fighting did not really want to fight in the war and they too are victims just like the innocent civilians who get caught in the shooting between the opposing forces.
An Analysis of Under Fire Henry Barbusse paints for the reader a picture of war for the reader in Under Fire from the point of view of French soldier fighting in the fields of battle in World War I. The French soldier does not only give the reader a real idea about war from what he has seen but also from what he has heard from his companions who also experienced the difficulties of fighting in a war. One of the horrifying pictures that the French soldier describes for the reader is that of dead men who have drowned in the river either because they were trying to cross it to achieve an objective or simply drowned when they fell into it after being shot.
“They are men who have drowned. Their heads and arms were underwater but you can see their backs with the leather of their equipment emerging on the surface of the pasty liquid.”1 And what is sad about the war is that men who perish suddenly become nameless victims. This is made evident in the words of the French soldier who says, “You cannot determine the identity of these creatures, not from the clothes buried under a layer of mud…”
2 Through the French soldier in the story, Junger expresses the idea that war brings end to one’s life as well as to enjoyment of one’s personal properties. When war claims its victims, everything ceases to exist. He makes this clear in the words, “It is the end of everything. For a moment, it is the great stoppage, the epic cessation of war.”3 This is the reason why those who are captured and wounded feel relieved to be out of the war just like that German prisoner who said, “Yes..I’ve had enough.”4 For Junger, war is nothing but destruction. The real image of war is “blurred shapes of hillocks, swamped its steely plain, rusted in parts…scattered here and there like garbages, the shattered bodies breathing or decomposing.” 5 He further adds that “this war is about appaling, superhuman exhaustion, about water up to your belly and about mud, dung, and repulsive filth.”6
End Notes
Storm of Steel
1Ernst Junger. Storm of Steel. (Penguin Group.:Australia, 2014), 1.
2Ibid ,3.
3Ibid.
4Ibid., 7.
Under Fire
1Henry Barbusse. Under Fire. (Start Publishing:USA,2012 ), 297.
2Ibid., 299.
3 Ibid.
4Ibid., 301.
5Ibid. ,302.
6Ibid.
Bibliography
Barbusse, Henry. Under Fire. Start Publishing: USA, 2012.
Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Group: Australia, 2014.