War. Is It Obliging?
War is a thing caused by people’s religious or political differences. Sometimes people have wars for good reasons and others not so much, but the real question is whether it is good. Both the poem, “War is Kind,” and the short story, “A Mystery of Heroism,” by Stephen Crane were written during the civil war. They both show each side of the war, with help from actual veterans from the Civil War. Crane was able to get witness accounts to help him write some of his famous pieces of literature. Stephen Crane uses irony in “War is Kind,” and “A Mystery of Heroism,” to prove that he is opposed to the war by claiming war is compassionate when several are lost during war, and by playing with the English language and showing people's desensitization to war.
In Stephen Crane’s poem “War is Kind,” he claims that war is affectionate when hundreds, even thousands, are lost in war. Now Crane does not come out and state that he is against war or that he is alongside war. Crane scrambles the words around to say one thing but to mean another. An example of this would
…show more content…
In Stephen Crane’s Poem “War is Kind,” he states in stanza one line one; “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.” By telling the young women this, it shows how people are affected by war and seem to not care as much for those who risk their lives. In Crane’s short story “A Mystery of Heroism,” he exclaims on page two paragraph four; “Collins of A Company, said: ‘I wish I had a drink. I bet there’s water in that there ol’ well yonder!’” The way Crane says this he shows how even the people in war risking their lives are becoming more and more desensitized from war and start to treat it as an everyday thing, like waking up to a cup of coffee. What have several people opposed to war could be the side effects of war such as being desensitized like that or even post-traumatic stress when they come back from
Though in his short life Stephen Crane was never a soldier, his novel The Red Badge of Courage was commended by Civil War veterans as well as veterans from more recent wars not only for its historical accuracy but its ability to capture the psychological evolution of those on the field of battle (Heizberg xvi). Walt Whitman, on the other hand, served as a field medic during the Civil War. He was exposed perhaps to the most gruesome aspect of the war on a daily basis: the primitive medical techniques, the wounded, the diseased, the dying and the dead. Out of his experiences grew a collection of poems, "Drum Taps" , describing the horrors he had witnessed and that America suffered. As literary artists, a wide chasm of structure and style separates Crane and Whitman. The common cultural experience, the heritage of the Civil War connects them, throwing a bridge across the darkness, allowing them, unilaterally, to dispel notions of glorious battles and heroic honorable deaths. By examining Crane's Henry Fleming and the wound dresser from 'Whitman's poem of the same name, both fundamental literary differences and essential thematic consistencies emerge.
There are many things in this world that are impossible to understand without first hand experience.This can be especially irritating for people who have the knowledge, but see everyone else with the wrong idea. Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen show this in their poems about the common misconception of war glorification. Through imagery and the use of similes, they explain what it's really like for a person to go into battle. To outsiders, fighting in war is a noble cause worthy of envy and praise, but from the inside perspective the only thing war does is take away the innocence of
This is the poem that Jim Northrup wrote about war. I am going to Explicate the poem and
Bravery can be showed by having strength, being willing to sacrifice, and standing up for yourself and others. Life will not be very fun if you do not try to make it fun. One has to be brave to make life fun. If one is not strong it would make it hard to be brave. If Holling was not strong then he would not have been able to play Ariel in the Shakespeare play. All of his friends showed up when he was was wearing yellow tights and feathers on his butt. He stayed strong and finished the play. “Still ringing in the hands of Danny Humfer, Meryl Lee and Mai Ti who were standing in the very front row.” (Schmidt 86) That moment was when Holling first saw all of his classmates watching him in the play. At first he only saw Danny’s parents, but then
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
In Crane’s poem, “War is Kind” he writes about how war is “kind,” though in reality, war it isn’t. War is never kind. The speaker is telling a maiden not to cry for her dead lover. He tells child to not cry over his dead father, and for a mother not to cry over her her dead son. Crane uses lots of irony in this poem. Which leaves the reader thinking the speaker is cold hearted. The speaker in Crane’s poem is sarcastic about war and is sardonic in his perspectives considering war. Although underneath the sarcasm and coldness, the speaker could be feeling anguish, and sadness. That person might be feeling bitter because he may have experienced war first hand or may have lost a loved on in war.
What made Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage become an unforgettable original surpassing other war novels is its depiction of the cruelty of the battlefield through the young soldier’s eyes. During the story’s timeline, Henry undergoes a subtle change in his attitude towards war. Starting as being self-centered and delusional,the youth becomes doubtful of his own self as well as his perceptions of war, afterwards finally matures into a man. This change has contributed greatly to the message of war which the novel conveys.
Stephen Crane’s approach to writing about war struck oddly with the reader right from the beginning. Thoughts running through the youth’s head do not sound like those of a hero. He has no purpose in this war, yet he fights in it anyway. The lack of a mighty American lumberjack hero as a protagonist immediately sets this story on a different track than the usual romantic, vivid, traditional, honorable accounts of war. The youth has no idea what he is getting himself into.
War and its ramifications for those who are unfortunately entangled in it, is an issue that has fueled both political discussion and literary exploration throughout the previous century. Underived, authentic accounts of the experience and effects of war, from those who have served in it, can be especially enlightening for the majority of society who have had the fortune of not being intimately familiar with war. Through the examination of poems and stories written by soldiers, who were inspired by their involvement in conflict, one can obtain a greater understanding of this gruesome aspect of life, without having to directly experience it. Similarly, soldier turned poet, Bruce Weigl, has contributed his perspective on war through his literary
War is not meant to be glorified. War is not meant to look easy. Stephen Crane was one of the few authors during his era who realized this fantasy-like aura around war and battles and decided to do something about it. The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, was inspired by Crane’s life and his desire to portray the realistic side of war.
Through reading this poem several times I decided that the message from the poem is that war is full of horror and there is little or no glory. Methods which I found most effective were Full rhyme and metaphor.
War is a hard thing to describe. It has benefits that can only be reaped through its respective means. Means that, while necessary, are harsh and unforgiving. William James, the author of “The Moral Equivalent of War”, speaks only of the benefits to be had and not of the horrors and sacrifices found in the turbulent times of war. James bears the title of a pacifist, but he heralds war as a necessity for society to exist. In the end of his article, James presents a “war against nature” that would, in his opinion, stand in war’s stead in bringing the proper characteristics to our people. However, my stance is that of opposition to James and his views. I believe that war, while beneficial in various ways, is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.
Both Stephen Crane's "Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War Is Kind" and Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" use vivid images, diction rich with connotation, similes, and metaphors to portray the irony between the idealized glory of war and the lurid reality of war. However, by looking at the different ways these elements are used in each poem, it is clear that the speakers in the two poems are soldiers who come from opposite ends of the spectrum of military ranks. One speaker is an officer and the other is a foot soldier. Each of the speakers/soldiers is dealing with the repercussions from his own realities of the horror of war based on his duty during the battle.
Imagine a Veteran of the Civil War reminiscing about the past. The veteran imagines how he was running away during a battle, because he was terrified. The veteran’s name is Henry Fleming. Henry talks about the battle of Chancellorsville and how he was afraid. The Battle of Chancellorsville was understandably terrifying, because it was one of the bloodiest struggles of the civil war (“The Battle: Chancellorsville”). Henry is so terrified, because he thinks that all of the opposing soldiers are shooting at him and only him (Crane). Stephen crane was a realistic writer, creating many books. Even though he did not have war experience at the time, he got his combat experience from the football field (“Stephen Crane”). Crane
Even when the war is over, it leaves behind some serious repercussions for people to deal with. War veterans need both psychological and physical care due to the impact of war. Soldiers and civilians who had live through war often witnessed terrible things, which can leave deep emotional scars. Most of them developing psychological problems if not proper psychological care is given. Civilians have to deal to the devastating after effects of war, which includes destroyed and damage to infrastructures