War has many perspectives. The book was one of the few Ive read that really messed with my head. I think that the point of the book was simply the fine line between sanity and madness when it comes to a largely non professional soldier thrust into combat and all the types of individuals that comprised a typical rifle company. Now, every group of soldiers is different. So typical is probably a bad word.
Witt is obviously a different character in the book than the movie. I liked the witt of the movie. Alot of people didnt like the movie because it wasnt all american pie in the sky. It was written by a veteran of the campaign and perhaps it was his experience. A person in another company right beside his might have had an all together different experience.
The human factor in war is fascinating. Something beyond the maps and numbers. Each character was a sterotype of different people you might find in a combat situation. I think of the thin red line as another viewpoint rather than any type of defining opine on war. Just like Platoon, that hacked off so many, It had a particular bent rather than expressing a single minded view of war. Compare it to We were soldiers once. Two incredibly different viewpoints. Everyone had their own experience.
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