The film The Best Years of Our Lives is one that many people can relate to personally because World War II is a page of history that has affected many Americans in a tangible way. Many people have lost their husbands, fathers, brothers or other loved ones in the battles. However, some of the soldiers have returned, their lives have changed forever. Besides the physical disabilities, the soldiers may have earned during the war, the memories and pictures of death and mayhem always haunt them. These people are represented in the movie The Best Years of Our Lives by Homer, who has lost his hands and uses hook prostheses, and Fred, who suffers nightmares of war horror and combat.
Adjusting to civilian life after war time is a difficult task, especially when the war, in which the soldier participated, was beyond his country’s borders. On the one hand, the soldier rests assured that his country is safe. But on the other hand, while the marine, pilot, major or simple private is occupied with war, life at home continues. So when the soldier returns home, he finds things very different. It usually happens for two reasons – because things have changed while he was gone, and also because he has changed. He has seen many terrible things, which only he and his comrades in arms can understand. Moreover, he has also adapted to a military lifestyle. It is a challenge for him to be accepted and understood by his relatives. Unfortunately, only a few latter soldiers can deal with an adaptation at home and some of them even engage into alcoholism. Some of the soldiers, being unable to face and live with their family and friends, try to start a new life elsewhere. Such a problem is adequately addressed and portrayed in the film. All three returning soldiers have certain problems with adjusting to life at home. The problem is not just in Homer’s physical inabilities, but also in his attempts to find a way to support him in a situation when all he knows is about war; the same is Fred’s story. Even simple adjusting to the civilian live and having a mutual understanding with the family can be the greatest struggle.
Even though World War II did not take place on American grounds, it still holds a special place in the U.S history. Our troops, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers took responsibility for the future of our country as well as our European neighbors’ safety. Had Americans not taken an active role in the war, Nazism might have prevailed and ruled Europe today, which would be a direct danger to our country as well as the rest of the world. That is why our forefathers took action and dug out the root of Nazism in Europe, before it could expand and take on a global scale.