It is a time of pain, a time of agony, a time of great suffering. Yet through all the hardships of war, there always arises heroes, people who soar above all to rid the world of the evil that is war. What is it about such heroes that make them standout from the rest? More importantly, what is it about soldiers that enable them to survive the atrocities of war? There are many possible answers to this question such as being in top physical condition and having the proper combat and weapon training. More importantly, a time of war can take a heavy toll on one's mind and a person must have great mental strength in order to deal with the death, pain, and terror that result from war. Survival in war may depend more on mental strength than on physical strength. One important aspect of mental strength is having the will to survive and not giving up at all. In order to be strong mentally, one must also be able to block out all emotions and morals that could lead to weakness and even lead to death. Having a good companion at a time of war could also be very helpful in the building of mental strength. All of these elements show how mental strength can be very important when it comes to surviving an unforgiving war.What exactly is the will to survive? A couple of scenarios explains it best. For example, it is what keeps a severely wounded man alive long enough until proper medical attention arrives. It is what prevents a soldier from going insane when things get uncontrollably out of hand. It is these things and a great deal more. In the novel King Rat by James Clavell, the character known as the King showed he had a very strong will to survive. He was stuck in a Japanese prison camp for the past couple of years and he had refused to give up on his life like the others. A good example of this was when a fellow prisoner had just died and he was talking to the doctor who had been in charge of him. "What'd he die of?""Lack of spiri...
