Another situation where it demonstrates a surreal amount of terror was when Robert had been sexually assaulted. Robert had been walking to his cell to get changed, when he was suddenly locked inside of his cell. Robert stood around with the lone item of clothing being worn was a towel. He knew he was being surrounded but didn’t have the slightest clue of the position he was going to be put in. He tried to protect himself but he was outnumbered and began to get thrown around like a little rag doll. When the assailants began to assault him in ways that were quite perverted, Robert then reacted out in terror and fear. This terror and fear forced him to react in any way possible. Robert began to fight back against his assailants in a display of implausible violence, but was outnumbered. While he was being raped, he still put up a struggle by attempting to bite the man underneath him. This reaction resulted from the terror that had overcome Robert’s mindset. The fact that he made attempt to fight back was incredible, due to the amount that of fear and terror that besieged him.
Bravery is a reaction of the body which occurs when either dealing with fear or an occurrence that is risking harm to any sort. This could involve reacting in a way that is so heroic that if it was under normal circumstances, the likelihood that this could happen would be slim to none. During the span of “The Wars”, there were various occurrences where Robert would demonstrate a great deal of bravery. One of these incidents was when the gas was creeping down the hillside towards Robert and his fellow men. The soldiers that were with Robert, had not been issued gas masks which meant that simply one gas mask was among the group, that being Roberts. These men, seeing as they thought they were all going to die anyways, began to fight for the lone gas mask, which was in the possession of Robert. He told them all to back off or he’d shoot, than told them to urinate on a piece of cloth and to stick it over the face. This was an expression of bravery, because this decision was one that was made when fear and terror were seen in the eyes of them all. Though these men were rather opposed, seeing that they had no other choice, they listened to Robert. This expression of bravery which Robert seized ended up being heroic in the end and saving the precious lives of most of the men.
Another example of when bravery occurs while dealing with fear is when Rodwell was making an attempt, to stop the animal torture that had been occurring while he was “down the line”. Rodwell was assigned to a company which also contained madmen. Rodwell arrived here to be introduced to his worst nightmare. He observed them torturing the well-beings of many animals. “When Rodwell arrived, he found them slaughtering rats and mice – burning them alive in their cooking fires.” (Findley, Pg. 150) The men, seeing that this disturbed Rodwell, forced him into watching the slaughter of a cat. This resulted in the demise of Rodwell. During this horrifying circumstance, Rodwell acted out in bravery and tried to put an end to this horror. This bravery was acted upon because Rodwell feared for the animals. The actuality that he made attempt was due to the bravery which he enacted, which was due to the amount that of fear and terror that besieged him. Any individual who displays bravery in a situation is sure to result from a sense of fear.
As you have observed, terror, bravery and fear are all normal reactions that appear in a circumstance. These circumstances however, are very negative. The incident where Teddy Bulke was going to kill the rabbit was in the worst of circumstances. The incident where Robert was being raped was in the worst of circumstances. Last but not least, the incident when Robert yelled at the men to pee on their cloths and put it over their face was in the worst of circumstances. These were all in the worst of circumstances, which in conclusion, bravery and courage were displayed in magnificent fashion.
