In chapter one we see how war impacts a whole family. Bernard O'Hare, is one of Billy's friends from the war, and while the two were talking about old memories Bernard's wife accuses Billy of how she thinks he will write his story. She said to Billy, " 'You'll pretend you were men instead of babies... And war will look just wonderful, so we'll have a lot more' "(Vonnegut 14).
This shows how a wife, or any other family member could change their opinion on war, or worsen their opinion on war after a family member returns after years of service. Also, Mary Bernard is a mother of very young children, and is very protective of them. When Mary accused Billy of writing the story in an encouraging way, it was her way of trying to prevent the promotion of war, and her way of protecting her babies and every other baby. Clearly the effects of war extend beyond the person who fought in that war.
Absolutely, the effects of war definitely continue their path subsequent of war. The interesting bit is that Vonnegut truly did keep his promise to her in sub-naming the book 'The Children's Crusade,' and the writing style he uses throughout the novel reflects 'baby' soldiers versus 'men'. One large example is Billy; an optometrist, whom repeatedly is thought of as a weak liability. "'You shouldn't even /be/ in the army,' said Weary" (51).
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