The purpose of this essay is to compare the of Wendell Berry’s essay, “The Failure of War”, Dorianne Laux’s poem, Staff Sgt. Metz and Damon Winter’s photograph of Sgt. Brian Keith. All three of these pieces represent the controversial issue of War which is a topic for a argumentative piece. In two of the written pieces the writer acknowledges the opposition, however, the picture the opposition is implied. Each piece has a purpose aimed at an audience with an emotional appeal. All three of these pieces represent a firm standing on the effects of War on humans. When examining Damon Winters photo of Sgt. Brian Keith features of a visual argument appear. The picture is a representation of an implied statement. The picture shows a Soldier with his family in the last moments before he is deployed to Afghanistan. When examining Wendell Berry’s piece his argument is stated in the sentence of his essay. “If you know even as little history as I do, it is hard not to doubt the efficacy of modern war as a solution to any problem except that of retribution¬¬-the “justice” of exchanging damage for another” (Berry, 2005). After reading Dorianne Laux poem in her first stanza she states “Metz is alive for now” (Laux, 2011). This clearly states her position, it captures the tension of the whole poem. The poem depicts her emotional appeal to war using her brother and boyfriend ties to the war. I found a sense of connection to Winters picture of Sgt. Brian Keith. I understand the
“Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, are two powerful poems with the graphical life like images on the reality of war. It is apparent that the authors was a soldier who experienced some of the most gruesome images of World War I. In “Ducle et Decorum Est” Owen tells us about a personal experience in which he survived a chemical warfare attack. Although he survives, some of his fellow troops do not. As in “Facing It” Komunyakaa is also a soldier who has survived a war. Komunyakaa response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit to Lin’s memorial. Inspired by the monument, Komunyakaa confronts his conflicted feelings about Vietnam, its legacy, and even more broadly, the part race plays in
Everyday men and women die in the most brutal way possible away from their family either killed from gun shots or landmines and they do come back. But in caskets, as images like these emphasize the destruction of war and these snaps just show the side effects of humankind's worse anger being shown. In the Article “The Stranger in the Photo Is Me”, Donald M. Murray expresses how harsh it really was in the war and how it changed himself forever and not in a good way. Not to mention, that he describes the way he felt ready to go to war, maybe even excited, but he wishes that horror on no one “I would not wish for a child or grandchild of mine to undergo the blood test of war” as the sacrifice these men and women go through is undeniably tremendous
In everyday society cruelty is faced, weather yet another person is arrested for the killing of and innocent animal, or even the seemingly never ending brutality of the police forces going viral on YouTube yet again. Of course we have the do not touch subjects, such as war. The constant debate over is killing innocent people okay, just because it’s war. Jack London really brings this point alive in his short story “War”. In this thought-provoking piece of literature the odd uses of characterization, symbolism, morals, and irony lead a reader to an overall statement of theme that simply war is cruel.
The strong imagery paints a picture of the battlefield and draws a connection between the past and present leaving the football players with a feeling of loss.
Whether it’s war or terrorism, children who want to grow securely is living amongst the affected nation. War is obliterating those talented individuals in their childhood who can radically transform the world itself. The two disputed countries may also have justifications to protect the welfares of their own people. There can be wealth and nuclear weapons to demolish this world as a whole. However, peacefully negotiated approach is coveted to compromise on each other. No country can rationalize weapons of mass obliteration and debacles. Often, it is a foolish decision of the pioneers of the country, making it a pretext for the combat. It’s the upright soldiers and their families who need to survive the demise and serious injuries from the weapons. For the last centuries, the spontaneous overflow of poetry has portrayed human emotions concerning wide range of universal issues. Both the poets Donald Bruce Dawe and Wilfred Owen exemplify this cataclysm of losing your families and the conditions the soldiers face, through their notable poems Homecoming and Dulce et Decorum Est.
At the same time, O’Brien struggles with destructiveness of the conflicting images of violence and peace in death through the juxtaposition of the imagery of the dead man. While “his one eye was shut, the other eye was a star-shaped hole.” The dead man has one shut eye that resembles a peaceful sleep, while the other side is obliterated by the grenade into a star-shaped hole. The image of the star-shaped hole in the dead soldier’s eye represents the hopes that he once had when he was alive: “He hoped the Americans would go away. Soon, he hoped. He kept hoping and hoping, always” (119). Furthermore, “his right cheek was smooth and hairless,” an image of untouched innocence that contrasts with his left cheek, which was “peeled back in three ragged strips,” destroyed by the violence O’Brien inflicts upon it. The juxtaposition of the butterfly that settles on his chin and the fatal wound on his neck, “open to the spinal cord…blood…thick and shiny” illustrate the complexity and ambiguity of the unnaturalness of war, depicted by the image of the dead man’s wrung neck, contrasted with the ironic peace and naturalism of death in the image of the fragile butterfly. These select images are also those that O’Brien chooses to fixate upon and develop throughout the chapter as he struggles to comprehend the moral implications of his actions. The innocence of the “slim, dead, almost dainty young man” is further reinforced when O’Brien describes his wrists as “wrists of a
Since the beginning of time, humans have sought after power and control. It is human instinct to desire to be the undisputed champion, but when does it become a problem? Warfare has been practiced throughout civilization as a way to justify power. Though the orders come directly from one man, thousands of men and women pay the ultimate sacrifice. In Randall Jerrell’s “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner”, Jarrell is commenting on the brutality of warfare. Not only does Jarrell address the tragedies of war, he also blames politics, war leaders, and the soldier’s acknowledgement of his duties. (Hill 6) With only five lines of text, his poems allows the reader to understand what a soldier can go through. With the use of Jerrell’s poem, The Vietnam War, and Brian Turner’s “Ameriki Jundee”, the truth of combat will be revealed.
The collection of poems “Theater”, “Water”, and “Safe House” by Solmaz Sharif shows the varied viewpoints of how war affects the speakers and how death is all too common in the midst of warfare. The author uses a spectrum of literary techniques to enhance the experience of the reader, so we can fully grasp the severity of each speaker’s plight. All of Sharif’s poems differ in form with the use of white space and indentations in “Theater”, colons in “Water”, and a style of abecedarian using the letter S in “Safe House”. While her diverse use of forms generate different emotions from the reader, they share the same notion of how violence is problematic. Each poem has a unique outlook to the sight of war: “Theater” being in the position of a victim and an assailant of war, “Water” explaining a war mission and fatalities in terse terms, and “Safe House” as an observer of an activist against war. Sharif’s strategy to exemplify the effects of how war affects the victim and the civilian is particularly critical because mass media tends to hide the collateral damage of war and only illustrates why we should attack the “enemy”. Another approach the author uses to critique the speakers central conflicts is by arranging words from the US Department of Defense 's Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, to concur with the message of the several ways war influences the lives of those who are unwillingly encompassed by it. Sharif uses poetry as an outlet to show the underlying tone
In this book, Smith takes a raw and personal perspective, sharing anecdotes and stories that simply are not present in newspaper dispatches about the war. Smith makes his case very solid and appealing because he always backs up his judgments and conclusions with personal stories of
The message that Vietnam Reflections was sending is one of remorse, and the inability to move on after a horrific war. The image depicts a man standing in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which his hand on the names of the dead, his head bowed and brow furrowed. On the glass of the memorial are the ghosts of soldiers, matching their hand with his on the glass. The feeling of remorse and isolation that comes from this was relayed into my image in the hanging of the soldier. He is hanging from skeleton hands and a medal of honor, creating those same feelings of remorse and isolation. The ideas interpreted from Vietnam Reflections were taken and modified to be used in my image of the objects of war as a
Good morning, Mr Colyer and fellow classmates. Today I am going to discuss and analyse how societal attitudes to war have changed over time. First, we must explore the idea of a hero. What is a hero? It is a concept that has evolved over time to conform to the ideas and thoughts of the authors that have existed and written over the centuries. The concept has constantly changed and shaped it to fit their views, and left us with an amalgamation of ideas and thoughts and viewpoints on what heroism actually is. The differences in views are clearly shown in the two contrasting poems that were made in time periods only a few hundred years apart. King Henry V’s ‘Once more unto the breach’ speech in famous playwright Shakespeare’s play ‘Henry V’, portrays war as noble and illustrious, while Wilfred Owen, a soldier and poet in World War One, describes the war in ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ as senseless and inhumane, writing 318 years later.
The heartbreaking photo of an American soldier comforting an Iraqi girl, as she vigorously fights for her life. Her pink sweater sleeve saturated with blood on the right side of her arm captured my attention as a child in despair. The solider safeguarded the irreparable child as he exhibits empathy in her time of need, after being separated by her family during the Iraqi war. The distressed looked upon the perturbed soldiers face with his eyes close, as if he is praying for the well-being of the injured child. While he sits in the desert, with his backpacks on the ground surrounding him and his fellow soldiers standing in the scenery with combat gear, holding assault rifles.
The Veteran 's Vision Project uses photography and the mirror to illustrate the many reanges of problems veterans are facing after service in the United States military. There is a wide range of emotions, relations and in some cases the mental dilemma that stands in front of the veteran. By not using any words the artist is trying to show by body posture and facial expressions that can readily show how a person is changed by war. Now most images are serious and show some level of struggle to try to live in a culture where the idea of war is ignored or almost non-existent. Most all reflections have a military image on one side or the other, but in a couple of cases have uniforms on both sides of the mirror. Standing at attention in uniform is the usual stance of military bearing and the almost steely eyed focus of a determined effort to fight a war is a standard of conduct. Now after the time is served, some come from service to find that
Through his photography expeditions, Steve McCurry observes the consequences of war on people. He depicts not only the effects on landscapes but on human face as well. He aims to portray the imprudent moment, experiences imprinted on people’s face and a soul escaping.
“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” (Ralph Hattersley) In this photograph taken by Eddie Adams, it may be assumed that the photographer was attempting to prove that war and hatred is not worth the value of life. A man with a pitiful face is handcuffed with a mysterious man holding a gun to the unarmed man as a soldier observes. This dated image depicting the conflict in Vietnam causes the viewer to feel the oppressive, violent wartime of the era.