Changing World

Analytical Essay:

Trauma can have serious effects on a person. People are place under high levels of stress, and this stress makes the experience difficult to handle. Often times if the stress is high enough, and can affect after the event had occurred, sometimes for long periods of time. And can change the person, and their perception. If a person is placed in a new environment the stress of trauma can make it difficult for them to readjust. After a traumatic experience, it can be difficult for a person to adjust to their world’s changing.

The novel, “The Yellow Birds” written by Kevin Powers, depicts a fictional character named John Bartle, who is  soldier fighting in the Iraq war. John experiences a lot of emotional trauma during the war, and has a difficult time readjusting to civilian life. When he returns to America, it is completely different for him. People in America have a different perception on the war than he has. At an airport bar, shortly after he returns to the U.S. Bartle is given a free drink by a Bartender.  

“ On me”. He smiled “It’s the least I can do.”

“Forget it. I want to pay.” I didn’t want to smile and say thanks. Didn’t want to pretend I’d done anything except survive.” (p.107)

The Bartender thinks that Bartel has done a great service to his country, but Bartle just feels guilty about it. This makes him feel alone in this new world, and shows how it is difficult for him to adjust to it.   

Fighting in a war is often very traumatic for soldiers. The stress of risking one's life, ending others, and witnessing death can weigh heavily on a person. The stress, anxiety and guilt are common emotions that soldiers experience under extreme circumstances. After returning from war, many soldiers experience a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is evident in “The Yellow Birds” that Bartle is suffering from PTSD because he is emotionally damaged after returning from the war. This condition is a mental health issue in which the person feels the anxiety and stress of war long after combat when they aren’t in any real danger. The stress of a traumatic experience stays with the person long after it occurred. This changes them, and thus changes the world around them in their perspective.

Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs long after a traumatic event, or series of events has occurred. It harmfully affects the mental state of the person. In “ The Yellow Birds” Bartle had PTSD. He closes himself off from other people, and spends most his time isolated in his home. He wallows in his unhappiness, and does little physical activity. “ I had deteriorated more than one might expect in the short time I’d been home.” (p.131) Both his mental and his physical state are being harmed by PTSD. He is not adjusting well to his new world because it is difficult to do so.

Dealing with PTSD cans be difficult, and sometimes people with them can fall into depression. Bartle gets depressed in “The Yellow Birds”. He is depressed for a long time, and eventually it just becomes a way of life for him. He has adjusted to his new world, but in the wrong way. He has given up on trying to make things better, by accepting that they will be bad, and just living with it. “ There were times I’d been pleased with my ability to give up, to forget, to wait” (p.181) He is using this method to deal with his changing world.

The author of the Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers is an Iraq war veteran. “The Yellow Birds” is fictional novel about a fictional group of soldiers, and is not directly based on Powers’s war experience, the author did have knowledge of what it is like to fight in the Iraq war, which were incorporated into the book. Powers experienced many of the post war emotions that Bartle experience. Bartle’s inability to accept that he has a problem and give up was experienced by Powers as well. In an interview he stated “It's always easier, in the short term, to pretend like nothing's wrong.” But in the long term, this is an unhealthy way of dealing with PTSD. Kevin Powers’s war experience allowed him to accurately describe the post war emotions of soldiers in his novel.

The same world can be different to different people if it is seen with a fresh perspective. If something happened in that person’s life before returning to this old world, their view on life may be different. Trauma can sometimes cause this. In war, soldiers returning home often have to adjust to seeing their old world through a new perspective, effectively making it new world for them. Thus can be challenging to handle, as shown in Kevin Powers’s “ The Yellow birds”. The stress of trauma makes it more difficult to readjust to a changing world.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

Powers, Kevin. The Yellow Birds: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown, 2012. Print.

Powers, Kevin. "KEVIN POWERS, IN AND OUT OF CONFLICT." Interview by Alice Whitwham. DKNY n.d.: n. pag. Print.

Narrative Essay:

After going through something stressful or nerve racking, a place where someone used to feel comfortable can make a person feel tense and on edge. This can happen after something bad happens there, and the person fears that it will happen again. This happened to me when I walking in the woods. When I was thirteen, I spent a lot of time walking in the woods alone. It was a place to escape from the world and relax. But one day, that relaxed atmosphere changed. I encountered a dangerous situation in the woods, which after the event had occurred had made me anxious. This turned my relaxing retreat into a danger zone. My traumatic event changing my world in the woods.

When I was thirteen, I spent a lot of time wandering the woods alone. I did it because I enjoyed the outdoors, and it was relaxing. I could let my mind wander, and escape the daily stresses of being a teenager. But on a cold snowy day in january, this relaxing place became dangerous. I encountered a pair of aggressive stray dogs, which although not very traumatising, left me a bit shaken, and nervous about returning to this place.

There was maybe three inches of snow on the ground on that cold winter day. Despite the relatively light snowfall, school had been canceled for the day. Since there wasn’t enough snow to sled in, I decided to spend my afternoon hiking in the woods. It may have been cold and miserable outside, but I wanted to take advantage of the emptiness and the amazing view of the snow on the forest floor and trees. This tranquil hike would actually prove to be stressful and nerve racking.

With my jacket and boots on, and a granola bar in my pocket, I set out for a particularly scenic trail, high up on a steep hillside overlooking the creek. The hike was relaxing until I saw that my path was blocked by two huskies, standing there looking at me. Huskies are actually one of my favorite dogs, they are normally loving and friendly. I expecting hem to start wagging their tails and come over to me but they just stood there and stared meaningfully. The larger one started to bark and growl. I knew that they were not going to be friendly. Now nervous, I anxiously waited for their owner to arrive, but they never did. I was alone in a snowy forest, with two large feral dogs, and they were angry.

I decided to turn around and walk away, to avoid confrontation. I dogs followed. I gradually quickened my pace, and then broke in run. This was a foolish mistake, the dogs began to run, and soon caught up with me. One barked loudly and barred it’s teeth, with no other options, I just yelled at it. It stepped back, but did not leave. The two dogs kept pursuing me for about a mile, catching up to me, trying to bite and then backing down. I remained unhurt, but they were waiting for their chance to sink their teeth into me.

Eventually I made it to a parking lot where a group of cross country skiers were hanging out. The dogs were nervous about this large number of people and watched us from behind the trees. Feeling safe at last, I quickly walked home. I didn’t want to go back to the woods for fear that the dogs would still be their. I was clearly encroaching on their territory, and I feared being met with the same retaliation if I did it again. I eventually did go back, but I was always looking over my shoulder, fearing that the dogs would find me. The calm, relaxing forest was no seemed dangerous. My mind didn’t wander as easily, because so much as the snap of a twig would make me anxious.

Eventually I adjusted to this new world. I did some research on dog attacks, and I started carrying branches and even a knife in my pocket with me on hikes for defense. Eventually when spring came, more pedestrians also began hiking in the woods again, so I assumed that the dogs good scared and left, or that someone reported them to animal control or something. My world was safe again, but not just because the problem was eliminated. I no longer feared any animal, because I knew that I could handle it. Learning to cope with the situation allowed me to adjust to world that had changed after a dangerous experience.

When the dangerous situation occurred, I realized that stray dog attacks were a legitimate danger of the local woods. Upon realizing this, something that I never even thought about became a fear of mine. This brought fear into this world of mine, and that changed it. I had difficulty adjusting to this fear. The only way to adjust to this new risk that had presented itself was to stop fearing it. I did this by preparing myself, and having confidence in the fact that I could overcome it. By not fearing the recurrence trauma, one can adjust to a new world that changed by it.