Summary:
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: Write a page or so of commentary in which you discuss the differences in a battle as experienced by a private, a general, and a historian."
The private, general, and historian are all human. They live, die, eat, sleep. They either had first hand experience with war or no experience at all. A private fights in a battle. A general commands an army in the battle. A historian describes and analyzes a battle 75 years later. They all have different jobs, but they are linked together.
In battle, a private has a first hand experience with death. While fighting, he would watch others fall beside him. A fear would lurk on his shoulder. He knew that the odds of him dying were extremely high. There were more ways of which he could die: malnutrition, uncleanliness, weather, and infection. If he was wounded by a bullet, he would most likely have to have had the limb amputated. This fear was with him everywhere. It was on the battlefield while he was loading and reloading. It was with him while he slept or spoke to his compatriots. He would have had o rationalize to cope with the responsibilities of murder. He had to leave his family for many years, and possibly could have become a war veteran.
A general was a private before he was promoted. He had all the responsibilities of a private. He now had control over an army. He was responsible for the lives of all of those men. The general also had many privileges. He was allowed to have better medical attention and rations than a private. The general is more important to the army. He was allowed to watch battles from a distance. He was more likely to have a better education than most. The general was a hero for the private to look up to. He represented bravery, courage, strength, and heart. His medals showed privates the accomplishments of hard work.
A historian lived many years after the war took place. The historian never experienced war. He did not have to fear for his life, lead men into battle, or watch people die. Historians only knew what happened during the war from documented journals, pictures, and letters. The historian had to search and gather the documents for history books. Some of the research would not be accurate because of gaps between different documents. A historian had to guess what might have occurred.
The Jobs of a private, general, and historian are not similar at all. Although they are all linked to war, they all play different parts in it. The private and general are living history, and the historian writes it. They all play a large roll in letting the future world know about the past. An important thing to remember is that the private, the general, and the historian are all human. Their failures and accomplishments make history interesting.
This is the complete article, containing 457 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
