Often enough hard work results in a reward one that is usually

The following sample essay on “Often enough hard work results in a reward one that is usually”: describing a problem of Sergeant X and Esme.

Often enough, hard work results in a reward, one that is usually financial or materialistic. People work for many reasons, from survival to raising children. However, work in the military is thought of as being among the most unpredictable and grueling occupations. Warfare is a period of time which can decide an important conflict but can also change or even end one’s life.

But even those who survive the war return home in a different state physically or mentally, where subsequent recovery to the norm may seem impossible. According to Kelly Dickerson’s article for the Business Insider, one in ten returning American soldiers from the war in Iraq suffer from Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nonetheless, countless men and women persist in entering the military in order to serve the people back home. Surviving a war is only the beginning of a long road to recovery, one which ultimately leads to normalcy containing positives and ordinary things most people, who have not experienced war, take for granted.

J.D. Salinger explains in his short, yet powerful story of For Esme- With Love and Squalor, that Sergeant X, while on military duty overseas, finds a way to successfully navigate through the difficulties and uncertainties that come his way, by balancing the hardship of military service with a healthy dose of introspection and establishing a human connection.

While serving in the army, Sergeant X finds distractions that benefit him in times of struggle.

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During some spare time that he and his group are given, many of the men wish to write back home to their loved ones. X describes the gloomy mood in the camp where everyone is “standing at an end window of our Quonset hut for a very long time, looking out at the slanting, dreary rain, my trigger finger itching imperceptibly, if at all. I could hear the uncomradely scratching of many fountain pens on many sheets of v-mail paper” (Salinger 85). Despite the fact that Sergeant X and the soldiers are sitting in a cabin morosely writing letters to send home, the task is crucial for their confidence and morality. Sergeant X’s group does not spend much of their leisure time together. In a way, the men in the group are rather selfish because they always want time to themselves rather than interacting with their comrades. X discusses his solitary walks which usually “led him on clear days, in scenic circles around the countryside” (85). Sergeant X uses this time to reflect and ponder his daily occurrences without interference. X is mentally very strong because he understands the significance of being alone and remaining positive every day. Reading requires one to use concentration and imagination in order feel satisfaction from the story, and the narrator provides a glimpse into his hobbies recalling “a canvas gas-mask container full of books I’d brought over from the Other Side” (86). The narrator introduces a third dimension to his character by displaying the ability to find the time to simultaneously educate and entertain himself with stories that can positively affect his thinking.

Despite his fellow group members preferring to spend most of their free time alone, Sergeant X feels the need for human connection and goes out to Devon, England hoping to meet someone new While walking through the town, X comes across an announcement board. He comes to a stop and “read the bulletin board mostly because it featured numerals, white on black, had caught my attention but partly because after three years in the army had become addicted to reading bulletin boards” (86). The narrator is drawn to the bulletin because of his military training, which etches in his psyche the need to continuously remain vigilant and not to lose concentration. Sergeant X demonstrates remarkable discipline as he “stood in the rain and read all the names, then entered the church” (86). The announcement leads the narrator inside a church, where a local choir performs. The deep longing for beauty and human connection that Sergeant X feels is fulfilled when he listens to the harmonious voices of the children singing in the choir. Despite having to endure the grueling tasks of military service, X manages to devote time out of his day for matters seemingly so simple, yet so vital in maintaining the integrity of his character.

Ultimately, the entire episode results in a positive outcome, as Sergeant X finds himself sitting in the corner of a local tea-house where the very same girl that he found himself observing in the choir is present. Later introducing herself as Esme, she is with her brother Charles and their governess. Esme comes over to Sergeant X, having previously seen him and tells him that she came to him because she wishes to disrupt his loneliness, telling him, “I purely came over because I thought you looked extremely lonely. You had an extremely sensitive face” (92). Esme is already feeling a connection to Sergeant X and does not hesitate to continue to speak to him. X is hopeful that he has at last found someone to whom he can relate to and connect with both emotionally and intellectually.

Despite the fact that Sergeant X is enduring the hardship and stress of war, he manages to remain calm and reserved with Esme’s younger brother, Charles. Esme attempts to distract her brother from interrupting her conversation with Sergeant X speak. However, Charles persists in repeatedly reciting annoying jokes, and as X looks at him, “he closed his eyes, sleepily, angelically, then stuck out his tongue” (94). Sergeant X is very soft with Esme’s brother, because he understands that Charles is still just a child who finds pleasure in any laughable matter. Esme again attempts to stop Charles from interfering in her conversation with X, but instead of listening to her, Sergeant X engages in further conversation with Charles. X tells Charles a joke that according to Esme, shows his dry sense of humor, and X and Charles manage to form a connection as a result of some genuine laughter. The kindness and patience, with which X interacts with Charles, examplify the multifaceted nature of his character and enable him to relate to different kinds of people.

Meeting Esme leads Sergeant X to the realization that he can have prolonged and meaningful conversations with her. Esme asks Sergeant X to write a story for her, but she finds herself to be a little hesitant when she asks, “You’re quite sure you won’t forget to write that story for me? It doesn’t have to be exclusively for me. It can–” (99). It is revealed that Esme’s father, who wrote letters to her is deceased. She describes how her “father writes beautifully” and she is “saving his letters for posterity”. Esme feels that she is developing a close connection with Sergeant X and asks him to write her a story to fill the void left after the death of her father, whom she misses terribly. X develops an interesting bond with Esme, one that is not romantic, rather one that helps both of them cope with the difficult realities of their lives. As the friendship between Sergeant X and Esme grows stronger, X tells her that he must depart soon for war. Esme reacts to X’s statement by exclaiming, “I hope you return from the war with all your faculties intact” (99).

Sergeant X feels that the intention of these words is to console him. The “faculties” that Esme hopes X will not lose are not only physical, but also mental and emotional because X and Esme strongly value each other’s character. However, for Esme, these words are a cry of despair, as having lost her father she is about to part with a close friend. Inspite of the physical separation, the friendship that formed between Esme and Sargent X, and which they cherished so dearly, remained . Long after X’s departure to the battle field, he receives a letter from Esme and reads it. Sergeant X recalls Esme’s words, remembering that he can “become a man with all his fac-with all his f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s intact” (110). This letter helps X stay positive and overcome the difficulties of war. Furthermore, the fact that Esme closes the story with her own words signifies that the hope of Sergeant X’s gradual and steady return to reality remains.

Sergeant X and Esme live two very contrasting lives and have entirely different goals. However, as the two speak to each other more and understand each other, it becomes clear that their time together will help them with their own problems, and will also bind them together tightly. X’s curiosity when he spots the roman numerals on the bulletin board in the center of town and his “extremely sensitive face” are the catalysts for a short and powerful interaction from which a meaningful connection solidifies.