War: A Natural Subject of Literature
Nick Molloy
Literature of War
Green 4
Throughout history many literary pieces have focused on war. They have discussed the art of war, a previous war, current war, future wars, fictional wars etc. through such works as The Odyssey, The Iliad, and Beowulf. Why is this gory, sad, and most controversial topics one of the greatest subjects of literature? War has a natural conflict. All works of literature need a conflict and war is an immediate one. These conflicts aren’t always just the physical fighting. They include the tension between two or more groups or countries, the controversial topic of whether war is a humane way of settling disputes, and the inner conflict of whether one should go to war. War is one of the greatest subjects of literature because it naturally has a conflict.
The most obvious conflict in war is the physical fighting. However this is the least discussed conflict (most likely because it is the most obvious). It is fantastic for literature because it is gory thus it can be vividly described (however sick that may sound). The weapons used and emotions of the soldiers is an intriguing one because the majority reader/audience has never experienced such emotion or needed to use a weapon as such. In these cases where the actual battle is used as the conflict, the precursor, climax, and result is given. The precursor to the climax is the preparation for war/ motivational speech before the battle. The climax can be two different parts of the war: the initial clash between the groups or the final battle before one country wins. This is determined by whether one group is more dominating than the other. If each is equal, the climax will be at the end of the battle because the reader has a tougher time telling who will win and it is led up to the end. If one group is more dominating, the other will start to die off from the initial clash thus the beginning of the battle will be the climax. And finally, the result is obvious. It includes the proclamation of the winner and the consequences of the battle.
Deciding whether war is a humane and necessary way of settling disputes is the second conflict of war literature. Gilbert Murray’s “How can War Ever Be Right” essay is a great example of this conflict. He discusses how he, a pacifist, believes war to be necessary in certain circumstances. This subject is the most controversial one. Some will say fighting in general is completely wrong and we can avoid it if we all live in peace. Others say it is our duty to follow our countries beliefs in war and fight, and that by fighting we will end a more damaging conflict.
Inner conflict between going to war and defending your country or continuing your life at home is the third conflict of war literature. During the romantic age this was one of the greatest topics of war literature. The idea was that defending your country was romantic and persuaded readers to believe so. The realistic/naturalistic age satirized such idea. The realistic short story, Editha, by William Dean Howells describes how a man’s inner conflict in going to war. His romantic wife believes he should go to war to defend her honor and win her over. Reluctantly he goes and dies in a small insignificant battle. This inner conflict is a more modern idea of war.
War is one of the greatest subjects of literature because it naturally has a conflict. Because of the inner conflict, the physical conflict, or conflicting idea of war itself, it is an obvious choice for a piece of literature. The past (The Iliad), present (Iraqi War Stories), and future (Space Wars?) include and will include war as a main subject of literature.
I like your point on how you state that the physical fighting is often left out in war literature because it is the most common thing related to war. I agree with you here as there is much literature about other things such as the emotional side to war and that the physical side of war can many be the most exciting and interesting aspect.
I agree with your point about war being a natural conflict. I believe it is human nature to fight for what one believes in for their honor, integrity etc. Your point about the idea of war itself being natural was a really good one. Why would war exist in the first place if it were not natural? Good essay that’s to the point.
This is an interesting idea. authors write about war, not because of its cultural significance but rather its natural fitting into the common literary format. also the contrast of the different ways war fits this format is also a nice touch, although i think you could have differentiated a little more between the moral issues and the inner conflict.