Going To The Wars 'And The Things They Carried'

Essay 1 Final Draft

Word Count 1,334

The Portrait of War Through Literature The literature of war takes a wide variety of approaches in its efforts to comprehend the war experience. Richard Lovelace’s “To Lucasta Going To the Wars”, Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”, and Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” all share the common theme of war. Although the works are based on war they’re still different from one another. The author’s create a depiction of war, but they each acquire different perceptions on the ideals of bravery and honor, with minor similarities. One similarity of the works is the honor of men. In the poem “To Lucasta Going to the Wars” the speaker expresses the idea of war and honor to be intertwined. As he says, “I

For example, in Richard Lovelace's poem it presents war as an honorable duty through the use of the paradox as it says, “To war and arms I fly. / True, a new mistress now I chase, / The first foe in the field;” (lines 4-6). Expressing how important honor is to him, surpassing even the feelings of his lover. He’s leaving love to seek glory. On the contrary in “The Things They Carried” there is different emotion portrayed. When it says, “They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture.” (322). It speaks of the emotional baggage the men carried. They were at risk of dying; in the inside they felt fear but couldn’t let their guard down and let those feelings show. The speaker showed a glimpse of the soldiers by showing the items they carried in such environment. The things they carried show a little about the values of the men and also determine their specialty and role they play. Theres a vulnerability in the men as you get a view of the emotional burden they carry. The emotions were high probably because the men were so young and inexperienced. Their role was to be courageous, refusing would show an act of cowardliness. Although in both works the men had to portray to be courageous, the reality was one leaning towards bravery and the other towards