War

                War Effect on Relationship

The  Vietnam  war  was  responsible  for  over  fifty  eight  thousand  deaths.  It  also responsible  for   about  fifteen  percent  of  ended  relationships.  War  affect  many  parts  of peoples  lifes  even  personal.  Relationship  tend  to  be  what  people  want  to  protect  the most.  War  affect  manly  people  differently  some  hate  but  others  think  that  it  is  neccesary  for  it  to  happen.  War  affected  a  lot  of  soldiers  Psychologically  and  physically. War  can  strain  the  relationship  that  partner  have  worked  had  for.

For  example,  In  Forest  Gump  when  he  leaves  for  war   in  Vietnam  he  loses contract  with  his  love  she  was  an  activist  who  did  not  approve  of  the  war.  Although  he received  letters  from  her ,  he  could  not  see  her  face  to  face .  After   he  comes  he  notices how  different  she  had  become.  Although  they  are  later  back  together  the  strain  was obviously  there .  They  both  missed  each  others  life  that  they  are  like  different  people. Forest  Gump  did  not  show  any  psychological  changes   except  for  the  loss  of  his  best  friend   Bubba.  She  had  obviously  changed   from  what  she  used  to  be.  Gump  a  kind  of slow  individual  did  not  really  show  any  signs  of  being  depressed  after  being  such  a violent  war  like  the  Vietnam  war.  Although  they  did  not  have  a  romantic  relationship there  were   best  friend  that  were  always  together.  Forest  Gump  did  see  a  little      character   change ,  although  it  is  not  that  clear  he  did  become  more  mature. 

Secondly,  in  the  book  the  ‘’The  Things  They  Carried’’  by  Tim  O’Brien ,  Mark Fossie  is  told  to  have  brought   his  girlfriend  with  him  to  the  war .  It  is  said  when  she first  got  to  the  war  camp  she  was  dressed  like  innocent  doll.  After  a  while  her  attitude changed  completely  and  was  going  on  ambushes  with  the  green  berets,  which  is  very dangerous .  Mark  fossie  could  not  deal  with  deal  with  the  relationship  anymore  and called  of  their  engagement   because  of  how  different  she  had  become  a  different  person . The  strain  of  keeping  a  healthy  relationship  going  while   changing  into  a  different  person.  Also  the  relationship  between  Lt.  Jimmy  Cross  and  Martha  the  girl  he  loved  to love,  also  got  strained.  She  ended  up  going  a  different  direction   that  was  not  with Jimmy  Cross,  but  he  still  confesses  to  allows  love  her .  The  relationship  was  doomed from  the  beginning  when  he  left  for  war .

Thirdly,  the  fact  that  the  two  have  not  seen  each  other  in  along while .  When  a person  that  has  been  at  war  for  a  while  could  be  scared.  The  fact  that  they  do  not  know  if  their  partner  were  dead  or  alive  is  also  impressing.  No  way  of  communicating with  the  other  partner  could  be  also  frustrating.  The  partner  could   also  be  the  possibility of  cheating  to  get  the  satisfaction  that  they  desire.  They   is  no  way  of   knowing  what  is really  happening  at  ‘’home’’.  The  fact  of  not  knowing  can  also  drive  a  person  crazy. There  is  no  way  knowing   what  really  happens  when  your  are  gone  from  home. Loving  a   person  and  not  knowing  if  they  are  dead  or  alive  can  make  people  do  intense  things . For  the  men  the  relationship  is  always  a  fantasy  of  life  outside  the  war.

Finally,  they  has  been  cases  of  soldiers  in  the  war  that  have  returned  from  and killed   their  partners . Some  say   that   the  stress  of  being  in  war ,  and  the  unacceptable things  that  were  seen  and   being  done  in  war.  Some  soldiers  are  said  to  completely change  and  come  home  and  viciously  killing  their  partners  in  cold  blood  for  no  reason. The  strain  in  relationship  starts  the  day  when  the  partners  live  for  war.  Up  all  night thinking   about  the  other ,  wondering  how  they   are  someone  go  mad .  Also  in  ‘’Forest Gump’’  and  ‘’The  Things  They  Carried’’ ,  underlines  the  strain  that  war  can  have          on   relationships.   The   Psychological  impact  of   war   especially   one  so   highly  criticized like  the  Vietnam  war   packs  a  mental  punch  that   can  be  hard  to  come  back  from.  For example  Norman   Bowker  from  ‘’the  things  they  carried’’,  did  not  have  smooth  transition from  war  to  life.  He  could  no  longer  find  a  relationship  because  he  got  back  to  his normal self.

In  conclusion,  war  obviously  puts  a  lot  of  mental  and  physical  strain  on relationships,  but  it   is  up  to  the  partners  to  know  what  the  next  step  is .  Their  relationship  could  come  crashing  down. Relationship is a very flexible thing anything can easily break it down so easily. Forest Gump shows and The Things They Carried all are effected by the war that the served in.