Stephen Crane War Essay

Throughout Stephen Crane’s poem, strong visual descriptions are used to identify the negative effects of war. One may describe war as cruel, horrific, and inhuman. Throughout the twentieth century and even before, war was portrayed as magnificent and if the people went to fight for their country they were considered a hero. So why would anyone not serve as a soldier in war?
Throughout Stephen Crane’s War is Kind, strong visual descriptions are used to identify the negative effects of war. An example of this is “And a field where a thousand corpses lie (Crane).” This line creates a very vivid image in the reader’s mind that allows the reader to fully grasp the severity of the war. In this line it is easy to assume that Crane was not a fan of war. In fact, this line supports the idea that Crane was protesting it. Crane did this by permitting the reader to imagine how gruesome war really is. Similarly, irony is also a very effective way of protesting the war throughout the four documents. Focusing on Crane’s War is Kind, irony is a very powerful way to protest the war. “Do not weep. War is kind (Crane).” is …show more content…
Crane is able to use irony to emphasize the harsh reality of war. War isn't a good place and Crane uses irony throughout the poem to make important points. Saying war is kind makes the reader question why it would be “kind”, leaving the reader wanting to know more. The poem is the complete opposite of what it means, this is a contrast. He attempts to sway the mind of the reader and tries to make out war for how it really was using different literary devices. He uses examples of what he had to witness in war and this impacts the reader more and makes them feel sympathy towards the soldiers. It's hard to imagine war being kind, soldiers would usually be exhausted and mentally drained. How would war be able to be kind to them? Crane is able to explain what happened throughout the war using