Analysis Of The General By Chad Urmston

749 Words2 Pages

What do you think of war? Many people can agree that war is tragic and sad. Sometimes war is needed to defend that you hold close, but most wars in human history are considered to have been unnecessary. "The General" is a song written by Chad Urmston, a member of the band Dispatch. In this song he tells the story of a decorated soldier and his struggle to understand the fight he is currently involved in. The song was written by Chad, but the bands three members split because "… we were three independent spirits trying to make music" as stated by Chad, showing that this song was in the direction he hoped to steer his music (KINK Radio). The tale starts with the acknowledgement of the experiences and awards undertaken by the decorated general …show more content…

"There was a decorated general with a heart of gold, that likened him to all the stories he told of past battles, won and lost, and legends of old a seasoned veteran in his own time." This informs the listener of who the story is about. The general is a man with many battles in his past. He has a lot of experience and accomplishments that have allowed him to climb to the position he now holds. The next line continues and describes his "...medals of bravery and stripes to his name" further cementing his place as a high-ranking officer (AZ Lyrics). It seems the general is a highly respectable and likable soldier. With the characters background now clear to the listener, the song transitions to his role as a …show more content…

When he tossed in his sleep, he was having nightmare knowing the damage being done to both sides, and the needless loss of life. He told his men to go on saying "… you are young men you must be living..." expecting them to return home and continue their life, but he only knew war. He had nothing to return to, war had taken everything from him. The song ends with the chorus "… go now you are forgiven" implying that the men only did what was ordered of them, and that all responsibility was his to bear (AZ

Show More
Related

  • Comparing The Soldier And Cold Chisel's 'Khe Sanh'

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over many centuries, Poetry and song has been a way for people to explore their feelings, thoughts and questions about War & Peace. Rupert Brooke's “The Soldier” and Cold Chisel’s “Khe Sanh” provide two different insights into the nature of war. . “The Soldier” conveys a message of bravery for soldiers to go into war and fight while “Khe sanh” conveys a message about post-traumatic stress and the horrible factors of coming back into civilization after war.

    Read More

  • Ronald Schaffer's America In The Great War

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    propaganda was to rally the country to fight the war. The first step in shaping the

    Read More

  • Summary Of A War Like No Other By Victor Davis Hanson

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Loss of Intellectual Wealth Costs More than Life In his book “A War Like No Other” Victor Davis Hanson affirms that the truly devastating loss caused by the Peloponnesian war was not simply the loss of human life or economic collapse. The truly devastating loss was the halt of intellectual advancement and artistic achievement of a beautiful and richly cultured civilization. Hanson writes, “the cost was more in terms of the material surfeit and the intellectual energy of Greece that were depleted” (298). In this book, Hanson is not attempting to simply recount the events of the Peloponnesian war for the hundredth time. He wishes to display the humanity of the gruesome and long war, and show the real the war’s true cost was of intellectual wealth and advancement.

    Read More

  • The Reality of Napoleonic Wars in Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    Crashing cannon balls, firing muskets, Calvary charging with blades of cold steel. These are the images that are presented to people when contemplating, which many people in our society do very often, the Napoleonic wars. The reality is quite the contrary, to some extent this image is true. The reality is the Napoleonic wars were ones of attrition. The goal of army’s were to have enough troops to sustain the ability to fight in the next battle. The British government had this attrition as one of the principal complications with their army and Navy do to their constant involvement in war no matter where public opinion stood.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Wars By Timothy Findley

    379 Words  | 1 Pages

    In our life one day or another we will have to face the situation where we have to choose between pursuing a personal desire or choosing to be ‘normal’ by conforming. If pursuing a personal desire makes us happy then one shouldn’t conform just to get accepted to be like others when you have an opportunity to be happy and to achieve your lifetime goals. In “The Wars” by Timothy Findley, Robert Ross a protagonist who refuses to conform in the situation where his personal desire was close to being destroyed.

    Read More

  • The Awful Majesty That Is War Analysis

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tim O’Brien states in his novel The Things They Carried, “The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty. For all its horror, you can’t help but gape at the awful majesty of combat” (77). This profound statement captures not only his perspective of war from his experience in Vietnam but a collective truth about war across the ages. It is not called the art of combat without reason: this truth transcends time and can be found in the art produced and poetry written during the years of World War I. George Trakl creates beautiful images of the war in his poem “Grodek” but juxtaposes them with the harsh realities of war. Paul Nash, a World War I artist, invokes similar images in his paintings We are Making a New World and The Ypres Salient at Night. Guilaume Apollinaire’s writes about the beautiful atrocity that is war in his poem “Gala.”

    Read More

  • Review of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.

    Read More

  • Paper on Militarism

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    “One of the most durable buttresses of militarism is found in the world of sport” (Martin and Steuter p. 131). Popular culture normalizes militarism in various ways, such as even a normal part of American culture as sports. Sports have done a lot of things for me in my life including changing my perspective of how I look at militarism. The military uses sports to advertise to a large group of people across America that will create a positive feeling towards war. Sports make the war seem normal to Americans when they associate it to militarism because many Americans play sports and can relate, but there are also consequences when normalizing the war. Popular culture normalizes militarism in so many ways, but the one aspect of it that normalizes war would be sports, through advertising and professional athletes, not only in a positive way, but it also recognizes the negative side of war.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Military Revolution By Geoffrey Parker

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    Author Geoffrey Parker is a professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Parker specializes in military history concerning the early modern period in Europe, along with interest in the military revolution of that period. Some of the other publicated works of Parker are; Military Revolution, 1560-1660 - A Myth?, The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659 and Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. However, Parker is widely recognized for his work on the military revolution during the early modern period. His work entitled The Military Revolution; Military innovation and the rise of the West. 1500-1800 is a historical narrative that sought to illuminate the principles

    Read More

  • Colonel Sartoris Thesis

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    The aspect of family has existed since the beginning of the human race. Members of each family look out for one another and care for each other in times of sickness or tragedy. Through times of triumph or misfortune a family remains united. Colonel Sartoris is a testament to the idea of family. This young boy has had a difficult life, however, he still resides with his mother and father. When troubling times emerged, Colonel Sartoris stood beside his father and did what was asked of him. In many respects, Sarty was an exceptional young man. This loyalty however did not stop the constant abuse that was administered by his father. This mental and physical abuse, culminating with other reasons, ultimately led to Colonel Sartoris changing his position

    Read More

  • The Power Of Power In A Separate Peace By John Knowles

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Power, the perception of superiority over another human, is the source of many conflicts between people. Feeling inferior causes people to act beyond their normal personality. John Knowles strongly demonstrates this point in his work, A Separate Peace. In the relationship between Finny and Gene, Gene sets himself up to be inferior in the balance of power which motivates him to act irrationally to take power back from Finny.

    Read More

  • Generals Die In Bed Analysis

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    War is terrible, this is an undeniable fact. Although what it is specifically that makes it so terrible can vary based on people’s opinions. In the novel Generals Die in Bed the author illustrates three main reasons why war is bad. War is a difficult and unpleasant experience for the ordinary soldiers. War is terrible because of the poor hygiene facilities.

    Read More

  • The War within The War by Timothy Findley

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Struggles in life is something everyone is faced with whether it is physical, emotional mental or personal struggles. These struggles are capable of shaping an individual’s personality and outlook on life. Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, shows that struggles lead to the character’s ultimate inner struggles, outer struggles and self-discovery. War exists in a person’s physical and psychological aspects. In The Wars, Robert Ross goes to war and fights a personal and physical battle.

    Read More

  • Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    From being small but meaningful and a key asset to horse races, as a jockey to being wealthy and admired, as a banker, they have since graduated to the highest coveted and decorated profession, "Generals." The speaker now sees her son as a General in the military, because he took charge at his party and led all of the six and seven year olds to play.

    Read More

  • The Affect of War on One's Innocence

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The simple definition of war is a state of armed competition, conflict, or hostility between different nations or groups; however war differs drastically in the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in “Song of Becoming.” Yet, in “Dulce et Decorum Est” it took a man dying in front of a soldier's face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” are poems about people experiencing the monstrosity of war for the first time. One is told from the perspective of young boys who were stripped of their joyful innocence and forced to experience war first hand. The other is from the perspective of a soldier, reflecting on the death of one of his fellow soldiers and realizing that there is nothing he can do to save him. While “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” both focus on the theme of the loss of innocence, “Song of Becoming” illustrates how war affects the lives of young boys, whereas “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts the affect on an experienced soldier.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of The General By Chad Urmston

Open Document