Description
John Dos Passos’ Three Soldiers is another harrowing foray into the bleak and unforgiving stages of World War I. Based on the author’s own experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver stationed near Verdun, the novel splits his viewpoints into three distinct characters that are different, yet share the same burden -being men at war and the effects it had on them.Private Dan Fuselli is a former store clerk from San Francisco who is star-struck with the idea of being a Corporal, but hates the Medical Corps. One viewpoint is switched with the next, and we are seeing the Army through Chris Chrisfield’s eyes, a farmer from Indiana who is all too unprepared for the harsh rule of the American military.The last of the three soldiers is John Andrews, a Harvard graduate and aspiring composer and pianist turned infantry man. The three characters are vessels for Dos Passos, as they will encapsulate the overall dread that war does not show us in movies or TV. The psychological impact that war has on the human psyche is more center-stage than what you might expect from a war novel, as Don Passos carefully illustrates the vanishing of individualism and innocence. A presentation of war as it is seen behind the stage, in the trenches and inbetween the bullets. Three Soldiers is, for all intents and purposes, something akin to an anti-war novel. John Dos Passos returns with his signature satire writing as he criticizes society and illustrates the toll of the military on the mind. His satire does not overshadow the truth about war as the three soldiers will provide a backdrop that is all American and not specific. The men’s different upbringings guarantee a diverse and interesting read. Francis Scott Fitzgerald called Three Soldiers as being the first war book written by an American that is truly worthy of notice.
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