The horrors of war during world war one were very real and extremely gruesome. During the Forbidden zone, several people suffered from gas gangrene that smelled awful and was extremely deadly (Borden 80). The author of then goes on to state …show more content…
During the Backwash of War, a man named Rollin had been awarded in extremis for his heroic actions, but he feared the award because it indicated that he was dying (Motte 517). Afterwards, a father named Antoine had feared sending his son to war, only to have his fears realized when his son returned a stump with no arms, legs or eyes (Motte 156). Fear wasn’t only associated with death, some people had trivial fears of not being educated enough for their job, such as Fouquet who was a farmhand before becoming a nurse (Motte 295). In spite of this, fear of death was still the major thing that many soldiers feared. During the Forbidden zone, a man labeled as an apache was dying and was gravely afraid of the sins he had committed throughout his life that he would have to answer for after his death (Borden 73). Even more, solders would be so scared of death by the enemy that they would go as far as to kill themselves (Borden 102). Finally, there is the unfortunate story of a blind man who feared being alone now that he lived in a world of darkness, the nurse had lied to him and told the patient that she had been there beside him the whole time, after she had left to tend to other patients (Borden 162). I believe that fear in many shapes and forms were rampant throughout the war, and there was little anybody could do about it short of ending the war. A lack of motivation was a …show more content…
During the war a general had awarded so many people La Médaille militaire, and the ceremony was carried out perfunctory (Motte 697). There were also soldiers that belonged to a prison regiment, further lowering overall morale, that prisoners would be forced to go to war instead of prison (Motte966). Additionally, workers in the hospital were punished when they left during their time off to have fun and unwind, as in the case of Fouquet when he left to go to town and faced repercussions from the Medecin Chef (Motte265). During the beginning of the Forbidden zone, a regiment had marched into a town to perform a ceremony for officers and themselves weren’t acknowledged (Borden 44). As with the Backwash of war, the generals also described in the forbidden zone rushed through giving medals to people, making what should have been a gesture of appreciation, something similar to a mundane task that none of the patients really cared for