Examining Popular War Characters and their PTSD

                  In Slaughterhouse-Five, we’ve discussed extensively in class how Kurt Vonnegut chooses to portray war and war scenes. However, I would like to focus on his portrayal of Billy Pilgrim, and how he chooses to portray his PTSD. I think it’s interesting to compare the troubled characters from various well known movies that perhaps serve a similar purpose as Slaughterhouse-Five.

                  Before I get into specific characters, I found a very broad-scope list of PTSD’s symptoms from the Department of Veterans Affairs. They include:

1.     Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms)

·       You may have nightmares.

·       You may feel like you are going through the event again. This is called a flashback.

·       You may see, hear, or smell something that causes you to relive the event. This is called a trigger. News reports, seeing an accident, or hearing a car backfire are examples of triggers.

2.     Avoiding situations that remind you of the event

·       You may avoid crowds, because they feel dangerous.

·       You may avoid driving if you were in a car accident or if your military convoy was bombed.

·       If you were in an earthquake, you may avoid watching movies about earthquakes.

·       You may keep very busy or avoid seeking help because it keeps you from having to think or talk about the event.

3.     Negative changes in beliefs and feelings

·       You may not have positive or loving feelings toward other people and may stay away from relationships.

·       You may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them.

·       You may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted

4.     Feeling keyed up (also called hyperarousal)

You may be jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. You might suddenly become angry or irritable. This is known as hyperarousal. For example:

·       You may have a hard time sleeping.

·       You may have trouble concentrating.

·       You may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

·       You might want to have your back to a wall in a restaurant or waiting room.

So now that we have a baseline for how PTSD manifests itself in characters, let’s examine how it effects the main protagonists for Saving Private Ryan, American Sniper, and of course Slaughterhouse-Five.

Saving Private Ryan

The main protagonist in Saving Private Ryan is Captain Miller. Played by Tom Hanks, it is his mission to return Private Ryan home after his brothers were killed in combat. The most notable sign of PTSD we see in Captain Miller is uncontrollable hand shaking throughout the movie. I would directly associate this with Symptom #4 above, and how it remains persistent throughout the movie. Unfortunately we don’t really get to see the further manifestations of his symptoms because ***SPOILER ALERT*** he dies at the end of the movie. Nevertheless, we can attribute at least some of his traits to PTSD like symptoms.

American Sniper

The next character we can look at is Chris Kyle from American Sniper. Again he serves as the protagonist in the plot as we learn about his military service and the effect it has on him back home. Throughout the movie, we see scenes that give the viewer a strong indication that Kyle has PTSD. Just running down the list, he constantly has flashbacks of the event (such as when he is watching a turned-off TV with great intent). He has triggers, such as when he is in the midst of a house party and a dog barks. He instinctively strangles the dog, much to the distress of all the children at the party. He becomes distant with his wife, unwilling to communicate about his experiences. Finally, we see a lack of focus, as he often appears to zone out from the rest of the world and reenters his war experiences.

Slaughterhouse-Five

As we very well know, our main character in this story is Billy Pilgrim. Again we see the same types of symptoms as we see in other characters. One could argue that a majority of the book is filled with flashbacks to bad memories. He has multiple triggers, most notably the optometrist barber shop quartet at the party with Kilgore Trout. He openly admits he doesn’t have a significant emotional connection to his wife, and appears to occasionally have a hard time sleeping.

Why This Matters

                  I decided to portray these symptoms to make a broader point about PTSD and other forms of mental illness. Often times, we tend to view PTSD as something that effects everybody the same way, and pigeon-hole symptoms into lists (such as the one above). With something as intense as PTSD, everybody experiences it differently. Just because somebody may or may not have some of the symptoms does not mean they don’t experience the same internal struggles as those that do exhibit symptoms. To effectively help our veterans as best we can, we need to find a way to throw out symptoms lists and find a better way to find and treat this terrible illness.