Book Report

Many people think that war is all about the fighting and the battles, but in fact that is only a small part of war. In John Steinbeck's Once There Was a War, published in 1958, he writes about World War II and what the common soldier did when he wasn't fighting. The theme to this book is; a solider always remains a man, not a hero. This theme is important because many people think of a soldier as some supernaturally strong, invincable hero but they are the same person as they were when they joined.

John Steinbeck

In World War II, soldiers were presented as strong and high disapline men but they are just normal everyday people. My first example from the book is when Steinbeck writes about a man they call Big Train. This man is a private and his job is to transport soldiers, he dosn't climb mountians or take on the enemy by himself. Another example from the book is, in a certian wing of the air force they had a goat that they gave alcohol. The goat served at a pet/maskot and they believed that it brang good luck. Their maskot wasn't a majestic animal like an eagle or a lion, it was a goat, an average, everyday animal. My last example from the book is, the soldiers were in rough shape. They were not fed well, they were sick, not clean shaven, they did not look anything like the strong, healthy soldiers that were portraied. This theme is significant for this book because, it shows that soldiers are not always strong, healthy people that most people think of them to be.

A WWII Soldier

Throughout history, soldiers have been presented as strong and high disapline men but they are just normal everyday people. In moveis about ancient roman wariors, all the soldiers appear to be muscular and well fed, but they lived through hard times such as, hunger, desease, and other problems thet occur in armies. My second detail that throughout history soldiers have been presented as strong and high disapline men but they are just normal everyday people is, during mideval times, all the knights are allways ahown as very chivlrous, and noble, but they were no different if not more rude then any other person. Last, today in the army comersials the soldiers are shown saving someone, or climbing up a cliff, and even though some soldiers do save people, most of the time they are waiting around their camps. This theme is important in history because, it shows that soldiers are not always strong, healthy people that most movies and books, show them to be.

Brad Pitt Playing a soldier in the Movie Troy

A solider always remains a man, not a hero. This theme is significant for this book because, it shows that soldiers are not always strong, healthy people that most people think of them to be. The theme is important in history because, it shows that soldiers are not always strong, healthy people that most movies and books, show them to be. It is important to understand the theme because even though the TV and movies show soldiers as strong and exciting people, it is often just properganda.