For my research paper I decided to revise and expand a research paper I wrote for my ENG 102 class last semester. The course was based on masculinity so I had to write a paper about whether Kreb who is a character from “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway is a masculine man or not. Basically the story is about a soldier named Kreb who came back from World War I and he appears not to be able to move on with his life and when he tries to talk about what he experienced his family does not listen to him. I used three sources to better understand the character. To summarize my three sources I would say that a man goes to war to relearn what it meant to be masculine. We are talking about around nineteenth century here so that’s the time when women started doing almost as much as men so they thought men were forgetting their manly traits. Furthermore a uniform is a sign of bravery, honesty and heroism therefore when war veterans come back home people perceive them differently. The best part or at least my favorite part of my paper is when I talk about how Kreb perhaps can’t get over the war and what he experienced and that may be the reason why he isolates himself and is a stranger in his own home. I found it interesting because according to my research men go to war to become masculine but war sometimes may affect them in many awful ways and sometimes it’s really hard for them to get over what they experienced and move on.
For my research paper I’m going to concentrate on why men go to war and how war has an effect on them and I will not just concentrate on WWI. I will definitely delete all about Kreb even though I truly like the story because I think it may be hard for me to keep comparing the sources I find with the story therefore I am going to end up having an entirely different paper. I have a few ideas on where my research needs to go. I recently read about many war veterans that return home with a disorder and some symptoms that they usually experience are nightmares, flashbacks, depression, fear and anger. Some even want to commit suicide. Families must suffer as well if they have a family member with this disorder therefore I hope I stumble on information about how war affects the whole family also. I look forward to writing an interesting paper and hopefully everyone gets something out of it.
Enerst Hemingway is one of my favorite novel and short story authors of all time. I studied a lot about him and other respected literature authors such as John Updike in my ENG 102 class. His novel "THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA" is fascinating, no wonder he won a Pulitzer prize for it. I definitely recommend you to read it, if you haven't done so. In most of his stories Hemingway created a type of male character who faced violence and destruction with courage, which can relate to the character you have described above. This style of writing become known as Hemingway code. Best of luck in your paper!
ReplyDeleteWow! A very interesting topic! You will be able to get many interviews from veterns that have been through wars. I will like to red your paper after it is finished because now a days he world is all about war war war. Its annoying and sad because the government need men and women now to go. But that ruins and change a lot of peoples future in what they really wanted to do because the war gives benefits which people find great opportunities. I would also interview not only families that had people in war, but also police officers or people who are working in government because they know a lot of information as well. Well good luck on your research! Hope you will find everything you need to write this paper.
ReplyDeleteI love your topic. I have a friend who was in Afghanistan and when he came back I was afraid to stay with him in one room. He looked like he wanted to kill all of us. The issue is that US dosn't care about veterans, especialy about Vietnam veterans. My brothet is in army now. He said that almost 99% of the soldiers don't want to go to war but they have to listen orders. so if some one gives order to go to the war why the same people do not care about soldiers psychological condition after war. I can't wait to read your paper! good luck!
ReplyDeleteI think one thing you can do with your paper is to compare and contrast the times of war. WWI and the current war, for example. I believe that during WWI, the reasons men went to war were entirely different from now.
ReplyDeleteI also like what Joanna said, that war veterans are treated differently when they come back, because people perceive them as dangerous or unstable, and the truth is some of them do come back with psychological disorders because of the things they've seen.
Another thing you could focus on is how the U.S has treated its veterans during and after wartime.
If you stick with the veterans and the affect of their dsorders on them and their family, what's your argument going to be? With all of these suggestions you have to focus on what your argument will be and how you plan to research it.
Happy Writing!
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ReplyDeleteI also studied this topic a little during my senior year of high school. I concentrated more on the Vietnam War, and how the soldiers were affected by PSTD. There are many books about soldiers during that time of the war, and what they experienced when they arrived back home. One book I recommend is Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic. It's a biography about a man who goes to the Vietnam War, and when he arrives back to the U.S he feels like he has no respect. Even his family members act different towards him. There is also a movie :) Good luck on your paper!
ReplyDeleteAlexandra,
ReplyDeleteI'm unclear - are you writing about men & war or about Hemmingway's story. In either case, you'll need to narrow down ... a lot :) Are you more into literature, psychology, disability studies or something else ????
One idea: compare and contrast incidence and treatments of men and women veterans (from Gulf War or the current conflicts)
Another idea: Compare one autobiography from one war with one written during a different war.
Hey Guys,
ReplyDeleteWell I try to narrow down and I decided to do my paper about how women were treated in World War II and the Vietnam War. (I was watching G.I Jane and it inspire me :))