think about blaming himself for anything. The guilt that they all felt altered the way they.
acted. Azar wouldn't have ever laughed at someone's death normally, but the guilt of the.
situation that he felt altered his actions. And these kind of strange reactions to normally.
tragic or tense situations are a way to ease the feeling of guilt, therefore creating a way for.
them to cope with death.
Anxiety about death follows the men everywhere they go and they have many.
ways to disguise their fear, and many ways to defend against it. The men were ready for.
everything in the war: they had their radio to call in help, their guns to defend against.
enemies, and their pride and dignity to disguise fear. Disguising fear is very hard because.
it is such a strong emotion. Great fear is impossible to hide as evident by the actions of.
the men when they were involved in the intense fights, they would say , ". Dear Jesus,.
and flop around on the earth and fire their weapons blindly, and cringe and sob and beg.
for the noise to stop." (pg.12)When it was all over, they would get up, dust themselves.
off, and try to smile and show their dignity and strength. Their strength in these situations.
was lost for the time, but because of the anxiety they wanted to change their actual.
behavior to appear unafraid and ready for more. This type of action was done all the time.
by the men, they weren't being cruel, they were just hiding their fears, O"Brien says, ".
They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it."(pg.45) This.
change in their behavior is a disguise of fear, but it is also a defense against it. The men.
had many defenses against fear including joking, being cruel, carrying guns, and killing.
other people. The men were most likely not cruel individuals, but to defend against fear.
they had to remove compassion for people, actions, and themselves. In order to handle the.
war, the men had to ease the anxiety of death, they had to feature certain actions to do.