Nurse

Through the use of contrasting light, symmetry, space, and symbolism, this image demonstrates the dehumanization of soldiers. Amidst this dehumanization, there also lies a focus directed towards the nurse, commenting on the gender roles war creates.

The nurse, placed in the center, separates the two wounded men. With the nurse as a divider, the men show to be clear contrasts of each other that center around life and death. Though neither men could really represent life, as they are both wounded, the man on the right clearly is in better shape than the man on the left. The man on the left, with gauze wrapped around his head, has a blank and off-focused gaze that emphasizes the lack of life remaining. This empty look in his eyes illustrates sad defeat and confusion, as there comes a point in which no man could be nursed back to life mentally or physically. Differing from the man on the right, the man on the left’s pattern on his blanket consists of flowers, suggesting flowers for the dead. The man has no sign of identity, as he is drowned out in the meak, softer light. The only darker shades on his side, left of the nurse, is his beard and the unidentified object above him. This object, due to its vagueness, acts as a dark shadow over him. This defeat is again reinforced with the nurse’s position, facing away from the man on the left; her focus is connected with the eye contact of the man on the right.

In contrast to his departing comrade, the man on the right has a very strong stare. He, also unlike the man on the left, has an arm out with his hands in a closed fist, showing signs of strength. Attention is drawn into the man on the right, for his clothes are of darker tint, as well as his face, another sign of more health than the man on the left. The crutches hanging in the background is also to the right of the nurse, adding to the visual symbols of where hope still hangs for wellness.

Regardless of where they lie on the spectrum of life and death, none of the three characters actually depicted show any humanistic liveliness. Despite the picture being black and white, they all lack motion and dimension. The nurse sits in the middle as the divider between potential life and death, but her humanity and individuality is also stripped. There is no indication of any special remarks of identity, but rather just another pair of wounded soldiers and nurse. In addition to this, none of the characters actually connect with another. Though the man on the right is staring in the direction of the nurse, he is rather focused on her role. Just as the women lacks personal connection or emotional sympathy to the soldiers.

Due to the mindset that war often impinges upon its victims, individuals participating in the war are stripped of their empathy, identity, and humanization in order to fulfill their duties. Women as nurses are trained to do their job as the hand of medicine, no longer the pre-established roles of caring mothers or wives. The massive amounts of casualties would shatter hope if the women’s hearts stay tied to their bandaging. As for the men--many young--who enlist to become a killer, meaning of victory and fighting becomes lost through the haze of survival. There is little emotion to be felt looking at the picture as a whole, but with the further examination of the individual’s roles in war and in a hospital, the image demands discomfort and consolation.

Image Source: http://hcc.humanities.uci.edu/humcore/Student/gallery/images/Nurse.jpg