Analysis Of The Memoirs Of Nurses La Motte And Borden...

TWar is ugly, tragic and brutal, but do you have to be? Can there still be compassion amongst all the chaos? After analyzing the memoirs of Nurses La Motte and Borden during World War One, the evidence shows some can still have empathy while others lose their faith in humanity altogether. Even though both women went through very similar experiences, La Motte becomes pessimistic while Borden does not. The Backwash of War reveals that La Motte develops opinions like how men only see women as sex objects, medals are worthless and death is necessary, while Borden conveys her compassion in The Forbidden Zone by describing women as beautiful, the awards are worthy of their lives, and that some deserve to die peacefully. Medals, awards and†¦show more content†¦These medals represented how meaningless the men of the regiment were. They represented inequality between men. Even thought there was strong examples of Inequality in The backwash of War, they were focused on the inequalities of regular soldiers and the Battalion de’Affrique. â€Å"They fight in the trenches as do the others, but with small chance of being decorated.† (La Motte La Patrie Reconnaissante) However, there are examples medals awarded for the right reasons. In The Forbidden Zone, medals are also portrayed as the highest honor possible. â€Å"’The ampute found an envelope on his coverlet with a hundred francs in it. The General, so they said, gave all his pay to the men in this way† (Borden The Priest and the Rabbi). The General is so sympathetic that he gives his pay to these men because he thought they deserve more than a medal. This thought of honor is also reflected in The Backwash of w ar. Grammont, being a member of the Battalion de’Afrique was not supposed to receive medals. However he was so courageous and never complained all while on his death bed, the General was left no choice but to award him anyway. Grammont fought to stay alive long enough to receive such accommodation because it was so meaningful but was unable. â€Å"So he died finally, after a long pull, just twenty minutes