This Way For The Gas Ladies And Gentlemen Analysis

6 November 2013

The two stories that I am comparing and contrasting are “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien. Also, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” by Borowski, Both stories contains vivid imagery of happenings during the German and Vietnam War. Also the two stories both share a similar theme which is war, yet there faced with two different obstacles during the war. The United States and Poland both suffered hardships watching their countries being torn apart and innocent lives taken. For a reason that no one has the answer too, but will always remember those moments. I picked these novels because just by reading the title I know that each novel is about a War that had a dramatic impact on the world. So the two
He constantly examples the horrors of the German War, but it doesn’t stop there. In the novel “How to Tell a True War story” the narrator also explains what he saw during his trip. After the narrators description of the situation “War is Hell” based on what happened to Curt Lemon. After he stepped on a booby trap and it blew him into a tree “The parts were just hanging there, so Dave Jensen and I were ordered to shinny up and peel him off” (527). He also remembers “the white bone of an arm” also “pieces of skin and something wet and yellow that must’ve been the intestines” (O’Brien 527). The novels have a generous amount of gore in the description of what happened around both main characters. While the Frenchman worked for the enemy against captive slaves of the German empire. Not caring what happened to the poor innocent people that were confused and horrified. They were just out to fend for their selves not considering what was the right thing to do. The soldiers were just having a good time and it ended in disaster. It caused one soldier to go over the edge the soldiers name was Rat Kiley. Curt Lemon was this best friend he took his frustration out on a poor helpless baby water buffalo. He inflicted
The theme is death O’Brien’s novel “How to Tell a True War Story” all of the men witness it and fear it. They started off with a lot of men, but dwindled down to several people including the narrator. Comrades they have shared stories with and watched each other’s back. Even become brothers they could confidant in, but this is War. The novel “This way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” the narrator and the Frenchmen Henri were acquaintances. When they work for the German soldiers they constantly lead people to their deaths. Or carry out people that perished during the struggle. Old women or men and children didn’t have a chance during the separation because they were no use to the soldiers. Basically, if the people weren’t young or fit enough to work until the day that the soldiers eliminated them; you went to the trucks or to the crematorium. The novels are about war so of course death is going to follow; the holocaust was the most devastating time in history. For Poland even though it wasn’t in the United States it still impacted us dramatically. And the Vietnam War that still has people wondering what the whole purpose was. Throughout the course of the story “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” the narrator mention a S.S officer he saw that was taking tally in a notebook. He said, “For each departing truck he enters a mark; sixteen gone means one thousand people, more or less”