PLATO ANSWER
Both O’Brien’s “Ambush” and Steinbeck’s “Symptoms” discuss the aftereffects of war on soldiers. However, the authors have different points of view. O’Brien’s tone toward soldiers and victims of war is sympathetic. The aftereffects of war include guilt, flashbacks, and denial. The following lines from O’Brien’s essay portray the feeling of guilt the author experiences after the war:
Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't. In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then, when I'm reading a newspaper or just sitting alone in a room, I'll look up and see the young man coming out of the morning fog. I'll watch him walk toward me, his shoulders slightly stooped, his head cocked to the side, and he'll pass within a few yards of me and suddenly smile at some secret thought and then continue up the trail to where it bends back into the fog.
On the other hand, Steinbeck discusses war and its effect on soldiers in an almost scientific way. He believes that a soldier becomes reticent and does not like to remember the events of war because the memories are traumatic. The following lines from Steinbeck’s “Symptoms” convey this feeling:
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. . . .
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.
While both writers have different perspectives, it seems as though O’Brien experiences trauma when he thinks about war and so he doesn’t want to think about it, which is what Steinbeck has written about. O’Brien writes, “I want to tell her exactly what happened, or what I remember happening,” as though he cannot remember what he had undergone because he doesn’t want to remember, as is evident from his admitting that “In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it. . . ."
