War, what is it good for?
Today is Memorial Day, which is the day we remember veterans who died during their service in the U. S. military. For many, this weekend is about an extra Monday off, getting a jump on the week ahead. For others, this is a gut-wrenching holiday dedicated to persons they’ve lost.
As a 26-year-old in 2024, I’m part of a generation that hasn’t experienced the extreme glorification of the military. During WWI and WWII, joining the military was performing a civic duty. It was an honor to be drafted, and considering we didn’t play an especially large part in WWII anyway, it wasn’t the biggest risk one could take. Ideals started to change before and during the Vietnam War, and the military started to lose some of its propagandized sheen.
The War on Terror brought about by 9/11 helped the military regain some of its former glory, but by the time troops were withdrawn from the middle east in 2021, people were once again questioning these drawn-out, tiresome wars.
Having grown up essentially post-9/11 (I would have been 3 in 2001), I have never experienced anything other than these wars where our involvement was heavily questioned. I think growing up during this time period has heavily influenced my generation’s mindset, since much of the rhetoric surrounding specifically the Vietnam War and The War on Terror is anti-war rhetoric. When we read books about these wars class, they discuss the struggles the soldiers faced and the difficult calls war generals had to make, not stories of a triumphant U. S. military.
With that in mind, I personally think a good way to honor veterans who have lost their lives during service is to read some of these novels in an attempt to understand what struggles they faced during their service. The best way to remember someone or support someone is to be able to empathize with their experience. Considering I wasn’t alive during these experiences, this is about as close as I can get, and I think it’s extremely important to make sure these perspectives are heard and that this part of history stays in the forefront of our minds.
For this Memorial Day, I wanted to share some anti-war novels I’ve read that really broadened my perspective and increased the amount of empathy I have for surviving veterans.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Many students in the U. S. will read this novel at some point in high school, but I didn’t end up reading it until I was in college. I believe it was for an American Literature class, but I can’t be too sure about that. What I do remember is the utter heartbreak I felt upon finishing the novel. All Quiet is, in my opinion, one of the most heart-wrenching anti-war novels out there. Throughout the book, the reader is repeatedly shown how the main characters, several soldiers (boys) of war, are moved around like pawns in a supremely inadequate game of chess. Remarque does a great job fleshing out the characters so that the reader empathizes with each one, which makes it all the more crushing when we reach the finale of the book. Of the books on this list, I think All Quiet is the most approachable and carries the most impact, so this would be the one I recommend outright.
Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut
One can’t talk about anti-war novels without mentioning Slaughterhouse V. This novel has been endlessly praised for its anti-war message as well as its strong imagery and themes throughout. The book follows the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, after he’s become “unstuck” in time. Billy struggles with staying in the present moment, and often finds himself in completely unfamiliar situations. This tactic is a metaphor for PTSD, and as the novel progresses, the reader can see the impact PTSD has on Pilgrim, his relationship with his family, and on his place in the world itself. While this is one of the best anti-war novels out there, Vonnegut’s unique style (and the particularly jarring “time-jumping” in this novel) may not be the most approachable for the everyday reader. Be ready to be confused, but understand that things will make more sense the longer you read.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Probably my favorite book on this list, Catch-22 follows John Yossarian, a captain in the military, as he tries to find a way out of the war. Unfortunately, the only way out of the war is to prove your insane, but the only way to prove your insane is to fight in the war because only an insane man would fight. If you’re capable of fighting, then you’re not insane, which makes the entire situation a catch-22. Yossarian tries many different ways to escape from the war, and is a bit of an anti-hero throughout the novel in that he’s fairly selfish and cowardly. The book is mainly satire, and I think painting Yossarian this way is a commentary on how those who didn’t want to fight in the war (which is a very normal concept) were painted as weak, unpatriotic men. While Vonnegut’s writing can be sarcastic and satirical at times, Heller takes this to an entirely new level in Catch-22. Those who like very straightforward novels may have a hard time with this book, but I think it’s worth the read. There are is a lot of wry humor throughout the book, which makes it a little easier to read than some other, darker anti-war novels.
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Likely the darkest book on this list, Johnny Got His Gun follows the story of a man who sustained massive injuries in war. He has lost all his limbs and senses, so he sits trapped within his own mind at a veteran’s hospital. The story is told largely in a stream-of-consciousness style to reflect the main character’s mental state during this time. It’s an excellent novel that depicts some of the most serious repercussions of war, and details how many young men never understood exactly what they were getting into. Though it’s a great novel, it is not for the feint of heart. It’s on the more extreme end of the graphic scale, so be sure to keep that in mind going into it.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Now, while I didn’t read All Quiet on the Western Front in high school, I did read The Things They Carried in my junior year class. I can still picture the faces of some of the kids in class while we read the baby buffalo chapter from the book. If you haven’t read the book, it’s a very intense chapter, and has extremely strong symbolism for what some of the soldiers experienced during the war. This book contains a collection of linked short stories that depict a platoon’s experiences during the Vietnam War. While not a completely true story, the stories are based on O’Brien’s own experiences during the war. It is also another book on this list that has been banned time and time again in educational institutions, so I guess I was lucky to read it when I did. Fight the man, read the book!
On Killing by Dave Grossman
This is the only nonfiction book on this list, and perhaps one of the more controversial. Since the release of this novel, Grossman has made some questionable to downright maniacal statements about combat, killing, and war in general. For these reasons, I would completely understand wanting to skip this book to skip supporting this man. There are also a lot of concerns about the legitimacy of the science used in this book since it was based on a study that has largely been debunked. HOWEVER, I do think it’s a really interesting book in that it provides several hypotheses about how killing in combat and war can affect the human mind, and these hypotheses may be further tested later to find a more suitable conclusion. When read as a more philosophical or ruminative book, I think it provides an interesting perspective on killing. It is the most skippable book on this list, though, and would not be my first recommendation.
As I mentioned earlier, I think reading these anti-war or protest novels is extremely important when it comes to understanding the significant impact of war on our veterans and our population overall. It’s something that is well-discussed in today’s age, but it’s important that we remember how staggering these losses were. Reading this novels can help one better empathize with families of those who died serving, and can change our perspectives when it comes to surviving veterans.
The Lit Wiz