The Values Of A Narrator Essay, Research Paper

( Essay sing fresh Generals Die In Bed for Engl 101 & # 8211 ; Final Grade B+ )

The ideas and actions of the storyteller in a novel can offer the reader alone penetration into the storyteller & # 8217 ; s personal values. In the fresh Generals Die in Bed, by Charles Yale Harrison, the storyteller reveals his personal values through both his actions and his commentary on the war around him. The storyteller values instruction and cognition, life and humanity, every bit good as charity and compassion. Although he sometimes does non move upon these values, he restates them many times and finally finds they are a portion of his personality and embraces them as such in the terminal.

The storyteller of Generals Die In Bed establishes his value of instruction early in the novel. He reveals to the reader portion of his instruction background and implies his involvement in literature in a conversation with his fellow soldiers. They discuss the minenwerfer barrage they experienced during their first dark in the trenches. Cleary emphasizes his fright through exaggeration by stating he & # 8220 ; thought [ he ] was dead a twelve times. & # 8221 ; In response to this the storyteller quotes Oscar Wilde: & # 8220 ; He who lives more lives than one, more deceases than one most die. & # 8221 ; His companions do non cognize what he has alluded to and as he begins to explicate and emphasize the & # 8220 ; disgraceful characteristics & # 8221 ; of Wilde & # 8217 ; s narrative, he finds his words & # 8220 ; sound hollow and level & # 8221 ; . The storyteller besides repeats an quip that & # 8220 ; one time sounded so scintillating in [ his ] high-school days. & # 8221 ; Both these phrases illustrate the dark, drab life in the trench and emphasize the inutility of his value of instruction in war through metaphor. His co-workers besides do non pay attending to his account ; Fry even & # 8220 ; closes his eyes and turns his caput off & # 8221 ; afterwards ( 28-29 ) . After this point the storyteller does non advert his instruction or cite any literature. Alternatively as the war progresses he finds he prefers non to & # 8220 ; seek for replies & # 8221 ; and compares himself to a thoughtless animal through simile by observing he would instead & # 8220 ; live like an blind animate being & # 8221 ; ( 129 ) .

In Generals Die In Bed the storyteller reveals his value of human life. He foremost notes the Canadian soldiers? ne’er refer to the Germans as [ their ] enemy? demoing they do non desire to kill Germans no more than the Germans want to kill Canadians, dry since they are both trained to make so ( 44 ) . This is contrasted during the foray when he must kill a German or be kil

led in the trench. He subsequently reflects upon his actions and why he was? terrified? when he thought about the adult male he killed ( 129 ) . He even refers to himself as a? condemnable? and tells Gladys he one time? committed slaying? in mention to the event ( 169 ) . While he contemplates his panic he besides wonders why he stood? frozen? when he was told Cleary was deceasing ( 129 ) . This metaphor every bit good as the simile used when he ponders why he felt? as though [ his ] interiors were being forced up through [ his ] pharynx as [ he ] watched him decease? expose his disgust at the loss of life ( 130 ) .

The storyteller values compassion above all in Generals Die in Bed. He repeatedly expresses this value through his generous aid of others throughout the novel. When the soldiers foremost reach the trenches, Fry has problem maintaining up with the group and the storyteller and Brown & # 8220 ; fish & # 8221 ; him out of a water-filled hole ( 15 ) . The storyteller subsequently crawls & # 8220 ; with great attempt & # 8221 ; over to Fry while they are under onslaught because Fry is & # 8220 ; half covered with Earth and dust & # 8221 ; and begins to delve him out despite his fright ( 25 ) . Subsequently on during the foray on the German lines he is the lone plunderer to return with captives. He besides asks his Colonel that the captives & # 8220 ; be treated nicely & # 8221 ; , which is dry as he late killed one captive? s brother ( 122 ) . Next the storyteller finds himself metaphorically & # 8220 ; attached & # 8221 ; to a new recruit after his leave ( 179 ) . Before the Canadian onslaught on the German lines he? experience [ s ] sorry & # 8221 ; for the recruit and asks the recruit to & # 8220 ; remain with [ him ] & # 8221 ; for the continuance of the onslaught ( 183 ) .

The storyteller does non ever follow his values during the novel. During a retreat he leaves Fry wounded on the battleground, even though Fry shrieks? Don? T go forth me here entirely? ( 201 ) . The storyteller besides takes portion in? revenging? the Llandovery Castle ; he helps kill unarmed Germans at Amiens ( 255 ) . Despite this, in the terminal of the novel the storyteller embraces his values one time once more. When he is wounded on the battleground he does non & # 8220 ; abandon & # 8221 ; Broadbent, who is mortally wounded, and & # 8220 ; reassure [ s ] & # 8221 ; him ( 263 ) .

The storyteller of Generals Die in Bed imparts his values upon the reader throughout the novel. Despite brief reprieves from these values, he manages to keep true to his value of acquisition, life, and pity in the terminal.

[ 794 words ] .

Plants Cited

Harrison, Charles Yale. Generals Die in Bed. 1930.

Waterdown: Potlach Publications, 1999.