Harrison's novel "Generals Die in Bed" is narrated by an anonymous soldier stationed in the infamous trenches of World War I. The soldier tells of the slaughterhouse of war with horrific and uncompromising description. Throughout the text there are some examples of heroism and gore, such as the acts of courage of the protagonists in a night raid and the heroic effort of the men to endure and maintain their humanity in the intolerable circumstances in which they found themselves. However, the resonant theme throughout the novel is that war is a place of horror and death, not glory, this is first described in the contrast between the men's feelings in the first chapter of the book which quickly dissipates in one of "insane fear" after the first bombing and then by the men's feeling that the real enemies are the lice and the officers, not their German adversaries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Perhaps the most obvious example of heroism in the text is when the soldier leads a night raid into enemy lines. During the raid the narrator confronts a German and stabs him in the ribs, with the bayonet at the end of his rifle. The narrator attempts to withdraw his blade but finds that it is stuck, so he runs along the enemy trench unable to bear the sight of the wound he has created. Realizing that he is defenseless, he gathers enough courage to return and retrieve his rifle. After the event the protagonist proudly declares that he has "been tested and found wanting". This statement clearly demonstrates the value the narrator places on heroism and glory and shows that there is little place for glory in war. The courage of men in their heroic struggle to resist, maintain their humanity, and appreciate the small pleasures of life is both admirable and heroic. In the horrible conditions in which they were placed it was not uncommon for men to go mad and surrender. Under such conditions, Renaud, a young French recruit suffering from stomach pains, struggles to keep marching, and the soldiers' refusal to surrender when he tries to reach the ridge in the last battle he fights, are remarkable feats of heroism. Heroism is also displayed by men in their struggle to maintain their basic humanity by fulfilling trivial tasks such as killing lice even though they know they will return to maintain some hygiene, their ability to appreciate the pleasant smell of beans in flowering and generally the pleasure they find in the little comforts of life like clean sheets and a good wine. However these glimpses of heroism are few and most of the novel is dominated by the brutality, death and hardship caused by war. The lack of glory and heroism that dominates "Generals Die in Bed" is highlighted by the contrast in the men's attitudes. in the first chapter of the novel to the one following their first bombing. The novel opens by describing the barracks of the new recruits singing "with feigned pathos I don't want to die". The novel then abruptly jumps to the man's first experience in the trenches in which the protagonist stands before his Lewis gun and imagines an action that, he claims, makes him "feel exhilarated." This attitude of war as a place of glory and heroism filled with joviality is quickly dispelled after the men experience a bombardment that makes them "borrow in the earth like frightened mice", liquefies their bowls, and makes them feel a "crazy fear that keeps them cowering." The concept of glory in war is further dispelled by the horrific conditions that the men of World War I were in?