Final answer:
The novel shows life is more difficult for war survivors by exploring the trauma, disillusionment, and existential crises they endure. Characters in literature, particularly after World War I, often face a loss of innocence and struggle with grief and PTSD, questioning prior heroic ideals of combat.
Step-by-step explanation:
The novel demonstrates that life is often more difficult for those who survive death and war by depicting the lasting impacts of trauma, the disillusionment with heroic ideals of combat, and the personal and societal costs of violence.
In literature, protagonists often reflect the harrowing experiences of war and the struggle to find meaning or normalcy in its aftermath.
This is exemplified by characters such as Ernest Hemingway's in A Farewell to Arms and Erich Maria Remarque's in All Quiet on the Western Front, who grapple with the loss of innocence, overwhelming grief, and the irrevocable changes to their identities and worldviews.
The inherent absurdity of wartime experiences, such as the arbitrary nature of death and the obsolescence of chivalric battle, often leads to a sense of futility and existential crisis for survivors.
Survivors of war may carry both visible and invisible scars, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), commonly referred to as shell-shock during World War I and captured poignantly in characters like Septimus Smith from Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.
Additionally, the work of poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon illustrates the disillusionment with the false narrative of heroism and glory in war, emphasizing instead the inhumanity and suffering that soldiers endure.
The personal toll of war reverberates throughout society, affecting generations and challenging the pre-war idealistic perceptions of what it means to be a hero.