English 1A
Prof Edward Gutowsky
October 16, 2017
Rumor of War Research Paper
“War does not determine who is right, only who is left” (Russell). Philip Caputo was one of the men who was able to return from war. He later wrote a book about the the Vietnam War he had fought in and shared his story with others. Although, many people have not been as lucky as he was. One of those men is Wilfred Owen. He emerged as a poet from World War II and his work was focused on his anger at the cruelty and injustice of war. Both of these men served their country with loyalty but only one made it back alive. When you have seen the worst human kind can do to each other you either keep it inside or become very vocal about it. These men chose to share their stories …show more content…
His book showed us that war is not romantic, but it is cruel. War changed boys to men, and they can never regain their innocence. Another similarity between both literary works is that they warn us. In Rumor of War, Caputo briefly mentions Wilfred Owen. “‘All a poet can do today is warn,’ Owen wrote” (Caputo 76). Caputo did not heed the warning of the poets from WWII. He came to the conclusion that, “...every generation is doomed to fight it’s own war”(Caputo 77). In result, Caputo wrote his book to open the eyes of the public to the reality of war. He wanted people to realize what soldiers suffered in the jungles of Vietnam, because this story was not just his own. Many soldiers stories have gone unmentioned but they still carry their burdens …show more content…
He paints us the image of soldiers being treated like animals. Both Rumor of War and Owen’s poems show the death caused by war. In this poem Owen insinuates that his experience of war was surrealistic. Men dreamed, hallucinated, froze to death, continued to march without nights of sleep, lost consciousness from loss of blood, and were hypnotized from fear or guilt. Both the author and the poet finally reveal the truth about war and about the death it brings, not just their bodies, but to the
Prof Edward Gutowsky
October 16, 2017
Rumor of War Research Paper
“War does not determine who is right, only who is left” (Russell). Philip Caputo was one of the men who was able to return from war. He later wrote a book about the the Vietnam War he had fought in and shared his story with others. Although, many people have not been as lucky as he was. One of those men is Wilfred Owen. He emerged as a poet from World War II and his work was focused on his anger at the cruelty and injustice of war. Both of these men served their country with loyalty but only one made it back alive. When you have seen the worst human kind can do to each other you either keep it inside or become very vocal about it. These men chose to share their stories …show more content…
His book showed us that war is not romantic, but it is cruel. War changed boys to men, and they can never regain their innocence. Another similarity between both literary works is that they warn us. In Rumor of War, Caputo briefly mentions Wilfred Owen. “‘All a poet can do today is warn,’ Owen wrote” (Caputo 76). Caputo did not heed the warning of the poets from WWII. He came to the conclusion that, “...every generation is doomed to fight it’s own war”(Caputo 77). In result, Caputo wrote his book to open the eyes of the public to the reality of war. He wanted people to realize what soldiers suffered in the jungles of Vietnam, because this story was not just his own. Many soldiers stories have gone unmentioned but they still carry their burdens …show more content…
He paints us the image of soldiers being treated like animals. Both Rumor of War and Owen’s poems show the death caused by war. In this poem Owen insinuates that his experience of war was surrealistic. Men dreamed, hallucinated, froze to death, continued to march without nights of sleep, lost consciousness from loss of blood, and were hypnotized from fear or guilt. Both the author and the poet finally reveal the truth about war and about the death it brings, not just their bodies, but to the