Summary Of Allan Gurganus's 'Captive Audience'

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ENC 1102 1 October 2013 Is war ever truly the answer? Can war ever be justified? The solution to both of these questions lies within the opinions and moral conductivity of a nation, more so the nation’s leaders. When two countries go to war, it is more than just the military that is fighting. The people of these countries face a battle of their own. New York Times best seller and renowned author Allan Gurganus tells his opinions about war in his short story, “Captive Audience”. He takes aim at the most recent war in the United States, the Iraqi War, and compares it to his prior experience in Vietnam. Very quickly can we tell that Gurganus is not a supporter of the government's decision to invade the middle east, and this is easily noticed…show more content…
This is by far the most effective part of his story, for the way he expresses his thoughts inevitably reaches out to his reader's emotions. Gurganus takes all of the built up thoughts and emotions he has, and puts them into this story. His purpose is to attack the Iraqi war and tell us why it is wrong to send young men into this war, and gives plenty of evidence to support his claims. To start off he describes these men as “cocksure about absolutely everything because they know next to nothing” (606). Gurganus believes we are sending a bunch of arrogant morons overseas to protect us. How he describes the men we are entrusting our lives with would make a reader realize just how bad of an idea this might be. This description could also make a reader disagree with what he is saying, for Gurganus is almost being disrespectful to these soldiers. He takes whatever glory they have obtained and basically it amounts to nothing. Many people support the troops even if they are against this war. This would be something that could strengthen or weaken his argument. He then proceeds to describe his experience with examples of horrible living conditions and saying, “ he had never known a loneliness like it” (606). This is another choice of words that make the readers wonder why anyone should endure this sort of pain. Gurganus continues to strengthen…show more content…
They can see how he lived during the time he served and how awful he made it seem. The best way to have a convincing argument is to make the audience see through the eyes of the author, and to make them envision a mental image of what the author has seen. Gurganus tells how he was, “dressed in ugly clothes exactly like 4,000 others, to be called a number, to be stuck among men who will brag and scrap and fight but never admit to any terror, any need” (606). This flashback makes the war sound very unappealing and an experience that most of his readers would not like to experience themselves. Through this detailed description, Gurganus adds to his argument, making the war sound even more horrific. He is trying to get people to see his perspective, and to make all the glory of war seem meaningless. We send these men over to live in terrible conditions and they don’t even know why they are there
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