The+Literature

=An Episode of War= by Stephen Crane



Themes:

 * war**: the harsh reality and first hand account of life in the military
 * regret**: of amputation
 * deception**: The doctor led the man to a false sense of security.

//This short story was inspired by the Civil War which is claimed to be the bloodiest in all American history and which took the lives 600,000 soldiers. The crude medical care of the time managed to leave many wounds in very bad conditions which left more American casualties than most previous wars.//

The theme of war is presented throughout the short story //An Episode of War// by, Stephen Crane. War can be found to be “a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air. ” Throughout this short story, a force of arms is found when the lieutenant is shot in the arm by the opponents who are hiding in the trees. This can show how this story contains a theme of war. The lieutenant being shot was also a surprise attack from the opponents, while the rest of the soldiers were just minding their own business and not doing anything wrong. In this short story, the theme of war relates to the time period because the weapons of choice were exactly the same as the time period it represents, and along with this, the time period also represents bad knowledge of medical tools, which as shown in the picture on page 480, shows that they were not very advanced and very dirty.
 * Summary**:

Another theme shown in this story is deception. The first event that involved deception was where the lieutenant was shot in the arm. This was deception because they had no idea that they were in the middle of a battle, and the opponents were hiding in the woods when they opened fire. Another incident where deception occurred was towards the end of the story, where the doctor was using dishonesty to help the injured lieutenant to feel more comfortable. He would say “Come along, now. I wont amputate it.” This scam had a deeper purpose; to help the injured man feel more comfortable and to be less resistant to suggestions that the doctor might have to do to the patient.

This short story is also an example of realism in the fact that it helped the character to realize that war was not a game and that when people went to war with each other, that they were fighting to the death. It helps to give the character and the reader a sense that war is not something to just be messed around with and that peoples lives actually do get taken. Who knows, maybe this was meant to to express a point to all of the readers that all causes that may seem solved by war, may not even be worth it in the end. The author uses this sense of realism, to help everone realize that war and guns and weapons kill people, and that their lives stop. Their families live out the rest of thier lives with out that person. A question posed by the author with his sense of realism, Is war worth the lives?

= = = = =Life and Death Every Day= by Cal Perry



Themes:

 * War**: tells the stories of major injury caused by the effects of combat
 * Bravery and Temerity**: in the face of danger, Capt. Steinbruner had to be brave for all of his men, to show weakness to his men would only scare them.
 * Dismay**: The wounded soldier was greatly depressed and even believed that he was going to die. He thought of the horrible things that were going to happen to him and what life would be like without his loved ones.
 * Fear**:All of the soldiers were afraid of what had happened, not all of them showed it as openly as those who had recently been wounded. The soldiers inflicted with battle injuries were striped of their manly exterior to show their true scared selves when faced with death.

//Ever since the United States was attacked back in September 11, of 2001 there has been an ongoing war with Iraq. This war has taken much longer than initially expected and also created much controversy among the nations of the world. Some support it for they want to get rid of the terrorism that haunts many people, and some are against the horrors that the american troops have caused for the middle eastern country.//

Many war accounts speak of the brutal reality that is combat. In an article by Cal Perry, he recalls a story of a young private who received heavy wounds during routine battle round. The captain of the squad had to show immense bravery while he saw many of his men die before him. The article goes on to explain what became of the soldier while never failing to show the captain’s valor while caught in true danger. These days it is not uncommon to hear stories of “The War on Terror.” because they are everywhere. The temerity of these men is not always appreciated, yet everything they do takes much boldness and rashness.
 * Summary:**

Undoubtedly, war can be seen as the most dominant theme of the article, and in America war seems to be a hot topic. By hearing as article like “Life and Death Every Day” people feel more connected to the reality that is war. Articles like these definitely hurt American nationalis because they create biased opinions. After 9/11 many were very hasty about jumping into a war to defend their national reputation, we as American feel that our country is the all-mighty nation. As the events preceding 9/11 unfolded, people’s attitudes changed, some totally reversed their thinking. Where America lies in the war issues is very controversial and is criticized by many.

Fear is undoubtedly an underlined theme in this article by Perry. The fear that the private experiences the entire time as he is injured and laying in bed he worries of what is to come, for he has no idea of what the future holds for him, it becomes blurred. This is a perfect parallel to what ocurred in //An Episode of War// in which the lieutenant returned home and "his sister, hismother, his wife, sobbed for a long time at the sight of the flat sleeve", and he stood ashamed and close to tears. As the private realized that he was in danger his life flahse before his eyes and he was more afraid of what he would lose than for what was hurting him.


 * //How the themes were used. Then and Now...//** Realism during this time was eye opening to the masses even during and after the American Civil War. This can be revealed in many of the works of literature, like magazines, radical books, and even music. One of the leading revolutionists of this subject was Mark Twain which he shows in, Huckleberry Finn, which goes on to criticize the American nation and their dealing with slavery as well as the yearning for their Manifest Destiny. The themes found in the literature are of bravery and the real fear that comes along with war. From "Life and Death Every Day" the reader learns about the cowardice, uncertainty, gory and the loneliness that comes along with being in the war.

The idea of having the the American population knew of many inside issues dealing with the country, which was something new and became useful specially at the beginning of the 20th century. During this time Americans had imperialized their empire and the new crusaders who called themselves "progressives" waged war on many evils. They took over monopoly, corruption, inefficiency, and social injustice. they wanted to "Strengthen the State." Just like today in our war with Iraq, the American ingenuinely tried to hide from the public the horrors that were happening, so as to keep the American nationalism strong and the positive prospects up. And it was not until after the first year that American's started hearing about the deaths and casualties of the soldiers.