Practice and Apply
Why Soldiers Won’t Talk
summary
john steinbeck
In this essay, John Steinbeck suggests that
ex-soldiers are unwilling to talk about their
combat experiences because in fact they do
not remember them very well. While under
constant fire, soldiers experience a range of
sensory and emotional effects that distort
their perceptions and alter their behavior.
When the battle ends, details of the experience become dreamlike, and the soldiers’
memory of combat fades rapidly.
background Randall Jarrell’s experience training pilots for the U.S. Army Air Force
gained him firsthand knowledge of planes and gunners, including the view from the ball
turret of a bomber. From this plexiglas bubble on the underside of the plane, gunners—
totally exposed from below—fired at the enemy. During Steinbeck’s time as a war
correspondent, he too learned about bomber crews, as well as soldiers in the infantry.
Lines 1–11
reinforce key idea: silence
Discuss Does Steinbeck’s explanation for the
silence of ex-soldiers seem reasonable? Why
or why not? Is the alternative explanation
reasonable? Explain. Possible answers: Yes:
A soldier’s mind may repress terrible memories. No: It would be impossible to forget such
experiences. The first explanation Steinbeck
gives—that soldiers simply do not want to
relive their experiences by talking about
them—is also reasonable.
R E A D I N G STR ATEG Y
a
adjust reading
strategies
Possible answer: Steinbeck is puzzled by his
observation that ex-soldiers do not discuss
their battle experiences. The main idea he
provides to solve that mystery is that soldiers cannot remember their experiences.
10
20
During the years between the last war and this one, I was always puzzled by the
reticence of ex-soldiers about their experiences in battle. If they had been reticent
men it would have been different, but some of them were talkers and some were
even boasters. They would discuss their experiences right up to the time of battle
and then suddenly they wouldn’t talk any more. This was considered heroic in them.
It was thought that what 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. a
In all kinds of combat the whole body is battered by emotion. The ductless glands1
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. Fatigue toxins2 poison the system.
Hunger followed by wolfed food distorts the metabolic pattern already distorted by
the adrenaline3 and fatigue. The body and the mind so disturbed are really ill and
fevered. But in addition to these ills, which come from the inside of a man and are
given him so that he can temporarily withstand pressures beyond his ordinary ability,
there is the further stress of explosion.
Under extended bombardment or bombing the nerve ends are literally beaten.
The eardrums are tortured by blast and the eyes ache from the constant hammering.
This is how you feel after a few days of constant firing. Your skin feels thick and
insensitive. There is a salty taste in your mouth. A hard, painful knot is in your
stomach where the food is undigested. Your eyes do not pick up much detail and the
sharp outlines of objects are slightly blurred. Everything looks a little unreal. When
1. ductless glands: glands, such as the thyroid or the pituitary gland, that secrete directly into the bloodstream.
2. toxins: poisons produced by the body that are capable of causing disease.
3. adrenaline (E-drDnPE-lGn): a substance secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress.
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1
Targeted Passage
a ADJUST READING
STRATEGIES
Reread lines 1–11.
What puzzles Steinbeck
about soldiers, and what
main idea provides
the solution to his
puzzlement?
ANALYZE VISUALS
How would you describe
the look on this soldier’s
face? Explain what
features convey this look.
unit 6: contemporary literature
differentiated instruction
FL_L11PE-u06s21-sbSoldiers.indd 1116
for all students
Enhancing Learning Styles Provide these
projects for various learning preferences:
• Interpersonal Debate reasons that soldiers
hesitate to discuss combat.
• Creative Write a poem about war.
• Analytical Compare political climates
during wartime.
For further details on these projects, see
RESOURCE MANAGER
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unit 6: contempor ary liter ature
Ideas for Extension pp. 22–23
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for less–proficient readers
In combination with the Audio Anthology CD,
use one or both Targeted Passages (pp. 1116
and 1118) to ensure that students focus on key
concepts in the essay. Targeted Passages are
also good for English learners.
1 Targeted Passage [Lines 1–11]
This passage introduces the main theme of
the essay.
analyze visuals
Possible answer: The soldier looks grim and exhausted. This look is conveyed by the soldier’s
unsmiling expression, partly open mouth, and
dull, lifeless eyes.
Lines 12–21
discussion prompts
Use these prompts to help students trace
Steinbeck’s point that people respond physically to moments of great stress:
Connect Have you ever felt a physical
response to an emotional situation? In what
ways does that experience help you understand Steinbeck’s description of combat?
Accept all thoughtful responses.
Analyze How does Steinbeck use verbs
to reinforce the ideas he presents? Give
examples. Possible answer: Steinbeck
chooses strong verbs to convey the feeling
of the body being assaulted in various ways.
For example, he talks about food that is
“wolfed” (line 15), “beaten” nerve ends (line
20), eardrums “tortured by blast” (line 21),
and eyes that “ache from the constant
hammering” (line 21).
Synthesize In what ways does Steinbeck’s
description of combat’s effects on the
human body expand the reader’s understanding of the selection? Possible answer:
Steinbeck’s detailed description helps readers
physically experience the vivid ways in which
combat affects the senses and damages
the body.
MFL_L11PE-u06s21-sbSoldiers.indd 1117
• What does Steinbeck observe about
ex-soldiers?
• Why does this observation surprise him?
• What is the “reasonable explanation” that
Steinbeck has found?
1/18/08 11:31:19 AM
for english learners
Key Academic Vocabulary Use Definition
Mapping to teach this word: stress (line 19).
BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT—Transparency
Definition Mapping p. E6
Prereading For prereading instruction for
English learners, see
BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT
Scaffolding Reading Instruction pp. 43–46
for advanced learners/ap
AP exercises in the bottom channel provide
additional challenge for students. Use these
suggestions for small groups or individuals.
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
For more help with differentiation and tips for
classroom management, see
BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT
Differentiated Instruction pp. 31–38
why soldiers won’t talk
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L I T E R A R Y A N A LY S I S
b
;86I
tone and imagery
Possible answer: Steinbeck uses sensory
;86I
details to describe skin (lines 22–23), 7RITING
stomach pain (lines 23–24), and vision
(lines 24–25). The scene reveals that soldiers
under constant fire experience various
sensory distortions and feel somewhat
removed from reality.
30
40
If students need help . . . Work with them
to complete a Sensory Notes organizer
about lines 22–30, pointing out specific
descriptive details that appeal to each
sense.
BEST PRACTICES TOOLKIT—Transparency
Sensory Notes p. B9
50
c
grammar and style
Establish Voice Point out that word choice
is a key component in a writer’s distinct
voice. Review that sensory verbs evoke
sensory reactions while describing actions.
Steinbeck uses many sensory adjectives
and verbs in this essay because he wants
the reader to imagine and feel what soldiers feel. Ask students to find other such
adjectives and verbs in the essay, such as
thick (line 22), salty (line 23), blurred (line
25), floaty (line 26), beaten (line 31), and
deadened (line 43).
60
you walk, your feet hardly seem to touch the ground and there is a floaty feeling
all over your body. Even the time sense seems to be changed. Men who are really
moving at a normal pace seem to take forever to pass a given point. And when you
move it seems to you that you are very much slowed down, although actually you
are probably moving more quickly than you normally do. b
Under the blast your eyeballs are so beaten that the earth and the air seem to
shudder. At first your ears hurt, but then they become dull and all your other
senses become dull, too. There are exceptions, of course. Some men cannot protect
themselves this way and they break, and they are probably the ones we call shellshock cases.4
In the dullness all kinds of emphases change. Even the instinct for self-preservation
is dulled so that a man may do things which are called heroic when actually his whole
fabric of reaction is changed. The whole world becomes unreal. You laugh at things
which are not ordinarily funny and you become enraged at trifles. During this time
a kind man is capable of great cruelties and a timid man of great bravery, and nearly
all men have resistance to stresses beyond their ordinary ability.
Then sleep can come without warning and like a drug. Gradually your whole body
seems to be packed in cotton. All the main nerve trunks are deadened, and out of
the battered cortex5 curious dreamlike thoughts emerge. It is at this time that many
men see visions. The eyes fasten on a cloud and the tired brain makes a face of it, or
an angel or a demon. And out of the hammered brain strange memories are jolted
loose, scenes and words and people forgotten, but stored in the back of the brain.
These may not be important things, but they come back with startling clarity into the
awareness that is turning away from reality. And these memories are almost visions. c
And then it is over. You can’t hear, but there is a rushing sound in your ears. And
you want sleep more than anything, but when you do sleep you are dream-ridden,
your mind is uneasy and crowded with figures. The anesthesia your body has given
you to protect you is beginning to wear off, and, as with most anesthesia, it is a
little painful.
And when you wake up and think back to the things that happened they are
already becoming dreamlike. Then it is not unusual that you are frightened and ill.
You try to remember what it was like, and you can’t quite manage it. The outlines
in your memory are vague. The next day the memory slips farther, until very little
is left at all. A woman is said to feel the same way when she tries to remember what
childbirth was like. And fever leaves this same kind of vagueness on the mind.
Perhaps all experience which is beyond bearing is that way. The system provides the
shield and then removes the memory, so that a woman can have another child and
a man can go into combat again. d
It slips away so fast. Unless you made notes on the spot you could not remember
how you felt or the way things looked. Men in prolonged battle are not normal men.
And when afterward they seem to be reticent—perhaps they don’t remember
very well. �
b TONE AND IMAGERY
Reread lines 22–30, and
note Steinbeck’s use of
sensory detail. What
does this scene reveal
about the soldier’s
mental state?
c
2
GRAMMAR AND
STYLE Reread lines
42–47. Notice how
Steinbeck establishes
his voice partly by
using descriptions
that contain realistic
sensory adjectives and
verbs, such as battered,
hammered, and jolted.
Targeted Passage
d ADJUST READING
STRATEGIES
Reread lines 55–63.
What analogies does
Steinbeck use to convey
the main idea of this
paragraph? What
insight into experience
does this suggest?
4. shell-shock cases: soldiers with a psychological disturbance as a result of prolonged exposure to active
warfare.
5. cortex: part of the brain that plays an active role in consciousness.
R E A D I N G STR ATEG Y
d
adjust reading
strategies
Possible answer: Steinbeck uses the analogies of a woman experiencing the pain
of childbirth and a person with a fever to
convey the main idea of the paragraph:
the body protects itself against an “experience which is beyond bearing” (line 61) by
clouding and then removing the memory
of it. Steinbeck’s analogies suggest he may
have had some firsthand experience with
extremely painful situations.
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unit 6: contempor ary liter ature
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unit 6: contemporary literature
differentiated instruction
FL_L11PE-u06s21-sbSoldiers.indd 1118
for less–proficient readers
2 Targeted Passage [Lines 42–63]
This passage describes the body’s mechanism
for self-protection.
• According to Steinbeck, how does the
body’s “anesthesia” protect the soldier
against the stresses of combat?
1/18/08 11:31:22 AM
for english learners
Vocabulary: Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
[mixed-readiness groups] Share or elicit the
meaning of these expressions, and then help
students use them in original sentences:
• slowed down (line 29), “decreased in speed”
• fasten on (line 45), “become drawn to”
• What happens after this anesthesia
wears off?
• wear off (line 53), “lessen in effect”
• How is the soldier’s experience like that of
a woman in childbirth?
• slips away (line 64), “fades, diminishes”
• think back to (line 55), “remember, recall”