Wilfred Owen War Comparison

The diction Owens uses furthers the mechanical drudge the army is put through in the start of the poem. Comparisons such as “Bent double like old beggars…” and “ … coughing like old hags…” show the dread and drear of the soldiers marching off to battle, making the reader feel as if they are accompanying the front lines on this march. After the gassed man dies, the author uses powerful words and similes to paint a more believable picture for the reader. Phrases like “smothering dreams” and “ writhing eyes” display the true horrors of war and seeing a fellow soldier die. Similes like “ Bitter as the cud” and “ Obscene as cancer” show how haunting a real experience of death can be,one of the many sacrifices of fighting in a war.

Twain’s essay The War Prayer satirizes the customs of praying for safety and victory in war and for equating war with patriotism. During times of war, it is safe to say that life can easily be lost. Twain’s essay features soldiers going to war but praying for their own well being: “merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in His mighty hand” (Twain). Twain is ridiculing the idea that soldiers, who are trained to kill, would expect God to bless them. He mocks such a thought by

People’s personalities are often the result of the environment that they’re in. Harsh environments such as war can foster negative personality traits in people. You see examples of this in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. In the novel, Paul Bӓumer is a 19 year old soldier in the German army during World War I. During the story he has to learn how to deal with the harshness of war.

In the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, displays that nihilism is a result of war. Throughout the book, several key events occur that point back to that theme, nihilism is a result of war. War fosters nihilism and creates a loss of innocence in the soldiers. The feeling of nihilism causes the soldiers to expect death, and channel their feelings into caring only about material things. This book, All Quiet on the Western Front, gives countless examples that point to the main theme, war causes nihilism.

The tone of this poem is more foreboding and condemnatory, not only describing the training soldiers but outright degrading their forced involvement as morally wrong. With themes rooted in the brutality of warfare and loss of innocence, both “The Last Laugh” and “Arms and the Boy” express similar messages but in different contexts. Just as before, Owen continues to personify weapons to emphasize their true role as the war mongers rather than the soldiers themselves. Owen states, “this bayonet-blade…keen with hunger of blood” (Owen 1-2). Uniquely when compared to other instances, this use of personification explicitly defines a blade as having a hunger for blood and a desire to kill, which is implemented upon the soldier who wields it.

In the first stanza we can see that the figure is “Groping along the tunnel, step by step” and in the third stanza we get the line “alone he staggered on…” These phrases point out the physical and physiological detachment, well known effects of intendance combat. Lastly I will be analyzing the novel All Quiet on the Western Front to look for a dehumanizing theme in the novel. Throughout the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, the young soldiers are affected by the war. Throughout the young soldiers time on the front, they are dehumanized and the also develop an animal instinct while they are completely abandoning their emotions and

Another example in line 3 is, “… valley of Death.” Of course this isn't an actual valley, but it does represent how the battleground was grim and many men had died. Imagery was used throughout the poem and gave readers a mental image of what the war must´ve been like.

Also, to Joe it is a hypocrisy that “they” use the word “we” when they mention fighting. But in reality, the only ones who are fighting the war are the soldiers while “they” sit back and watch. In addition, would someone decide to go to war all because of a song? Well, the use of pro-war songs are popular advertisements. Songs, words and lyrics are everywhere even when soldiers are leaving, therefore, escaping war propaganda is unfeasible.

Erich Maria Remarque, a German author, published All Quiet on the Western Front in 1929 as an anti-war novel. Remarque was a former soldier who actually endured the horrible effects of WWI (1914-1918). He used his experiences and writing to unveil the destructive aspect of war. Remarque was bothered by the fact that there was no anti war literature, and he became the first to publish an anti war novel. Although he bravely chose to publish his novel to shed light upon the detrimental effects of war, he was punished for doing so.

In the story Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Henry Fleming joins the war with the hope of becoming a hero, although Henry shows no sign of heroism throughout the story. In fact, Henry shows traits of cowardice in a multitude of ways during his experiences at war. Henry's high expectations for himself do not make up for his actions in Red Badge of Courage. Despite Henry's high ego, dialogue in Red Badge of Courage reveal his cowardly true nature. Henry saw himself as a hero before he got into a battle, but when faced with the reality of war, his imaginations did not come true.

Fear of shame not only motivates men to go to war but also affects soldiers’ relationships with each other once there. Concern about being accepted in the war, which might seem in the end an unimportant part given the chances of death and importance of staying together as a “team” during this time. The emotional burden was not just during the war it was also after the war that all these memories came back to them. When these memories come back it brings sadness to them thinking about all the people they lost through out their time