Starting in the year 1916, the views on war as found in western literature drastically change due to World War I. This can be seen in the similarities between Rudyard Kipling’s 1888 short story, The Man Who Would be King, and other pre-1916 war literature. Some major running themes of this kind of literature are the idea of war as a journey, nationalism, and romanticism. This pre-1916 literature is extremely different from its post-1916 counterpart. Rather than romanticizing war, this new kind of literature emphasizes the bitterness and irony, propaganda, and disillusionment that manifested itself later on in the war. Due to these evident differences, it is clear that starting in the year 1916, the atrocities of World War I caused a drastic change in war literature.
Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, published in 1888, exemplifies the notion of war being like a journey or quest. Peachy Carnehan, a prospective King along with his partner Dan Dravot, tells our narrator, “we will let it alone [India], and go away to some other place where a man isn’t crowded and can come to his own… Therefore, we are going away to be Kings.” Carnehan and Dravot are preparing to commence their journey, which they describe in a very positive light and with a great deal of hope. Kingship is the goal of their quest, and while they know that they will have to fight for it, the prospect of warfare does not dishearten them. This reasoning behind war is generally a universal one in western society before 1916.
John McCrae also demonstrates this rational behind war in his 1915 poem, Equality. He says, “I saw a King…Unsatisfied until he should achieve/ The grand ideal that his manhood sought.” The “grand ideal” that this king seeks is victo...
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When comparing Rudyard Kipling’s short story, The Man Who Would Be King, with the literature of World War I, there are many striking similarities and differences. Upon further analysis, it becomes clear that The Man Who Would Be King is akin to much of the pre-1916 war literature due to the shared themes of journey, nationalism, and romanticism of war. However, differences arise between Kipling’s story and the war literature post-1916. These differences are manifested in post-1916 war literature’s use of bitterness and irony, as well as it’s emphasis on the war propaganda and the disillusionment caused by the war. These new themes found in war literature after 1916 lead us to the conclusion that World War I, and the atrocities that it brought, prompted a drastic change in the way people think about war, the result of this being a new kind of war literature.
Storm of Steel provides a memoir of the savagery and periods of beauty that Ernst Jünger’s experienced while serving the German army during the First World War. Though the account does not take a clear stand, it lacks any embedded emotional effects or horrors of the Great War that left so few soldiers who survived unaffected. Jünger is very straightforward and does remorse over any of his recollections. The darkness of the hallucinations Jünger reports to have experienced provides subtle anti-war sentiment. However, in light of the descriptive adventures he sought during the brief moments of peace, the darkness seems to be rationalized as a sacrifice any soldier would make for duty and honor in a vain attempt for his nation’s victory. The overall lack of darkness and Jünger’s nonchalance about the brutality of war is enough to conclude that the account in Storm of Steel should be interpreted as a “pro” war novel; however, it should not be interpreted as “pro” violence or death.
In conclusion, while books, photos, movies and other historical documentation can portray information or a message about wartime events, they will never be able to produce the feelings of those that were personally involved in wars have experienced. Yet, it is incorrect to criticize these writers. The information they reveal is still very important historical information. Even if a reader or viewer of this media cannot feel exactly the same emotions as those involved, they still often experience an emotional connection to the events being depicted. This is important, not only for the historical knowledge gained about wars, but also to understand the nature and futility of their occurrence.
Ghosh, Nibir. "War and the Pity of War: Joseph Heller's Catch-22." The IUP Journal of English Studies VII.2 (June 2012): 51-60. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Many war pieces express a distinct sense of truth, hatred, and anger that can be found in the style, tone, and imagery they possess. Incredible images are created in ones mind as war writings are read and heard. Works written by such writers as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Tim OBrien really reach out to the audience by way of the authors choice of words and images that they use in their writing. These talented writers create very touching and heart-felt images as they write about the true occurrences, problems, feelings and emotions that soldiers encountered throughout times of war. It is by way of these writers words that the bloody truth of war is heard, rather than the glorified victories heard which overlook the pain that soldiers went through.
In the history of modern western civilization, there have been few incidents of war, famine, and other calamities that severely affected the modern European society. The First World War was one such incident which served as a reflection of modern European society in its industrial age, altering mankind’s perception of war into catastrophic levels of carnage and violence. As a transition to modern warfare, the experiences of the Great War were entirely new and unfamiliar. In this anomalous environment, a range of first hand accounts have emerged, detailing the events and experiences of the authors. For instance, both the works of Ernst Junger and Erich Maria Remarque emphasize the frightening and inhumane nature of war to some degree – more explicit in Jünger’s than in Remarque’s – but the sense of glorification, heroism, and nationalism in Jünger’s The Storm of Steel is absent in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Instead, they are replaced by psychological damage caused by the war – the internalization of loss and pain, coupled with a sense of helplessness and disconnectedness with the past and the future. As such, the accounts of Jünger and Remarque reveal the similar experiences of extreme violence and danger of World War I shared by soldiers but draw from their experiences differing ideologies and perception of war.
...ntation in 20th century war poetry undoubtedly shapes its type and purpose, be it for nationalistic propaganda or to prompt a global paradigm shift, the purpose can be seen to stem largely from the author’s involvement in combat or war life. Authors such as Owen Seaman, who have no first hand experience of the content of their poems, create patriotic propaganda in an attempt to keep young men enlisting, and others such as Rupert Brooke who exemplify blind optimism and nationalistic intentions in a romanticised view of what it would be to die.
The three powerful stories including Saki’s “The Interlopers”, Erich Maria Remarque’s, All Quiet on the Western Front, and John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, portray the impact that friendship and companionship, or the absence of it, can have. Hector Hugh Munro, better known as Saki, was born in Burma while it was under the control of the British Empire. Near the beginning of World War I, Munro was enlisted into the 2nd King Edward’s Horse as a trooper at the age of 43. He soon rose to higher ranks and fought for many years. Unfortunately on November 1916, Munro was shot by a German sniper and died near France. His struggle has not only been through the physical tribulations of war, but also through the social stigma of being a homosexual during the times of World War I. Tragically, at this time, it was an unacceptable way of life and was looked down upon by society. Similarly to the adversity of war, Remarque also fought in World War I, but on the German side. He enlisted at the age of 18 and later was injured by a shrapnel wound to the leg, arm and neck. His struggles did not stop there as he was faced the immense heartbreak of losing his sister. Her death was a punishment to Remarque because of the portrayal of the Germans in his literature. Though Steinbeck did not go through the same experiences of war and loss as the other two authors have, he has experienced a fair share of struggle. Steinbeck won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 but was highly criticized as many people believed that he did not deserve the award, regardless of his many accomplishments such as “The Grapes of Wrath”. All of revered and respected men have shared a common theme throughout their lives, one being the impact of the ...
The warfare before World War I was that of chivalry and heroic ideals, in which soldiers gave their lives for noble causes and, by doing so, went down in history as honourable heroes. The high recruitment rate at the beginning of the Great War shows that in 1914 a whole generation of young men wanted to fight because they believed in the just cause of it. However, the soldiers quickly discard and outgrow this simplistic view and become aware that “the War is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it” (Sassoon). The tragedy of World War I lies in the fact that so many people lost their lives, either as soldiers or as collateral damage, simply because of rival imperialism, which once more shows that humanity’s greatest enemy is man himself.
“Now every road and highway…was littered with the corpses of human beings and animals…the wounded were left to die. Children ran frantically, shrieking for their mothers…there was no food, water, soap, or medical supplies. Like polluted waters became carriers of disease (Kasenkina 93).” This is a typical scene of war demonstrated in literary works. In literature war is a very common, yet important subject and it is generally demonstrated in plays, short stories, and novels. Some of the pieces of literature in where war is shown include: The Crucible by Arthur Miller, “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and Leap to Freedom by Kasenkina. In these pieces of literature war is shown as a horrid event that always has both physically and psychologically bad outcomes. In many literary works including the ones mentioned above the good outcomes in war are misrepresented and suppressed by the bad outcomes in war.
War and its ramifications for those who are unfortunately entangled in it, is an issue that has fueled both political discussion and literary exploration throughout the previous century. Underived, authentic accounts of the experience and effects of war, from those who have served in it, can be especially enlightening for the majority of society who have had the fortune of not being intimately familiar with war. Through the examination of poems and stories written by soldiers, who were inspired by their involvement in conflict, one can obtain a greater understanding of this gruesome aspect of life, without having to directly experience it. Similarly, soldier turned poet, Bruce Weigl, has contributed his perspective on war through his literary
Stewart, Matthew C. "Ernest Hemingway and World War I: Combatting Recent Psychobiographical Reassessments, Restoring the War." Papers on Language & Literature 36.2 (2000): 198-221.
The World War One novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “There were many words you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene” (Hemingway, ‘A Farewell to Arms’, 1929). Hemingway knew the horrors of war. He was a veteran of World War One. This was a war where 65 million troops were mobilized, and 37 million were killed, wounded, or went missing. War was seen as glorious until these views were brought in. Hemingway became famous for his writing as a member of the ‘Lost Generation’ of American writers. He, along with writers such as Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot made up the great American writers of the time. However, they did have their European
Autobiographies, diaries, letters, official records, photographs and poems are examples of primary sources from World War One. The two primary sources analyzed in this essay are the poems, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. Primary sources are often personal, written from the limited perspective of a single individual. It is very difficult for the author to capture their own personal experience, while incorporating the involvement and effects of other events happening at the same time. Each piece of writing studied describes the author’s perception of the war. Both of the poems intend to show to grave reality of war, which often was not realized until the soldiers reach the frontlines. The poems were both written at battle within two years of each other. However, the stark difference between the two poems is astonishing. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” gives a much different impression than “In Flanders Field” despite the fact that both authors were in the same war and similar circumstances. The first two lines in “In Flanders Fields” “…the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row.” are an image o...
World War One had an inevitable effect on the lives of many young and naive individuals, including Wilfred Owen, who, like many others, joined the military effort with the belief that he would find honour, wealth and adventure. The optimism which Owen initially had toward the conflict is emphasised in the excerpt, in which he is described as “a young poet…with a romantic view of war common among the young” (narrator), a view which rapidly changed upon reaching the front. Owen presents responders with an overwhelming exploration of human cruelty on other individuals through acts of war and the clash of individual’s opposed feelings influenced by the experiences of human cruelty. This is presented through the horrific nature of war which the
War is an important theme in Mrs. Dalloway (1925), a post World War I text. While on the one hand there is the focus on Mrs. Dalloway’s domestic life and her ‘party consciousness’, on the other there are ideas of masculinity and “patriotic zeal that stupefy marching boys into a stiff yet staring corpse and perniciously public-spirited doctors” , and the sense of war reverberates in the entire text. Woolf’s treatment of the Great War is different from the normative way in which the War is talked about in the post world war I texts. She includes in her text no first hand glimpse of battlefield, instead gives a detached description. This makes it more incisive because she delineates the after effects in personal ordinary lives. Judith Hattaway remarks that “Woolf’s view of the war is different. It does not figure in terms of mud and barbed wire but rather through its points of contact with the ordinary life left behind and in its destruction of a secure past. Woolf actually looks at the ways in which the war has changed contemporary ways of looking at history, social structures, identity and boundaries.” Formally the war is over but in so many ways – the after effects, devastation that has not been compensated for, the horror that lingers in people’s minds – the war persists. As Mrs. Dalloway walks along the streets of London, she makes a very naïve statement, “for it was the middle of June. The War was over “but for people like Septimus Smith the war continues in the form of its everlasting destructive impact on their mind, their body, and their lives.