Crane in his various works seems to present war with
gritty realism. He explores such concepts as heroism and patriotism and profoundly
questions the extent to which traditional notions of these concepts are accurate and
even useful. Consider how ironic he is about war in his poem "War is Kind," which
features lines such as:
readability="12">
These men were born to drill and
die.
Point for them the virture of
slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of
killing
And a field where a thousand corpses
lie.
Note how these lines
bitterly compare to the title of the poem. Crane seems determined to debunk the various
myths surrounding war and the glory and honour associated with
it.
Likewise in some of his shorter fiction, such as "A
Mystery of Heroism," similar problems are raised. In this story, Private Collins shows
incredible bravery in going and getting water across a field directly under the fire of
the opposing army's guns. Yet, in spite of being successful, this water is spilt when
two officers fight over it, pointing towards the futility of war and man's involvement
in it.
Personally, although I have (fortunately) never been
in a war, I find lots of truth in Crane's view. Ignoring the harsh realities of war
allows myths to be created and sustained that say nothing of the bleak, futile suffering
of so many soldiers whose lives are extinguished.
No comments:
Post a Comment