“Do not weep. War is kind” (Crane). Stephen Crane, Wilfred Owen, Tim O’Brien, and Kevin Powers are four famous writers who lived in a time of war and got to encounter the reality of it. All four authors participated in the war of their time: Owen fought in World War I, O’Brien fought in the Vietnam War, Powers fought in Iraq, and Crane did not fight in a war, but he did work as a journalist in the Spanish-American War. The authors had access to the realism of warfare and published novels and poems based on their experiences. These writers use imagery, irony, and structure to protest war. In the stories, The Yellow Birds and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Kevin Powers and Wilfred Owen, imagery is an element displayed to help protest war. In The
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In lines 9-11 in “War is Kind”, it states “The unexplained glory flies above them. Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom — A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (Crane). Crane uses irony to depict the message of reality vs. perception to effectively portray the true nature of warfare. The irony used in the poem is that it states that war is great and glorifying, when in reality, there is a field of dead people. War is imagined to be a great thing among soldiers, but it turns out to be a terrible idea. In lines 22-27 in “Dulce et Decorum Est”, it states “Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest. To children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” (Owen). This line proves the ironic situation that is occurring. People convince others to join war thinking that it is sweet and right to die for your country. When in fact, soldiers see the true side of war once they are enlisted. Everyone is suffering and dying and it is not a sweet and pleasant …show more content…
In the piece, The Yellow Birds, it states “Or should I have said that I wanted to die, not in the sense of wanting to throw myself off of that train bridge over there, but more like wanting to be asleep forever.” (Powers). This line displays the narrator’s, John Bartle, train of thought. Bartle’s jumbled thoughts represent how most soldiers’ minds are like after participating in war. Soldiers have been heavily impacted and have no interest in the everyday lives of those back at home. This affects soldiers because war has isolated them from others around them and they feel lonely, as if they have departed from the real world. In the excerpt, The Things They Carried, it states “Among the necessities and near necessities were p-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum… and two or three canteens of water...” (O’Brien). This proves that the structure of enumeration is helpful in protesting war. O’Brien is giving an overwhelming list of things that has to be carried by soldiers. Soldiers would march with about thirty-seven pounds of items on their back, hoping this would help them survive in war. In the end, the vast amount of items carried were used to the best extent, but soldiers would still pass away even with all the materials given to help them
In lines 9-11 in “War is Kind”, it states “The unexplained glory flies above them. Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom — A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (Crane). Crane uses irony to depict the message of reality vs. perception to effectively portray the true nature of warfare. The irony used in the poem is that it states that war is great and glorifying, when in reality, there is a field of dead people. War is imagined to be a great thing among soldiers, but it turns out to be a terrible idea. In lines 22-27 in “Dulce et Decorum Est”, it states “Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest. To children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” (Owen). This line proves the ironic situation that is occurring. People convince others to join war thinking that it is sweet and right to die for your country. When in fact, soldiers see the true side of war once they are enlisted. Everyone is suffering and dying and it is not a sweet and pleasant …show more content…
In the piece, The Yellow Birds, it states “Or should I have said that I wanted to die, not in the sense of wanting to throw myself off of that train bridge over there, but more like wanting to be asleep forever.” (Powers). This line displays the narrator’s, John Bartle, train of thought. Bartle’s jumbled thoughts represent how most soldiers’ minds are like after participating in war. Soldiers have been heavily impacted and have no interest in the everyday lives of those back at home. This affects soldiers because war has isolated them from others around them and they feel lonely, as if they have departed from the real world. In the excerpt, The Things They Carried, it states “Among the necessities and near necessities were p-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum… and two or three canteens of water...” (O’Brien). This proves that the structure of enumeration is helpful in protesting war. O’Brien is giving an overwhelming list of things that has to be carried by soldiers. Soldiers would march with about thirty-seven pounds of items on their back, hoping this would help them survive in war. In the end, the vast amount of items carried were used to the best extent, but soldiers would still pass away even with all the materials given to help them