Gonzalez 1

Barbara Gonzalez
Professor Malvin
English 114A
October 24, 2015
When In a War
This image was taken from the film The Bridge, directed by Bernhard Wicki. The film
The Bridge is to inform people about the harsh realities of being in a war. The creator of this
image communicates a smell so strong that it burns the eyes and numbs the face, you hear
deafening explosives and screeching cries of pain, and with a combination of fear and
hopelessness the body becomes paralyzed, feeling nothing and unable to move when it should.
This is to give the audience an idea of what the soldiers had to confront and the challenges they
obtain in and throughout a war, as well as the support they provided for each other. Throughout
all the fearful events, and behind the cries of desperation you find great bravery and support
among these men which give you an emotional grab that makes you want to have that personal
connection with someone. The meaning and significance of this image was to communicate to
the citizens that were oblivious to war the risks of going to war and the traumatizing events that
occur by using ethos, pathos and logos with the details in the image and its background.
On the battle field, any other scent of nature has been washed out leaving the war zone
with the overwhelming stench of blood and gun powder. The surroundings filled with the smell
of rotting corps left with a hopeless war cry on their faces. Now they are left with only the
distinct tinge of piney ever green scent. Any memories they might have held on to, like the smell

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of a rose garden or the smell of coffee in the morning and even the smell of freshly lit scented
candles at night were being pushed out of their minds by the traumatic events. The credibility of
this film is shown in this image is the details which give a clear perspective of what war was like
in that time era. The director of the film strongly communicates the uselessness and
destructiveness of war. The clothing attire of the soldiers shown in the image is proper to the
time era that the film depicts and the war trenches were still being used. There is clear evidence
provided in the image of the background of the film.
The young soldier cries out in agony of not being able to escape the harsh reality. While
being under fire the other soldier tries not to panic and as he makes a brave move and does his
best to talk his partner out of the state of shock he was in. Unfortunately he cannot even hear his
own thoughts through the piercing sound of the canons. Every passing second the event becomes
more real and his nightmare is more alive than he wants to be. Fatal explosives never once failed
to send a deafening pulse through the soldiers ears. The cries of pain that burst into the air are
just as painful to hear, as the bullets they felt while they pieced through their bodies. The young
boys face cries with desperation that a bullet may hit him next. The most favored and praised
sport in the United States is American football, many players describe this sport as a war. There
are many metaphors of war such as, It was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe in the
ever-shifting change of players on the field. The author of image makes it clear that war is not
game at all.
He hoped for any kind of escape from this conscious nightmare, anything that could
possibly take him back to the life he once knew. Just a few minutes ago, he and the rest of the
soldiers were relaxing on the grass chomping on rich gooey plugs of chewing tobacco or by
smoking delicate pipe tobaccos, just before the battle. Now as most of the soldiers are dead, the

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young boys face cries with desperation that a bullet may hit him next. There is no way he and
his partner could relax now, the audience may see fear turned into bravery, the soldiers only feel
fear and hopelessness. They express pain to be everywhere. As the young boy cries out fear, his
partner beside him holds onto his injured leg embracing the cold early morning, pushing aside
the pain and concentrates on communicating with his partner. Not only is there a great feeling of
hopelessness, fear, pain and sorrow, but there are also mixed emotions. By the look of the young
soldiers face, there is also a lot of regret and confusion. The last thing they want to think about is
any pain. They just need to survive even though everything feels like its slowly coming to an end
for each other. The feel pain mentally and physically. The emotional appeal in this image gives
the viewer feelings against war and sorrow for the young soldiers.
Personally this image makes me feel that war is a horrible and scary thing. Not only does
it make me feel something but it also communicates the feelings of those in the picture. They
could barely see anything due to the dirt flying everywhere and the tears in their eyes. The stench
of blood, rotting bodies and gun powder stung their eyes blinding them from their surroundings.
The young boy paralyzed in fear, with no-where to go and no-where to hide, he just urinates
himself as he cries defenseless. With deafened ears and blinded sights the other soldier tries
talking to the young soldier and trying to make the child focus, its no use. Its all too much for
both of them. The only things that may have been quiet visible were dead bodies and bullets
frying everywhere then hitting the ground as dirt flew everywhere. Other than that there wasnt
much to see, not even a future was visible for them. While the audience may see bravery in them,
all they can imagine is their end nearing them with each passing bullet, and each falling soldier.
It would be much better if there was no hate in the world and the human race had nothing but
peace and love, but the truth is that war exists, hate exists and tragedies happen. War damages the

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economy creating many problems for all the citizens. This film is not only historical and
informative but also biased against war. However by only looking at this image, although the
horror is clear, people see past that and see the bravery and the connection between the young
soldiers.
They started off with courage, and confidence, maybe even a bit too relaxed. Their hope
faded away and was no longer something they can hold on to, as soon as the battle took over. It
was all too much for them. It all happened way too fast and before they knew it, everything
turned to fear leaving them with no hope. Their sight was not reliable because of the dirt and
rocks that were flying all around them. Their hearing was taken from them by the deafening
sounds of war, as well as their bodys self-control by leaving them paralyzed due to the traumatic
things they had seen of soldiers falling dead all around them. War is not a metaphor, it is
something to be taken serious and it is incomparable to anything else. The feelings expressed
were pain and confusion. The image moved me by the details that were depicted throughout its
surroundings. This image shows great evidence of credibility, it gives the audience an emotional
grab and it not only informative of what war may look like upon two soldiers, but it also
persuades people of the damage it causes and how there is no good outcome of war. Not only
does war damage and destroy to our land and nations economy but also the soldiers lives and
the trauma in their heads. This image is direct, and was meant to show the reality of the war and
the traumatic events the soldiers experienced as well as how they responded in support for each
other.

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Works Cited
Kathy. "Children-at-War Films." ChildrenatWar Films List Listal RSS. n.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct.
2015.
Casnig, John D. A Language of Metaphors. Kingston, Ontario, Canada Knowgramming.com
1997-2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2015

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Evaluation Letter:
Dear Professor Malvin:
I hope youre doing well. I would first like to thank you for being my professor this year
as a freshman at CSUN. I have learned quite a lot in this class. The essay we are currently
working on is actually new to me. I had not experienced writing an analytic essay upon a random
image found from the internet. Also I had not used ethos, pathos and logos in an essay either. I
learned a bunch from this experience and although I dont feel very confident about this essay I
hope to get better and have a better understanding of logos, pathos, and ethos. I found myself
getting too deep into the sensory details of the image and I got lost in implying logos ethos and
pathos. Going to the LRC and working with a representative from there was great help for me. I
noticed myself drawing away from the prompt you had provided and the LRC rep help me
realize the mistakes I was making and I was able to get back on track and input what I was
missing in my essay.