The Fluidity Of War In Louisa Thomas's Conscience

Louisa Thomas’ book Conscience detailing the lives of her relatives leading up to and during World War I is a tale which reveals the effects that war and a changing era have on faith, loyalty, and a person’s conscience. While the plot is told in relation to the life of Norman Thomas, a man who began the war as a minister and ended it as a socialist and pacifist, the other characters are integral in relaying the central themes. Throughout the book, the reader can follow Norman Thomas’ changing point of view, the fluidity of his conscience in action. He was brought up under the morals of his father, a Presbyterian minister, but his education at Princeton under the guidance of Woodrow Wilson greatly influenced him as well. Norman Thomas did not officially become a socialist until the end of the war, but that is not to say he did not begin to follow socialist beliefs during the book. Rather, the reader observes Norman Thomas create a brand of socialism all of his own, influenced by his religious upbringing and his college education. His version began with the Social Gospel, which …show more content…
The actions of Norman Thomas and his family are all there, however the emotions that drove those actions are not. Even still, reading Louisa Thomas’ Conscience is a treat for anyone interested in historical books regarding World War I or those interested in the story of a man who changed extraordinarily throughout his life. While the book tells of Norman Thomas’ fluid conscience, it may demonstrate your own to you as you are exposed to various ideals and beliefs; the explanations of which are told with as little bias as possible Marvelously written with great detail, this tale of faith, conscience, and loyalty is highly recommendable to history buffs everywhere… But perhaps not to the average