Life Is Precious, Or It's Not By Barbara Kingsolver

America and War in a Nutshell In Life is Precious, or It’s Not, by Barbara Kingsolver, the author speaks about violence and murder being solutions in today’s society. In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, violence and death appear to be talked about often. Barbara Kingsolver and Tim O’Brien would agree that the United States likes to use violence as the number one solution. Both authors seem to oppose to the idea of war and violence in general as a solution for everyone's problems. In Life is Precious, or It’s Not, Kingsolver writes, “Killing is an exalted tool for punishment and control. Americans who won't support it are ridiculed. Let's face it, though, most Americans believe bloodshed is necessary for preserving our way of life, even though this means we risk the occasional misfire--the civilians strafed, the innocent man wrongly condemned to death row.” Kingsolver is saying that violence has become too powerful and people who do not think violence is the answer are shamed and not seen as true Americans. This shows just how much people feel the need to have complete control of the …show more content…
The narrator, Tim O’Brien, talks about his fear of being shamed, “All those eyes on me-the town, the whole universe-and I couldn’t risk the embarrassment….Traitor! they yelled. Turncoat! Pussy! I felt myself blush” (TTTC pg. 57). O’Brien felt as if if was him against the world. He could not stand being embarrassed by all his friends and family. He also talks about embarrassment and death, he writes, “It had nothing to do with morality. Embarrassment, that’s all it was….I would go to war and maybe die-because I was embarrassed not to. That was the sad thing” (TTTC pg. 57). He only went to war because he didn’t want to face the embarrassment and shame that came along with not joining the war. He would kill or be killed in order to not be ridiculed by his own