A generation thrown into war will never come out victorious. In the novel “Soldier’s Heart” the author Gary Paulsen expresses that there is no winning in war. The main character, Charley, is only 15 when he enlists in the army, wanting to be validated as a man. Instead, he faces unrecoverable wounds, both physical and mental. Both in people, places, and in culture, innocence is lost. This theme of destruction will shape how Charley and the readers view war. In “Soldier’s Heart” by Gary Paulsen, the first words are “War is always, in all ways, appalling”. Lives are stopped in youth, worlds are ended”. This immediately describes the overall message of the novel, ‘war will never be triumphant’. At the beginning of the book, Charley is enamored