Hyena Road Essay
Afflictions of war have become prominent and controversial problems in today’s society. With obscurity, secrecy, and vagueness within the media it is truly impossible to comprehend the events which transpire on the frontline; trauma in war is often blemished and downplayed. As the media controls the message displayed to the general public it is impossible to understand war unless one has truly lived it. Paul Gross a recent winner of the Earle Grey award explores the idea of media secrecy and war within his novel Hyena Road. The novel told through the eyes of Warrant Officer Ryan Murphy reveals the truths about war as the Canadian soldier completes his mission in Afghanistan. Witnessing the unspeakable actions and inhumanity of war, Ryan’s perspective on the world…show more content… Gross dives deeper into this idea of power through its injustice. While on deployment, every movement Ryan and his team make is analyzed and dictated by higher command. In the climax of the novel this goes against Ryan when he witnesses two girls being kidnapped: “The speakers crackled again: “Six-Six Delta. For God’s sake. We can intervene! Request Authority. Over,” “Golf Niner Whiskey negative,” said Pete. “Unless you see a weapon do not intervene” (Gross 9:18).
Although Ryan and his team had the shot lined up to kill Bashir Khan Pete will not allow it because of Khan’s power in the country. Ryan came to Afghanistan to save life’s and is notably mad when higher command tells him not to shoot: “This f***ing Khan a**hole isn’t playing a game here, said Ryan. “Neither am I or my guys. Nobody’s here to play games.” “No, and we’re not here so kids can fly kites, either.” “Then what the f*** are we doing here” (Gross 9:21)? This climax of this novel is significantly influenced by the theme of power. It is the decision not to shoot the Khan that changes the course of everyone’s