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Ptsd In Soldier's Heart By Gary Paulsen

578 Words3 Pages

A soldier’s heart is a past term used to describe someone with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), specifically given to someone who fought in the Civil War. Someone with a soldier’s heart experiences fear on a higher level. They may even find certain things that wouldn’t be scary to someone with a stable mind terrifying. Symptoms can be re-experiencing trauma, emotional numbness, and sheltering away from other people. After completing the book, “Soldier’s Heart,” by Gary Paulsen, I truly believe that Charley Goddard suffered from PTSD during and after fighting in the Civil War. Charley was only 15 when enlisted and had no idea what he was getting himself into. He was attracted to the high paying salary and the thought of being considered a man. Charley believed that the shooting war would be a fun adventure and the experience of a lifetime. It wasn’t …show more content…

The rebel horses reminded him of his home. Charley grew up with workhorses and had come to love them. This would be a happy, emotional moment for Charley and possibly give him a chance to jump back into reality if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to kill the horses himself and feed them to the sick soldiers. Charley was miserable going into a huge battle shortly after that. After killing the horses, Charley doesn’t seem to put any thought into what he does and usually finds himself places he doesn’t know in his mind. Lastly, certain things trigger Charley to remember things about the war, such as coffee on page 99. It says, “The army ad taught him to like coffee, live on coffee, and he still drank it even though it knotted his guts.” Also, his injuries from the war make him seem and feel older than he really his. Charley states that he knows that it won’t be long for him and her wouldn’t mind dying. He joined the army to be considered a man, which he got, mentally and

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This frightened him very much because he didn’t know where exactly he was supposed to shoot at. Also he didn't know where the people shooting at him were at. At one point Charley had to serve horse meat to his fellow soldiers because there were no cattle to slaughter for beef. Charley had to kill several horses that were meant to be used for war so the other soldiers could have some meat. Charley did not think that killing horses was something he would have to do when he joined the war.

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