Question

Which three parts of these excerpts reflect the idea that war affects not only the minds of the combatants but also their physical reactions?

Ambush
by Tim O'Brien (excerpt)

There was no sound at all--none that I can remember. In a way, it seemed, he was part of the morning fog, or my own imagination, but there was also the reality of what was happening in my stomach. I had already pulled the pin on a grenade. I had come up to a crouch. It was entirely automatic. I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low. I tried to swallow whatever was rising from my stomach, which tasted like lemonade, something fruity and sour. I was terrified. There were no thoughts about killing. The grenade was to make him go away--just evaporate--and I leaned back and felt my mind go empty and then felt it fill up again.


Symptoms
by John Steinbeck (excerpt)

They would discuss their experiences right up to the time of battle and then suddenly they wouldn't talk anymore. This was considered heroic in them. It was thought that they had seen or done was so horrible that they didn't want to bring it back to haunt them or their listeners. But many of these men had no such consideration in any other field.

Only recently have I found what seems to be a reasonable explanation, and the answer is simple. They did not and do not remember--and the worse the battle was, the less they remember.

In all kinds of combat the whole body is battered by emotion. The ductless glands pour their fluids into the system to make it able to stand up to the great demand on it. Fear and ferocity are products of the same fluid.

Answer 1

There are two lines in Tim O'Brien's excerpt. First, In a way, it seemed, he was part of the morning fog, or my own imagination, but there was also the reality of what was happening in my stomach. This line depicts that what he imagined is not only up to his head, but it is real to the point that his imagination evokes a reaction to his stomach. Second, I tried to swallow whatever was rising from my stomach, which tasted like lemonade, something fruity and sour. He feels nauseous as his mind filled with images of what he experienced. For John Steinbeck's excerpt, the line would be In all kinds of combat the whole body is battered by emotion. The ductless glands pour their fluids into the system to make it able to stand up to the great demand on it. He describes his body's physical reaction to his emotional distress. How he was physically affected by his strong emotions.

Answer 2

The three parts of the experts that reflect that war affects the physical reactions of the combatants are:

• "In a way, it seemed, he was part of the morning fog or my own imagination, but there was also the reality of what was happening in my stomach."

• " I tried to swallow whatever was rising from my stomach, which tasted like lemonade, something fruity and sour."

• "The ductless glands pour their fluids into the system to make it able to stand up to the great demand on it. Fear and ferocity are products of the same fluid."

In Tim O'Brien's excerpt, we can see a connection between the mind and the stomach. As the combatant remembers a specific episode of war, he remembers how his actions not only affected his mind but also his stomach and mouth making him feel sick for what he had to do.

In Symptoms by John Steinbeck, we can see how the body reacts to strong emotions. These ones prepare the body to survive and act during the war.