Goodbye To All That Essay

In the autobiography, Robert Graves stated how his life has been influenced by the two sides of his family. He had a very strong drive to succeed and possessed great intelligence, which basing on his statement, were his father’s greatest influence in him. Good thing that Robert Graves have decided to write a novel of his account in France, because if he did not, there will be no compilation of stories that war-related story readers will be spending time with. On Arrival In France This chapter is a detailed anecdote about the intensity felt by the public during the First World War. He provided a clear depiction of what took place during the war, and gave a narrative visualization of the images prevalent in a war zone and the feelings that haunted the people – including the threats of explosions and the fear of death which were rampant during the period. As a poet, he worked hard to enable himself in providing a clear depiction of the war stories, however, his capacity is only limited to what he had seen and experienced. Being a journalist is an entirely different profession from a poet, however, Grave proved the mutual intention and passion of both profession. In this light, I would make a comparative analysis between the works of Robert Graves and Joseph Lee Galloway, an American newspaper columnist, who was the only civilian present in the Vietnam War. Both of the two writers had proven their courage as civilians living amidst the war. The life of Galloway, as depicted in the movie â€Å"We Were Soldiers† was a clear narration of the entire war scene, the feelings that were involved as he experienced violence in the middle of the war. On the other hand, Graves’ autobiography successfully touched his readers’ minds in his poetic way of stressing out the value of life, especially when under grave threats against life during the war era. His courage was most tested at times when he had to stick to his decision that he ought to pursue his passion and continue fulfilling his profession even if it meant risking his own life in the middle of the war. Though he wasn’t literally fighting, he acted as a soldier in such a way that he was fighting for his life just to enable himself in providing the people with the most dangerous pieces of information and valuable lessons that were taught during war experiences. Also in this chapter, he showed a distinct psychological capability of a poet in carefully observing the natural tendency of the soldiers to act calmly while their insides were rattling at the commencement of the war. He justifiably narrated the real feelings of the soldiers as they faced the dangers implicated during the war. â€Å"They never sang out of tune†¦ † was an emotional attack to a reader’s heart (Graves, Robert, Goodbye to All That). After Grave said that the soldiers were a bit frightened or nervous at the moment, they never sang out of tune. He asserted the justifiable manner at which the soldiers’ courage were supposed to be appreciated. He magnified the idea that though these soldiers were indeed afraid and trembling at the threat of dying, and the hollow future of their families at the pain of losing, still these soldiers didn’t back off at the brink of danger. Instead, they continued fighting notwithstanding the fears, pain and danger that were accustomed to their jobs. Guns in the Distance The battlefield was a mere case of â€Å"survival of the fittest†. All around, soldiers were ready for the battle and all of them kept hold of their only partners during the war – guns, ammunitions, bombs, grenades and other destructive weapons that were used by both sides. As the mere sound of explosions caused the soldiers to feel the danger and seek for refuge, they had learned all the tactics to preserve their lives. Consequently though, they were able to transform the fear into something that was fun, and something that calmed them down rather than causing even more threats and disturbance in them. The Trench Danger was everywhere and the trench was their only refuge. It served as their only shelter against all the atrocities and dangers from the enemies. However, the tranquility they felt in the place wasn’t enough to keep them from all the dangers of the war. Death was a presence though least welcomed, most prevalent in the war zone. And neither the shelter provided by trenches was enough to secure the soldiers from dying. The trench gives a soldier a chance to live longer, but he must suffer the consequences of being with it. He has to be strong enough to soak his feet to the wet and slippery trench. He has to be careful of the holes right and left, to the low and high wires of the field telephones and to the deep areas in the trench. He must be alert, cautious and apprehensive of all the bullets coming from anywhere, because bullets does not choose who to kill. It does not know who it wants to land on, to whose body or head or face. It just blows inside you and stops you from thinking, and feeling, and breathing. Moreover, the life in trench though provided a home for the soldier, was the least safe and comfortable amongst all the places disrupted by war. It would not keep them away from bullets, shells and other explosives that endangers human life. And though there were discomforts within the trench that had seemed to devoid the place of its tranquility, the trench was a place to hide – even though it danger itself is inculcated within its borders. Battalion Headquarters There lies a great difference between the battalion headquarters and the trench. Wherein trench did not provide them enough protection and shelter from bullets and explosions, coupled with the discomfort within the area; the battalion headquarter was a comfortable place wherein the menace of the war was less visible and felt. However, ordinary soldiers did not experience comfort and luxuries that the place could offer. Rather, high ranking military officials were the ones who enjoyed the luxury of such place. It was a clear irony. The soldiers who were fighting face to face against death lived with fear, exhaustion and restlessness. They lived through the war with a miserable condition – poor shelter, less time to feed themselves, and even lesser time to allow their bodies and minds to rest. And the foods they eat were not nicely cooked. Soldiers lived with all the discomfort, difficulties, inconvenience and troubles. While on the other hand, those high ranked military officials who are not facing the dangers of the open war enjoyed all the luxury and favors that they could avail of. They are not suffering the fear of dying because they were sheltered safe from all the atrocities of the war. The irony lies in the mere fact that those who are risking their lives and facing bullets and bombs most of the lives suffered from discomfort and danger; while there were those military officials who did not fight amidst the battle were the ones enjoying the favors that life could offer them. There is also an acquainted thought about how soldiers in the battle and the soldiers out in the battle behaves in front of the officers. When Graves narrated the time when they have passed through the group of men in the battalion headquarters, he is sure that the group were aware that they were officials, but they did not make any recognition. In the trenches, soldiers know how to honor them. They even call Graves â€Å"Sir†, and gives recognition to the officers. They are well-disciplined, and yet, they are those in the danger zone. Did the war zone discipline them? If it did, then maybe it is better to put this group of soldiers in the battle field to cultivate a disciplined attitude. How was that? The Only Survivors Only the survivors of the battle were the ones who gained honors and established good reputations for themselves because they had the capability of passing their stories onto other people. They were able to narrate how they have lived their lives during the onset of the war. However, people had forgotten those who heroically died during the battle. Commemoration of the soldiers who died in the battlefield had been less probable because during this time, only those who survived became the center of attention amongst the civilians. And the tasks of remembering the courageous acts of those who did not survive were only left amongst the families of the non survivors. The heroism of these people had become a mere representation of a distinct part of the history, rather than heroism remembered and commemorated. Then how to survive in the battle anyway? When in the trenches, it is cold, no good foods, no rest, no peace of mind†¦ how are they about to survive in that kind of living? Does the survival of the fittest also mean surviving from cold, bacterias and viruses? We all know soldiers do not mind how far they could be dirty or gross, because all they have in mind is to stop the enemy from fighting and to battle against them. It is not part of their mission to have a sensitive stomach when they joined the military. If they need to eat the soil, they will, in order to survive in the battle. Half of the soldiers were lost because of coldness. They suffer severe rheumatism, or being frost-bitten. But those sufferings will not be acknowledged when they died. Only those who survived will get the great reputations. Only the fittest has the right to be accustomed. Those who died will just be part of the history. How sad†¦ Our Timetable Two hours? Is that a sleep or just a nap?. In this chapter, Graves illustrated the dedication those soldiers had for the sake of their duties. Their lives at the middle of the battlefield was spent with rifles, grenades, bullets, bombs and other ammunitions; with little time left for eating, sleep and rest. They have to work all day and night, with only two hours of sleep. Yes, they still have two hours to rest their minds and bodies, but do we think they could really rest in that situation? No, because they should be always alert in anything to happen because their lives are always at the risk and danger. In addition, the scarce time left for them to rest was spent in more desolation and increased vigilance that rendered them the incapability of spending that scarce amount of time for the rest needed by their body. Thus, rest became an abstract concept for them. For resting shall render them complacency that might induce more danger for their lives and the cause that they were fighting for. They could not rest for once, for there is a tendency that they will never wake forever. A Soldier’s Death This chapter was highlighted by Graves’ anecdotes on the deaths of particular soldiers. The deaths by these soldiers were far worse than the deaths in the middle of the war. These deaths were more tragic. Soldiers decided to end their agony by suicide. The whole depiction of the battle was more engrossed in the mere fact that most of the soldiers faltered and lost their hopes. And it was more awful that these incidents were not properly documented and reported. Military officials didn’t have much of the courage to honestly admit that the emotional burdens caused by the war was far worse than the physical exhaustion that it imposed amongst the soldiers. Thus they made false accounts and fake letters and reports that were given to the families of the soldiers who committed suicide. How many soldiers have those kinds of stories? We do not know. We can not guess. Kill the Lice The life of the lice is like the life of the soldiers. Just as invaluable and ambiguous. Which was better to kill, the young ones or the old ones? Just like them, soldiers were killing soldiers of the enemy. But they did not care who they had killed, young or old. What only matters was that they were able to defend their cause. Killing has been their lives. Humans are like lice, living in the world, from birth to death. It matters not who shall die first, the same way that a longer life was only out of sheer luck. For normal people who does not understand the lifestyle of the soldiers, life is not compared with lice’s life. Being a human is far different from being lice. But for a soldier who lives like lice, there is a great similarity. Seems like there is nothing different between them. Live today, die tomorrow†¦ with any cause, nice or worst. In the life of a soldier, their life is ambiguous. Just like lice’s†¦ Gas, Sir, Gas! It was such a sudden false alarm. For the lower ranked soldiers, every sign of enemy’s attack meant danger, and they were supposed to do something about it. But on the part of the high-profiled officers, everything was just common scenario. The gas alarm was not a thing to apprehend the officers, because they knew how to analyze the situation. Their knowledge and experiences in every battle taught them how to react on such situations. For the common soldiers, it was panic; but for the officers who could sense the attack, there wasn’t any reason to get alarmed because they were ready for it. Thus, I would say that Robert Graves is a very intelligent writer. His writings really made sense and I do not doubt why he had become a legendary figure in the world of literary. â€Å"Goodbye To All That† was a great success in touching the lives of his readers and generating a dramatic empathy towards anyone’s emotions. He wrote all his war anecdotes because he wanted to forget and let go of all the disturbing experiences of the war. He discovered secrets, experienced many difficulties, he was a witness on many painful suffering and deaths. And as such, he wanted to forget these experiences, but he wanted to share everything that he was has learned through all these experiences.