. What is the central theme and the author’s purpose in this text? How does the author develop and communicate this theme and purpose? Give specific evidence from the text to support your answer. (10 points).There’s a condition in combat that occurs when a soldier is completely stressed out and is “on the verge of a nervous collapse.” In World War I it was called “shell shock.” Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables. Shell shock. It almost sounds like the guns themselves . . .. . . [I]n World War II the same combat condition was called “battle fatigue.” Four syllables now; takes a little longer to say. Doesn’t seem to hurt as much . . .By the . . . Korean War . . . the very same condition was being called “operational exhaustion.” The phrase was up to eight syllables now, and any last traces of humanity had been completely squeezed out of it. . . .Then . . . we got into Vietnam, and, thanks to the deceptions surrounding that war, it’s no surprise that the very same condition was referred to as “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Still eight syllables, but we’ve added a hyphen, and the pain is completely buried under jargon . . . I’ll bet if they had still been calling it “shell shock,” some of those Vietnam veterans might have received the attention they needed.
