In Chickamauga, by Ambrose Bierce, we follow the story of a young boy pretending he is a soldier. The boy wanders from his home into the woods, and eventually falls asleep by a stream. Upon waking, the boy finds himself in the aftermath of a real battle, but doesn't grasp the magnitude of his own fantasy made reality until he finds the twisted, burning wreckage of his home. Despite the brevity of the story, Bierce raises questions about the nature of war, and the realities that surround our dreams and fantasies. My question to readers is: can war ever bring glory?
I'm hoping to share this idea with my English teacher friends back in Washington, as well as some of my English major friends here in Utah.
My answer to your question; it depends entirely on the society and the environment the person has been brought up in. From my perspective, war is a horrible thing. Yes, my family and even myself have been involved in the military, but it is a sad necessity that people have to fight.
ReplyDeleteNow, if we lived in some sort of Medieval or Roman times, war would or could bring glory. Gladiatorial combat seems like an abhorrence to us, but to the gladiators, it was a way to fight for freedom and glory.