Generals Die In Bed

“It mattered not one damn how brave you were. Technology had neatly eradicated the once profound difference between the hero and the coward.”

In the Introduction, Robert F. Nielson identifies one of the major reasons that old definitions of valor did not apply to soldiers of WWI: Developments in technology outstripped military strategy and tactics, leaving men vulnerable to weapons that could destroy them without regard to their personal courage or bravery.

“She is the last link between what I am leaving and the war. In a few minutes she will be gone. I am afraid now. I forget all my fine heroic phrases.”

The narrator has been caught up in the celebration and the mythical ideas of war following his enlistment. He imagines he will find fame and glory. Now, however, he suddenly understands that he is leaving everything and everyone behind and that he could die. As the novel progresses, his Disillusionment and Distrust of Leadership will deepen.

“The boys lie like sacks of potatoes in the red plush-covered seats.”

On the train from Montreal, the narrator observes his fellow recruits. Harrison foreshadows what the recruits will face in the war: Many of them will die, as motionless as a sack of potatoes, in pools of blood as red as the seats on the train.