Storm Of Steel Character Analysis Essay
Haosong Wang
An Analysis of Storm of Steel Storm of Steel which was written by Ernst Junger creates for the reader a picture of war as seen from the eyes of a German soldier who has found himself in the fields of battle during World War I. Through the novel, the German soldier attempts to dispel what nice ideas the reader may have about war. It may be true that to many men like the young German soldier in the story, war is all about glory. For the German soldier, to fight in the war is to bring glory to one 's country. "The war was our dream of greatness, power, and glory." 1 But one does not come to see the real face of war until he/she finds himself/herself in its fields of battle. After having encountered the enemy, the soldier says, "The war had shown its claws and torn off it pleasant mask."2 After having fought in the war for some time, one would come to realize that war is not all about glory but human suffering. "I could tell from talking to my companions that this episode had somewhat damped their martial ardour. It had affected me too." 3. From the soldier, the reader learns that one does not experience any kind of comfort in war. "It may be imagined that this unaccustomed life came very hard on us, particularly as the old soldiers were quite knowing …show more content…
“They are men who have drowned. Their heads and arms were underwater but you can see their backs with the leather of their equipment emerging on the surface of the pasty liquid.”1 And what is sad about the war is that men who perish suddenly become nameless victims. This is made evident in the words of the French soldier who says, “You cannot determine the identity of these creatures, not from the clothes buried under a layer of mud…”
An Analysis of Storm of Steel Storm of Steel which was written by Ernst Junger creates for the reader a picture of war as seen from the eyes of a German soldier who has found himself in the fields of battle during World War I. Through the novel, the German soldier attempts to dispel what nice ideas the reader may have about war. It may be true that to many men like the young German soldier in the story, war is all about glory. For the German soldier, to fight in the war is to bring glory to one 's country. "The war was our dream of greatness, power, and glory." 1 But one does not come to see the real face of war until he/she finds himself/herself in its fields of battle. After having encountered the enemy, the soldier says, "The war had shown its claws and torn off it pleasant mask."2 After having fought in the war for some time, one would come to realize that war is not all about glory but human suffering. "I could tell from talking to my companions that this episode had somewhat damped their martial ardour. It had affected me too." 3. From the soldier, the reader learns that one does not experience any kind of comfort in war. "It may be imagined that this unaccustomed life came very hard on us, particularly as the old soldiers were quite knowing …show more content…
“They are men who have drowned. Their heads and arms were underwater but you can see their backs with the leather of their equipment emerging on the surface of the pasty liquid.”1 And what is sad about the war is that men who perish suddenly become nameless victims. This is made evident in the words of the French soldier who says, “You cannot determine the identity of these creatures, not from the clothes buried under a layer of mud…”