Vonnegut and O’Brien tackle the Cold War as a new era in warfare, in which battles were not fought truly fought over land acquisition or the survival of a people, against an opposing force, but against an enemy that represents our enemy. We fight our enemy’s ally because we do not agree with their way of life or the people that agree with it because they believe the same thing about us. Vonnegut showcases the game of chess played between two opposites for no prize but survival using the least valuable amongst them as pawns, and O’Brien transplants this to the jungle and lets the pawn have a voice. Therefore, both Vonnegut and O’Brien check off all five of the shared themes, for questioning the justice of fighting someone else’s war because
