Harrison's novel "Generals Die in Bed" is narrated by an anonymous soldier stationed in the infamous trenches of World War I. The Soldier recounts the slaughterhouse of war with gruesomeness and uncompromising description. Throughout the text, there are some examples of heroism and bloodiness, such as the protagonists' acts of bravery during a night raid and the men's heroic efforts to endure and maintain their humanity in the intolerable circumstances in which they were placed. However, the theme resonating throughout the novel is that war is a place of horror and death not glory, this is first described in contrast between the feeling of men in the first chapter of the book which dissipates quickly into “insane fear” after the first bombing and then by the feeling of the men that it is the lice and the officers who are the real enemies and not their German adversaries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Perhaps the most obvious example of heroism in the text is when the soldier leads a night raid into enemy lines. During the raid, the narrator confronts a German and stabs him in the ribs, with the bayonet at the end of his rifle. The narrator tries to remove his blade but finds that it is stuck, so he runs into the enemy trench, unable to bear the sight of the wound he has created. Realizing that he is defenseless, he finds enough courage to return and retrieve his rifle. After the event, the protagonist proudly declares that he was "tested and found wanting." This statement clearly demonstrates the value the narrator places on heroism and glory and shows that there is a small place for glory in war. The bravery of men in their heroic struggle to endure, maintain their humanity, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life is both admirable and heroic. In the horrible conditions they were placed in, it was not uncommon for men to go crazy and give up. In such conditions, Renaud, a young French recruit who experiences stomach pain, struggles to continue walking and the soldiers refuse to give up while trying to reach the summit during the last battle he fights are feats of remarkable heroism. Heroism is also demonstrated by men in their struggle to maintain their basic humanity by performing futile tasks like killing lice even though they know they will return to maintain a certain level of hygiene, their ability to enjoy the pleasant smell of beans in flower and in general. the pleasure they find in the little comforts of life like clean sheets and good wine. However, these glimpses of heroism are few and far between, and most of the novel is dominated by the brutality, death, and discomfort caused by war. The lack of glory and heroism that dominates "Generals Die in Bed" is brought out by the contrast in the attitudes of the men. in the first chapter of the novel to the one after suffering their first bombardment. The novel opens by describing the barracks of new recruits singing "with mocking pathos, I don't want to die." The novel then abruptly shifts to the men's first experience in the trenches in which the protagonist stands in front of his Lewis rifle and imagines an action which, he declares, makes him "delighted". This attitude of war as a place of glory and heroism full of joviality quickly dissipates after the men undergo a bombardment which makes them "borrow in the earth like frightened rats", liquefies their bowls and makes them experience "fear?