The War Prayer, a satirical short story by Mark Twain, mocks the war hungry and battled spirited Americans. The political piece adopts the rhetorical devices of satire, diction, metaphor, and imagery to leave the reader with a hollowed feeling. Twain detests the resolve and enthusiasm for death and war. The country is swept up in the “positives” of violence, negating the true horrors of battle. Twain reminders the reader of the terrible consequences of this attitude, and the truths of war. The shifting tone is a quintessential tool in the short story. “It was a time of great and exalting excitement,” Twain writes. The opening is uplifting and upbeat. It embodies the souls of the country yearning for the bravery of war. The glory and thoughts of victory sweep the nation, who are caught up in a “war fever.” …show more content…
Twain eloquently captures the excitement of the nation, and the dismissal of the negatives of war. Everyone is caught up the patriotism of war, and families with soldiers to fight were “envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor.” They felt left out of the potential for victory and honor. Twain brilliant uses the tone to expose the satire in the country’s wish for war. Everyone gathers for a prayer to god for the upcoming war, and the preacher gives a compelling speech. He plays on the enthusiasm of the people, but then a stranger who is a self-proclaimed prophet gets up to give a message from God. He tells the people, in a dark way, of the horrors of the defeated and the cost of war. Of the deaths, orphans, and destruction that will be granted for the glory of
about the war and his lack of place in his old society. The war becomes
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
Mark Twain’s use of humor in the story mocks and shines light on the issues of our society’s political system from back then that continue
But in truth a true war story will stir great feelings, but may not contain a moral at all. In fact, a true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing th...
are no winners in a war just death and sorrow. Palmer explores the theme of death and how
Vivid imagery is one way with which writers protest war. Crane uses imagery to glorify, and shortly thereafter demean and undercut war, through the use of imagery, by placing positive and negative images of war close to eachother. “Blazing flag of the regiment,” and “the great battle God,” are placed before “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (A) These lines’ purposes are to put images into the reader’s head, of how great war may appear, and then displaying that there are too many casualties involved with it. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, a man is described dyin...
Twain’s use of irony in his piece “War Prayer” is used throughout by the church and their willingness to pray to God for protection of patriots however this would result in the wrong doing or even death of the others.
...se genres support the theme and the structure of the text in many ways. It is crucial for young adults, and people interested in the topic of war, to understand a literature such as this essay, so they can be able to realize the negative effects of civil war, expressed in writing and art. Themes across various genres are crucial to the stability of society and humankind, since they establish the common thinking of people. With the universal theme expressed in The Gettysburg Address, Peace isn’t Impossible, and A Man Knows a Man, readers are able to realize that the effects of civil war are negative, and that the practice of war should be abolished, which is a statement one can believe in. It is vital for people to be able to read and explore various genres in order to gain the author’s insight on life, and basic human concerns that need to be addressed more often.
A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain ...
...s, demonstrated through the author's talent, are denouncing the authority figures who were supposed to guide his generation into adulthood but instead turned the youth against each other in the pursuit of superficial ideals. The soldiers were simply the victims of a meaningless war.
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.
Twain’s novel was greatly influenced by the times and criticizes the imperfections in society. These errors in society were subjective to the current events during the Gilded Age. The following show the effects of the current times that influenced the context of the novel. One of America’s leading historians of America in the west, Patricia N. Limerick well elaborates on what happened in the Gilded Age. The following quote fro...
In the last paragraph the church goers make their final prayer for their departing soldiers and state “ O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;”. This is exactly what Twain was trying to convey during the whole satire. The church goers could not have made it any more blunt by literally saying “help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds”. At this point they are no longer alluding to the fact that they want their soldiers to kill their opponents they are just straight up saying they want them dead. Twain wanted to make sure no matter what the reader knew exactly what he was trying to get
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
When the war breaks out, this tranquil little town seems like the last place on earth that could produce a team of vicious, violent soldiers. Soon we see Jim thrown into a completely contrasting `world', full of violence and fighting, and the strong dissimilarity between his hometown and this new war-stricken country is emphasised. The fact that the original setting is so diversely opposite to that if the war setting, the harsh reality of the horror of war is demonstrated.