In the way they
describe the conflicts, however, Junger and Homer differ greatly. This largely
reflects cultural differences in values. Junger describes the battlefield in an
extremely eerie manor. The way he portrays the events in Afghanistan shows that,
even though they continued to crack jokes and attempted to maintain a positive
environment, the United States soldiers were only there for the sake of their
country. They by no means wanted to be there, and they were not doing it for
their own person glory or kleos. If a
soldier dies, they are honored, however death on the battlefield is not
glorified the way it was in ancient Greek culture.
The way Homer presents the Trojan War in the Iliad differs from this. Dying a
glorious death on the battlefield was almost considered the norm. The ultimatum
that Achilles is given regarding his life is a perfect example of this. He has
the choice of either staying out of the Trojan War completely and living a
long, normal,” gloryless” life, or he could participate in the Trojan War and receive
his glorious kleos and end up dying. The
way that Junger describes the events in Afghanistan, it is fairly obvious that
if those troops did not have such a strong will to fight for their country and
they were given the same choice, they would choose to live a long life with
their families. They would not really have to ponder it at great lengths as
Achilles did. My point is not that the Greeks were selfish or that they were a
barbaric people obsessed with war, but rather that the value systems of the two
cultures, when it comes to war, differ in several respects. This is evident
through the overall tones of both Homer’s Iliad
and Junger’s Into a Valley of Death.
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