Editha

603 Words2 Pages

What are you going to do if your girlfriend asks you to give up your life for your country? The first thing I will do is pick up my cell phone to call my family doctor to schedule an appointment to check my ears and make sure they are working well, or I can put on a strong emotional face to ask her, "Are you serious?" Most people would not want to see the person they love go off to a place where they could possibly die. In William Dean Howells' short story, "Editha", however, the main character is an unusual woman, Editha, who has her own perfect ideals and pushes them on her lover, George, to ask him to fight in the Spanish-American War. In the story Howells not only brought his anti-war message about the dangers of war but also satirized the United States' governments that have foolish ideas about the reasons to go to war. To do this, Editha's personalities are irrational patriotism, selfish romanticism understanding, and unrealistic ideas about war.

Editha is guilty of exaggerated irrational patriotism to push George to the war. She believes that there is no question of wrong since the war has come. The people have no choice for right or wrong as this is our government's decision that must be right. No matter how much the war is going to cost us, we have to support our patriotism. At the beginning, Editha throws all her ideals of duty and blind devotion to her country in order to persuade George to go to the war even though his conscience condemns war. Howells has not mentioned other main reasons to fight for the country. Does that mean we can use our love of our country to kill other foreigners who love their country also? Then the new definition for patriotism comes out as using love to murder. Editha's patriotism reflects how people use patriotism to push other people to war because they think the war is necessary. Seeing through the wars from the past, are we protecting our country, and are we really patriotic?

Editha's romantic idea for the war is that the one who loves have to show her that he is able to be a hero for her. When George announces that there is war, Editha surprises him and the readers by saying "how glorious" (298).

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