We are Craiglockhart's success stories. Look at us. We don't remember, we don't feel, we don't think - at least beyond the confines of what's needed to do the job. By any proper civilized standard (but what does that mean now?) we are objects of horror. But our nerves are completely steady. And we are still alive.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the resilience of individuals who endure trauma, highlighting a struggle for normalcy amidst horror.
In this quote, Pat Barker portrays the psychological toll of war on soldiers, emphasizing the disconnection they experience from their own emotions and thoughts. Despite facing horrific circumstances and being deemed 'objects of horror' by civilized standards, they maintain a sense of steadiness and survival, underlining the extraordinary courage required to endure such experiences.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the psychological effects of war on soldiers.
Sometimes, in the trenches, you get the sense of something, ancient. One trench we held, it had skulls in the side, embedded, like mushrooms. It was actually easier to believe they were men from Marlborough's army, than to think they'd been alive a year ago. It was as if all the other wars had distilled themselves into this war, and that made it something you almost can't challenge. It's like a very deep voice, saying; 'Run along, little man, be glad you've survived
A warrior takes his lot, whatever it may be, and accepts it in ultimate humbleness. He accepts in humbleness what he is, not as a grounds for regret but as a living challenge.
I was made, by the law, a criminal, not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of what I thought, because of my conscience... If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.
When you are thinking about going away for a long duration mission, it has to be part of your mindset that you're leaving your family, but it's for the right reasons, for good reasons, and hopefully helping humanity.
I've got the guts to die. What I want to know is, have you got the guts to live?
Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life. We shouldn't be a part of it.
Fidelity to the law of your own being is an act of high courage flung in the face of life.
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