War And Psychology Essay Research Paper The — страница 2

  • Просмотров 332
  • Скачиваний 5
  • Размер файла 18
    Кб

sense. When focusing on his own inconvenience, hunger and pain, a man tends to lose sight of broader concerns, such as his spiritual wellbeing and the common good. Faith enables a man to focus on the spiritual and the eternal, to face each day?s trials with commitment and determination and to survive war with his psyche intact. Lewis grapples with the paradox of war. Lewis argues convincingly that, while some may be destroyed by war, others may actually experience spiritual growth through adversity. Alerted to the finite nature of life and made more conscious of the needs of others, a man?s faith and strength may flourish in ways that he never dreamed possible. Lewis dispels the belief that a long, relatively peaceful or painless life is any guarantee of spiritual survival. He

expresses fear for the souls of those who die ?in costly nursing homes amid doctors who lie, nurses who lie, friends who lie?promising life to the dying, encouraging the belief that sickness excuses every indulgence, and even ?withholding a priest lest is should betray to the sick man his true condition.? (Lewis pg. 32). During wartime, the need for courage cannot be ignored. Lewis sees courage as ?not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky? (Lewis pg. 148). Yet, courage must be grounded in faith and resignation to God?s will. Lewis explains how

worrying about the future and taking precautions against the dangers of war tend to undermine courage. When a man begins to obsess about all the things he can do to increase his chances of survival, his commitment to doing his duty becomes ?honeycombed all through with little unconscious reservations.? In a moment of terror, these reservations will assert themselves and his overriding concern will be physical self-preservation.(Lewis p150). Only by putting his full trust in God can a man avoid the threats to the spirit that uncertainty brings and act courageously under all conditions. Key characters in The English Patient each possess some of the traits that Lewis deems to be important: Yet each of Ondaatje?s characters displays certain frailties that weaken his chances of

spiritual survival. Each of the characters is profoundly influenced by the ?stream of immediate sense experiences? that Lewis analyses so vividly in the Screwtape Letters. Each allows the pain and suffering that he has witnessed to destroy any faith he had in God, country or the war effort. Caravaggio is a man who possesses tremendous courage. In his role as a spy for the Allies, he risks death and torture on a daily basis throughout the war. After being captured by the Germans and having his thumbs cut off by them, he finds his way to a villa in Florence where Hana, a Canadian nurse and daughter of an old friend is caring for a burned and dying patient. There, he devotes his days to convincing Hana and Kip, the sapper whom Hana loves, to abandon their responsibilities. He urges

Hana to leave her dying patient even though there is no one left to care for him. Referring to the Bedoin tribesmen who rescued the burning man, he says, ?Those men in the desert were smarter than you. They assumed that he could be useful. So they saved him, but when he was no longer useful, they left him.?(Ondaatje pg. 45) Confiding to Kip, he blames the war on the rich who ? have to follow the rules of their?civilized world. They declare war, they have honour and they can?t leave. But you two. We three. We?re free. How many sappers die? Why aren?t you dead yet? Be irresponsible. Luck runs out.? (Ondaatje p.123) Caravaggio is portrayed as warm, human and very likable. Yet, he is a man who has lost his faith, his loyalty and his confidence. The English Patient is portrayed as a

man of great intellect. He is ?the wise man? who sees ?the greater picture?. Yet, at critical times, he reacts in a manner that is narrow and self-serving. He has an affair with the wife of friend and colleague, a man whom he claims to love. This is portrayed as a natural response of one caught up in a tidal wave of emotion. He blames ?the war? for destroying his research, his adopted homeland, and his friendships; yet he makes no credible attempt to come to terms with the terrible events that made war inevitable. He collaborates with the Germans, dooming thousands in the desert to torture and death. He rationalizes his behaviour and abdicates responsibility for his actions by blaming the war on international financial and military interests rather than on Nazi aggression. Yet