Charles Yale Harrison was a soldier in WWI and his book Generals Die in Bed is a reflection of his war experience. He dedicated his book to the Canadian, Australian and German soldier that died in the woods near Amiens in 1918. It is hard to know exactly why Harrison wrote the book just as no one knows for sure why Leonardo Da Vinci painted the famous Mona Lisa. But certain reasons can be speculated that fit well with Harrison’s writing. Harrison hated war and realized that soldiers are mere pawns in wars that do not even understand its purpose.
In the beginning, the narrator in Generals Die in Bed appears fascinated by the war as many other soldiers did. They all believed in notions of glory and patriotism. But when they actually went to the battlefield he watched his men die. He couldn’t figure out a reason for why his companions had to die, he became critical of the war. He started to see the bigger picture that war was just a means to further the agendas of war generals and politicians, whereas the soldiers are just pawns. They are used by the players of war, when they are lured into the bloody business with dreams of grandeur and persuaded that war is their obligatory duty to their country.
The most important revelation that changed Harrison’s mind was when he actually killed another soldier. He mentions it in his book when he stabbed a German soldier. This is the reality of war that the recruiters do not talk about, killing another human being. Also, the majority of soldiers fighting in the trenches were mere boys, young men that probably did not even fully understand the concept of war, other than defeating the ‘bad guys’. War generals and common people chant patriotic slogans encouraging young men to sign up for war. But no one mentions the loss of human life.
It seems that Harrison wanted to separate the romance and glamor wrongly associated with war. When the soldiers are fighting in the trenches for scraps to survive on, or when the rain is pouring down for days rotting the flesh and there is no shelter, there is no glory in all of that. People sitting back at home commenting, making judgments or chanting slogans can never understand what it feels like to be in an actual war. The narrator in the book does not reveal his identity. The audience only understands that it is an eighteen-year-old boy. It can be argued that it is Harrison himself narrating everything that he saw on at the battleground. He knows that people who romanticize war are making a fool out of soldiers.
In his dedication note in the beginning of the book, Harrison also includes the German soldiers that he fought against. He regrets killing the enemies as well. It is hard to understand how a soldier would not cherish his ‘victories’, perhaps this is why he wrote the book. In one section he graphically talks about the horrors of war. His battalion had recently destroyed a German bunker. He uses the “pulverized” (Harrison 71). Also in the following sentences he describes that when he reached the scene where they had launched bombs on the German front, there was nothing left but rags of bodies, limbs scattered everywhere. And suddenly he steps on something soft and he realizes that it was the open stomach of a German soldier (Harrison 71). The majority of soldiers would describe the same events in a glorious manner. But to Harrison, it is the harsh and sad memory of war.
Harrison feels guilty for killing the enemy. It is not to belittle patriotism with which his soldiers fought and lost lives, he feels guilty of being a part of the war. His book is not against a specific military regime, it is the human behavior of waging the war in the first place.
Harrison mentions a passionate and nurturing encounter with a prostitute, Gladys. This encounter gives an insight what war does to the psychology of a soldier. The traumas he faces on the battleground haunts him in his private life. He needs a sense of nurturing, care and protection. The narrator in the book gets spooked even at the sound of a motorcycle backfiring (Harrison 64). He meets the prostitute for one-time pleasure but finds peace and comfort in her arms. She cooks for him and takes care of him. This is something that the narrator had not experienced before. It is almost a healing process for him. This encounter represents normal human behavior that war snatched from the soldier. And a prostitute is caring for him, when the fact is that it is his right.
Harrison describes the war in a sarcastic manner. He shows the difference between the civilian perspective of war and the reality. The narrator is among the audience of a stage performance. Where about fifty girls wearing khaki uniforms are dancing to an upbeat tune of a war song, ‘it’s a lovely war’ (Harrison 61). The song talks about different patriotic things such as ham and eggs do not mean a thing when there are plums and jams, referring to the price of war. There is no doubt that it is dark sarcasm as the war has a much higher price than eating jam.
Also, the civilians are the ones who can perform on stage and sing songs about war when the soldiers risk their lives every day. They are the ones putting their lives on the line, in a ‘kill or be killed’ situation. They kill another soldier and they do not even fully understand the purpose of firing the bullet other than to follow the orders. The American and the Australian soldiers did not have any personal beef with the German soldiers, still, they butchered each other. Harrison’s purpose of writing the book could be to find the answer to war itself, what is the real purpose of wars? Maybe Harrison also wants to know the truth behind wars.
War changes the psychology of soldiers. They do not remain what they used to be. Even normal conversations and talks have a gloomy perspective for soldiers. In an occurrence the narrator in the book goes to a French town and becomes acquainted with an old man. They both talk and the French sniffs tobacco on the narrator’s clothes. Tobacco in those days was a luxury for the French. The government had a monopoly over the tobacco and the finest batch was sent to the French soldiers. The civilians used to smoke horrible black stuff which was quite expensive to find. The old man sees an opportunity to smoke quality tobacco. He stretches out his arm and his palm has the begging gesture. Under normal circumstances, it is a norm to share cigarettes with friends however, it is war. As Harrison points out “One is not generous in war” (Harrison 57). War brings out the worse in people. Maybe it is the scarcity that the narrator is concerned about or lack of trust on the Frenchman but this is not a normal behavior for him. This is a depiction of why war is cruel and should not be glamorized.
In conclusion, Harrison wrote the book because he wanted to share with the world the horrors of war, and not the glory. It is written from a fairly objective perspective in an attempt not make the usual ‘good guys vs. bad guys’ in war. This mentality only triggers patriotic sentiments and nationalism, which in many cases is the foundation of war. The author seeks to make the audience realize that war is not about glorifying, it is blood and death that the soldiers in the trenches face, not the poets and singers back at home.
Reference
Harrison, Charles Y. Generals Die in Bed. Toronto, New York, and Vancouver: Annick Press, 2014. Print.
