Final Entry

Whenever war is mentioned there is the generalization that "War is hell." It is also mentioned in The Things They Carried. Tim O'Brien said, "True war stories do not generalize. They do not indulge in abstraction or analysis. For example: War is hell. As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can't believe it with my stomach" (page 78). This idea leads me to my next thought. It is actually said by Hawkeye Pierce. There are many good quotes in MASH. He says, "War is worse than hell." Somebody asks why and he responds, "Because there are no innocent bystanders in hell." Many people in the war are innocent bystanders. Jake was an innocent bystander. He did not start the war or choose to be wounded in it. Many peoples' lives changed, especially after WWI because it was the first World War. People did not know what to expect. Little did they know there would be a WWII shortly after. People have trouble transitioning from life as a soldier to the life of a civilian. The lost generation did not know what to do with their lives anymore.