The Man He Killed Analysis

“The Man He Killed” exposes the senselessness of war. It does this through a silent contrast between the needs of ordinary people, as represented by the young man. It's about two men meeting at a bar who happens to be on opposing sides of the war and in the field. He would have shot him dead just because they were foes. The poem can be interpreted that war is odd; you may kill a man you wouldn't normally give a thought about. It could be a man you would have a drink in the bar or someone you would loan money to. But, on the battle field the enemies are enemies and it doesn't matter who it is. The two men in the poem have many things in common, but when it comes down to it, they're on opposing sides of the battle and in the end one of them will …show more content…
They had similar ways of life, similar economic troubles, similar wishes to help other people, and similar motives in doing things like enlisting in the army. Symbolically, at least, the “Man He Killed,” is the speaker himself, and warfare forces not only homicide, but suicide you literally and figuratively kill yourself. The poem raises the question of why two people who are almost identical should be propelled into opposing battle lines in order to try killing each …show more content…
He doesn’t establish closely detailed reasons against war as a policy. The speaker is unable to articulate and verbalize the gut reaction he feels, but dramatizes the idea that all political arguments are unimportant in view of the central and glaring brutality of war. He doesn’t seem to express deep feelings, rather he is confused because, he is an average sort whose idea of life is to live and enjoy a drink in a bar with friends. But, it stresses the point that everyone is victimized by war. Both of those who dies and those who reformed to kill. The thoughtful reader reflects that his poem is a powerful argument for peace and