Q2: Self and the Changing World

Analytical Essay:

Unfortunately  we as humans are forced to adapt to change in order to continue living. In The Yellow Birds, Bartle serves as a machine gunner in Iraq with his friend Murch while keeping a promise to his best friends Mother. Promising to bring Murph home and to keep him safe. Bartle’s responsibilities are now altered for now he must take care of two people instead of one; himself and Murph. With a new weight on him shoulders, Bartle is hit with another level of anxiety and stress. Everyday life is always at a constant state of change. We as humans have no choice but to adapt to this change especially if it changes for the worse. As a result of choosing to adapt to change, humans live a melancholic lifestyle as a part of them still living in the past.

In order to accept change, the person needs to accept the future leave the past behind. However it is not always the easiest thing for a person to comprehend. “I didnt want to believe that I was watching the actions of someone who was already dead, so I searched for evidence that would contradict this; I searched for some grasp, at least, at life.” (p.159) Bartle doesn’t want to believe that Murph was gone. Even when Bartle went to go talk to his sergeant, the Sergeant basically shut him down and told him to give up on Murph.

A quote of Kevin Powers is “As human beings, we have the blessing and the curse that we're able to adapt to almost anything. No matter how extreme the circumstances you're in, they become normal.” How quickly one can adapt to any type of situation is a skill most if not all soldiers require while serving. Powers is trying to get across that all soldiers are faced with physical and mental pain and they have no choice but to adapt to the melancholy environment.