Wilfred Owen was a selfish coward who would rather choose personal gain over altruism. However, his ability to translate, specifically and graphically, the lives through the eyes of the soldiers of World War I was revolutionary in its fashion. Never before had literature seen the depictions of combat as Owen had illustrated. His poems have made him the war poet of the time. There is no doubt that his personal experiences and observations enabled him to express the ugliness of the war to those who may have no idea otherwise.
Heroes choose to abide by their role and stick with it. They do not try to reconcile themselves with the rest of the world. Times of heroism are generally times of terror, but that day never shines in which this element may not work. The circumstances of man, we say, are historically somewhat better in this country, and at this hour, than perhaps ever before. One of the best examples that I can think of is when Beowulf fought Grendel and won.
But how do we know what to feel good about or not? It all depends on the person listening to the story. People react differently to stories than others do. We can tell that O’Brien’s story is true because his forthright tone reflects how real the events were. It shows us how he feels about the war.
Albert Einstein was asked what weapons World War III would be fought with, to which he replied “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. War is a monster that feeds on the patriotism and ideals of young men and leaves horror and suffering in its wake. While reading the book All Quiet on the Western Front, I developed a deeper understanding of what war is like, and why it should be avoided at all costs. As a teenager growing up in America, I was surrounded by the concept of war. Most of these depictions show war being glorious, noble, and even fun at times.
Chickenhawk really gripped me as a story, even more so because all of the events are true and happened to real people. The detail in which he recalls and retells his story is just immense and at times I found the book quite impossible to put down. The best thing about the book to me was really being able to get in on a war situation and see what it was like, from setting up camp and digging latrines to flying into crowded areas amongst massive shootouts and trying to evade Vietnamese artillery. The book really enabled me to get into Bob’s head, and the last 2 chapters are heart-wrenching because we see his life spiral downwards all because of a war
This fact testifies just how the beginning of such an event was ravishing and even revolutionary for the mind of the common man in the early 20th century. War was welcomed with cheers and adventures spirit as of a brief excursion to wilderness; even most of those who were considered intellectuals of their time were swept of their feet by the idea of war as stated by Bertrand Russell, a distinguished mathematician and philosopher. Bertrand Russell was also a strong pacifist and one of the rare that remained a realistic and was not tempted by the idea of war. He was able to foresee some of the devastating consequences that the war will bring, but no one was able to even guess what the final result would be. Berlin may have been the only capital that experienced some opposition to the war, such was organized by the Berlin Social Democrats but was quickly over shouted by the hoards of “fire-eaters” as stated by Philipp Scheidemann; simply, everyone wanted war.
Benjamin Franklins “The Way to Wealth” was an extraordinary piece of knowledge and wisdom. The passage that really grabbed my attention was on page 221 paragraph 3. After I read that paragraph I stopped for a second and just thought about the quotes, then I read the paragraph over and over again. I really admire Franklin’s quotes in this passage. In this paragraph Franklin states “lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough:” This quote means a lot to me because it is extremely true, no matter how much time we have in the day it never feels like enough.
It is amazing to note that its contents have continued to intrigue modern scholars and writers. The significance and importance of Sun Zi’s Art of War in influencing military thought and political thinking has seldom been questioned. All the top military academies of the world would vouch to have copies of the book in their libraries. Many of them have also included Sun Zi’s Art of War as part of the curricula for the training of top military commanders. It may surprise readers that Sun Zi Art of War is a short book.
I agree with the fact that war does usually resolve problems by making it clear what is wanted, and enforcing it physically. If one looks at the history of the world, it is true that some of the biggest problems appear to have been solved quite efficiently by fighting. Admittedly, sometimes in politics the decision is made but nothing is actually ever solved. However, I disagree with the fact that violence keeps everyone satisfied with the solution and that it solves the problem in a fair way. Voting in politics is very clever, since there are no advantages or disadvantages as there is in war, seeing as everyone has an equal vote.
What mattered was the truth of war and what he felt he must share and let people know. The pararhyme here links key words and ideas, without detracting from the meaning and solemnity of the poem, as a full rhyme sometimes does. However, the failure of two similar words to rhyme and the obvious omission of a full rhyme creates a sense of discomfort and incompleteness. It is a discordant note that matches well to the disturbing mood of the poem. Therefore, Theme 1: Brutality and horrors of war (and their effect on the individual) Poem 1: topic sentence, quotes, techniques, analysis/ significance/ effect, link to question Poem 2: topic sentence, quotes, techniques, analysis/ significance/ effect, link to question Paragraph 2 To Owen, war is not sweet, nor is it honourable and these ideas are explored throughout the poem, Dulce et Decorum est.