Mark Twain's Essay: The War Prayer

Therefore, he conscripts himself for military service. However, it soon dawns on him that war is brutal and jeopardous, somewhat contradictory to what he visualizes before. The soldier’s wound, the corpses and the flag symbolize Henry’s most wide-eyed innervations, the cruelty of the war as well as Henry’s maturity. The wound, without a doubt, is the most far-reaching symbol of the story. To Henry, wounds are “ a red badge of courage”, it represents the soldier dignity and offers one with great renown.

In Mark Twain's “The War Prayer” there is a sense of dualism; that the unnamed country is going off into war with possible another and the soldiers are being celebrated as heroes while the other country is through to be the enemy. It is also shown why the people are praying to win the war and the safe return of their soldiers, but the stranger says they forgot to pray for the destruction of their enemy. In the line “It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said”

The poem 's diction keeps emphasizing on death and the horrors of it which is intense. The era that this poem was written in influenced the tone because at that time no matter if the battle is won or lost the soldiers who sacrificed themselves should be honored no matter what, and should be acknowledged. In Mary Borden’s The Song of The Mud, the tone is sarcastic and ironic but still gruesome about war and going into the wars, the title of this poem is a great example of how ironic Mary is about war; in this title the reader would infer “song” is joyful and positive but then “mud” is negative and unpleasant. She believes that wars strip soldiers of their value and that no human being should experience the horrors of

Throughout the poem, he underlines the cruelty of war to which soldiers are exposed, without celebrating any hero. In the last quatrain, the readers fully understand the ironic tone of his title—and of the whole poem—when he calls the words of Horace “The old Lie” (Owen 27), which are told to children generation after generation, pushing them to war in order to obtain “some desperate glory” (Owen 26). Indeed, this oxymoron represents the contrast between the glory of warriors celebrated by poets and the desperate reality of war. Moreover, it is an old lie, not simply because it has been told for centuries, but also because it is what old people told to the

Literary Analysis The War Prayer was written by Mark Twain in the nineteenth century Imperialism. Twain uses satire to exploit the stupidity of war. In his prose, Twain explains the ghastliness of war and how people are praying to God for safety of their troops but they do not care if the opposing sides troops die. Twain uses satire in The War Prayer to make fun of the people praying for their side to win the war and the glorification of war. “It was a time of great and exalting excitement (Twain).” Twain sets the scene for“proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them on.” They are cheering them on to war.

This can be clearly seen in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” written in 1917 as the author was serving in combat (Owen). The very title of this poem is ironic: the scenes that Owen describes are anything but “sweet and honorable;” the soldiers he portrays are not valiant heroes, but tired men worn down by endless fighting (Owen). Moreover, the author asserts that if others could experience, even in their dreams, the traumatic sights and experiences that he encountered in combat, they would not be so eager to send their children to fight in wars (Owen). The poet feels that he and millions of others were misled; the beliefs about warfare that they were taught from a young age were nothing but lie when compared to the reality of life in the trenches, where the war scarred the mind deeply as the

Crane describes the soldier as desperate for something to drink. This is confirmed whenever he decides that he is going to take the risk of crossing the battlefield to fill up his canteen. Stephen Crane uses his opinion that people go to war and fight, but nothing changes afterwards, and puts it into this story. People are also desperate enough to fulfill their need to be on the battlefield; that they are willing to put their lives at risk, which Crane sees as idiotic. People are injured and die, and families are torn apart because of war, for the end result to be the same.

Romeo expresses this concept in Act 3 Scene 1 when he says, “And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now! Now, Tybalt, take the ‘villain’ back again that late thou gavest me.” This symbolizes Romeo killing the “villain” of hate (hate for the opposing family). Romeo’s intentions were virtuous as he thought he needed to break up the fight to keep the peace. However, it only increased tension between the Capulets and Montagues. The Capulets were enraged by Tybalt’s death as it got in the way of the wedding.

Achilles is seen to be full of wrath in the beginning of the book. This wrath is not caused only because Agamemnon takes his prize of war. He is angry at the system which allows Agamemnon to play around with other people’s honors and the system which allows him to decide who gets how much honor. In other words, Achilles does not like the idea that someone else can decide what happens to his honor, despite him deserving most of the honor in relation to how much he contributes in war. As the story proceeds, Achilles seems to contradict himself a lot, and the concept of honor helps us understand this better.

The statement translates to “It is sweet and proper to die for the fatherland.” This poem revolves entirely around this specific statement, because it sums up what Owen calls “The old lie” (25). In the context of the poem, Owen argues that this phrase should not be told “to children ardent for some desperate glory” (26). This line is used to promote patriotism in a country’s children and inspire them to take up arms for their country because it will be glorious and fitting. Owen denies that notion, having seen the true horrors of war during his service, and eventually, dying in the war. Owen’s use of the allusion is powerful because it directly rejects a commonly accepted notion and argues that his country’s future generations should not follow it, or be misled into following it.