Hello bloggers! As I was reading through to page 67, two questions came up on page 43 and I thought it would be interesting to try and find some answers/opinions from everyone on the blog. The questions (one of which was actually asked in the book and the other that I came up with from something that was stated) are as follows.
#1: What is defeat?
#2: Is there anything as bad as war?
Katherine, you stole my ideas! haha... I was entering the blog to ask the same questions and/ or comment on what I think my answers would be to that same question of "What is defeat?".
ReplyDeleteI think that there is no definite answer to that question and therefore to each and every person, defeat is something different. In the book, Frederic's other ambulance-mates comment on how defeat would be fine because they would just go on with their own lives as before the war. Frederic disagrees, saying how basically, the country which defeats you has complete and total power over you and in the end, defeat is the worst possible outcome. But this still begs your second question: Is defeat worse that war itself?
Defeat is different for everyone i guess. Some people may feel defeated in a metaphorical sense if they are put down by others, but on the other hand, in war, there is a sense of literal defeat, such as death.
My answer would be that the only thing worse than war itself would be death. Since war is basically death on a large scale, then there is nothing more to say than that.
-Meerkat/Caitlin
I don't know if I'd even necessarily say that war is worse than death. I'm not sure that I would rather be in war and have to see death, and misery all around me than just die myself. Would it be worse to have to live with PTSD, and anxiety, and depression, then to just be dead?
ReplyDeleteyea I'm kinda siding with Nicki. This reminds of a point in Macbeth where Macbeth is actually jealous of King Duncan just because he is dead. Duncan no longer has to deal with guilt, stress and greif; he is at peace. His departure is was stirred Macbeth in the first place but now he regrets the act and wishes he could trade positions with the king. So similarly, I think many people in the war wish to be dead multiple times while in service. So I wouldn't go as far as saying death is worse than war, believe it or not it may be preferred.
ReplyDelete