John Steinbeck, why soldiers won't talk.

"Why soldiers won't talk:"

John Steinbeck's imaginative essay on the psychological impact of war

One of the most interesting aspects of John Steinbeck's essay "Why Soldiers Won't Talk" is the way in which he subtly shifts from the first person to the second person in the essay. He begins the essay stating that he himself is not a soldier: "During the years between the last war and this one, I was always puzzled by the reticence of ex-soldiers about their experiences in battle" (Steinbeck 1). However, according to Steinbeck, gradually he has come to understand why soldiers struggle to articulate the horrors they have seen. Then, the essay makes a major shift from 'I' to 'you': "This is how you feel after a few days of constant firing. Your skin feels thick and insensitive. There is a salty taste in your mouth" (Steinbeck 1)....
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