The Importance Of Realism In The War Prayer

PRAISE BE TO THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA THE BEGINNING AND THE END. I GIVE YOU THANKS AND PRAISE FOR YOUR GOODNESS, YOUR MERCY, AND YOUR GRACE. I GIVE YOU THANKS FOR A MIND TO PRAY, A HEART TO SEEK YOUR FACE, AND THE AUTHORITY TO BRING MY MEMBERS UNDER SUBJECTION. I THANK-YOU FOR THIS MOMENT AND THE OPPORTUNITY EACH DAY BRINGS, I KNOW THAT EACH DAY IS SPECIAL AND I HAVE POWER, FULFILLMENT, AND UNLIMITED ,POTENTIAL. THERE ARE NO CEILING’S ON MY LIFE, OBSTACLES THAT CANNOT BE OVERCOME, NOR BARRIERS THAT STAND IN MY WAY. IN FACT THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE, AND I AM FREE TO EXERCISE ALL OF THE GIFTS AND TALENTS YOU HAVE BLESSED ME WITH. MY HOPES AND

Twain describes the time of war as “a glad and gracious time,” and the victorious soldiers as “bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory!” His positive description of imperialism represents the common belief that war is a glorious event and a source of pride for the victors. Twain also describes those against the war, but in a negative light: “the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning...” Twain’s description of anti-imperialists and the treatment they received from others shows how unpopular and seemingly insane their ideas were. Though Twain himself was an anti-imperialist, he describes them in a negative way to gain readers. Most Americans in the early 1900’s were imperialists, and through a positive and prideful description of imperialism at the beginning of his essay, Twain is able to draw in many readers he would have offended if he wrote only of the horrors of imperialism. Twain’s word choice drew in more readers, causing many to now question imperialism. Twain’s word choice describing both pro- and anti-imperialists widens his audience, and his thoughts on the effects of imperialism are seen by more readers. His word choice effectively spreads his message.

Realism, Naturalism, and Regionalism are just a few examples of the many styles of writing that exist. Each style of writing deals with a specific time period. Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”, Henry James’s “Daisy Miller”, and Mary E Wilkins Freeman’s “The Revolt of Mother” are just a few examples of the literary works that represent these time periods. These literary works are perfect examples of the specific time periods each writing style was popular among certain authors. These stories allow readers to compare the modern times that we live in currently to the period these authors were in. They also allow the reader to branch out and be different.

In the short story or prose poem, Mark Twain uses all types of rhetorical devices such as metaphor, alliteration, and diction and many more. This allows to build up an intense way of grabbing the reader’s attention. In the short story, this is manly about how the war is great news and an “aged stranger” is saying be careful of what you pray for. The War Prayer offers a poignant reflection on the double- edged moral sword implicit to war.

Mark Twain was a pacifist, aiming for this piece to influence the thoughts of the intended audience. The intended audience was among those sharing similar beliefs to himself. He used a plethora of rhetorical devices within this piece; however, the usage of metaphors and parallelism to support and strengthen the appeal to the pathos reader, was the most prevalent. The pathos intended for the reader, was not the same appeal made to the actual audience, at the time. As the reader, Twain had made the assumption that anyone not swept up in the excitement of war, would be able to understand the truth he is trying to proclaim.

In the reading “The War Prayer” by Mark Twain he describes the setting of a patriotic church service of which is about to send the towns men off to the war. But during this service a stranger enters and tells the crowd that what they are praying for which victory is also has a flip side to it. And he describes the great devastation it would bring. The theme of this reading is when wishing for something that is destructive it also has its repercussions. Mark Twain shows this theme through Irony and Imagery.

Thomas Jefferson believed that expanding westward was the key to a healthy nation. Forty percent of the population lived in trans -Appalachian west. Most people had left their homes from the East for a economic opportunity.

War has the ability to change many things about the world. While most associate the changes of war with boundaries and governments, people often forgot the influence it has over society and culture. The United States experienced a change similar to this shortly after the Civil war. Citizens were shown the brutality and devastation of war which lead to them having a grim outlook on the world. This viewpoint inspired a new generation of artists and authors who ,with their combined works, created Realism. Writers like Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Abraham Cahan, Ambrose Bierce, and Henry James pushed the drastic shift from feelings to reality in the hopes of appealing to the more literate working class. Many stories, in order to capture reality, relied on similar techniques and themes such as: simplicity, truth, and criticism.

Twain recounted his war experiences for an audience in October of 1877 at a dinner for the Boston Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He spoke before the dinner recounting his actual Civil War experience.  Twain said, “I was made Second Lieutenant and Chief Mogul of a company of eleven men, who knew nothing about-war - nor anything, for we had no Captain. My friend, who was 19 years old…and just out of the infant school, was made Orderly Sergeant. His name was Ben Tupper. He had a hard time.” Important from his statement is the confirmation that Twain actually held the exact position of the narrator of his story and also the consistent youth and inexperience of the troops. The theme of inexperience is continued in his story many times over. An example of which can be seen when the narrator describes the daily activities of the men, “afternoons, we rode off here and there in squads a few miles and visited the farmer’s girls and had a youthful good time…” These are not the action of hardened killers. Rather, they are those of innocent and ignorant boys that have the misinterpretation that they are fighting a war. This very innocence could be that which Twain shared with his “narrator” at an actual time in history when he too was playing war with the Marion Rangers.

The treatment of mental illness has gone through many reforms over the years. Stemming from some of the earliest documented cases of treatment such as trephination in 5000 B.C. to the opening of “mental” asylums starting in the late 1300s to the development of the modern healthcare system. Through the 1800s until now, major developments in mental health treatment include the evolution of the “mental” asylum, widespread psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy treatments. Primarily focusing on the treatment methods of the past two hundred or so years, the United States of America has made leaps and bounds to provide humane treatment to aid those in need.

The media does portray Latinos and other underrepresented groups in ways that lead to stereotypes. These stereotypes are portrayed in the news, films, and multiple television shows. These stereotypes are often damaging to the underrepresented group because of literal meaning people will take the stereotype. Television shows like Family Guy uses stereotypes or offensive terms in a joking matter, but these joking matters are viewed by various amount of people. For example, in Family guy there is a very popular Mexican maid by the name of Consuela. Consuela does not know proper English, demands cleaning supplies, has a son in jail, and steals. Do not worry for those who are not Mexican and feel left out; Family Guy harshly portrays basically

“The War Prayer” by Samuel L. Clemens, is his attempt to force the public to realize the implicit outcome of praying for victory in war, which inevitably is death. His use of irony and hyperbole is evident in this clever narrative. The passage satirically describes how a very religious town comes together during a time of war to pray for the downfall of the enemy and the triumph of their men. An old man then comes into the church and prays the same exact prayer that the townspeople are praying without concealing the truth. Clemens uses the old man to identify his purpose of the narrative, ignorance to war.

Dawes, James. The Language of War: Literature and Culture in the U.S. from the Civil War Through World War II. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2002. Google books.com. Web. 30 May 2014.

“An Episode of War” by Stephen Crane proves to be a fantastic way to illustrate the stylistics of the American Realist movement. The grit of the war and the formation of the blob army where each person is indistinguishable from the next provides a realistic view on how wars were fought during this time period. The way Crane shows off the world he creates is an intriguing fashion; a man severely wounded walking around with a battle raging on while he is pumping full of adrenaline. “An Episode of War” shows how a nameless character is capable of showing off a world with minimal effort.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.