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First Draft
It’s Just a War Theory.
War is something that people say has reason. Some say that it is important for people to fight for their country. They claim tThat is loyaltythat is what loyalty is. But war means death, and death means pain for those left behind. So can
There is a poem that my classwe read in the sixth grade, that really spoke to me. It that went something like this:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. (
John McCrae)
This poem is my view of war, and how I have seen it growing up. The reason why battles happens and people die, is not because soldiers want to fight. It is because the superior forces who are overtaken with greed, want to see power flowing through their claims.
This poem is my view of war. Fighting creates pain. It creates suffering. With war comes the death of loved ones, and how is it even possible for us to any way, justify war? In All quiet in the Western Front, how is it that we can say that the death of all those men were fine? Can we even try to justify their deaths?
Unlike what I believe, however, there are people who say that, “Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood” (George S. Patton). To those me, To those men I would like to ask them, have you ever experienced war? Have you ever been on those front lines, and seen death, orand watched one of your closest friends be killed before your very own eyes? “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity” (Dwight Eisenhower).
People who have experienced war, and people who have watched on the outskirts have different perspectives on the matter. I for one have not been in war, but I do believe that it is ridiculous that people try to prove that what they are doing is for “a good cause.”
What is a good cause? Is it why a manyou fights?
Perhaps it is that which a person fight’s for. … People make their own reasons to be in a war. Sometimes it is for peace, other times for their country. “ The biggest reason that I believe is the most common is for loved ones and family. By fighting in the war, they think that they are protecting and saving the ones they love, in some way. That is how they stay sane and. That is how they keep their motivation to fight. “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing more. I am so alone and so without hope that I cannot confront them without fear” (Remarque 295).
Works Cited
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html
War is something that people say has reason. Some say that it is important for people to fight for their country. They claim tThat is loyaltythat is what loyalty is. But war means death, and death means pain for those left behind. So can
There is a poem that my classwe read in the sixth grade, that really spoke to me. It that went something like this:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. (
John McCrae)
This poem is my view of war, and how I have seen it growing up. The reason why battles happens and people die, is not because soldiers want to fight. It is because the superior forces who are overtaken with greed, want to see power flowing through their claims.
This poem is my view of war. Fighting creates pain. It creates suffering. With war comes the death of loved ones, and how is it even possible for us to any way, justify war? In All quiet in the Western Front, how is it that we can say that the death of all those men were fine? Can we even try to justify their deaths?
Unlike what I believe, however, there are people who say that, “Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood” (George S. Patton). To those me, To those men I would like to ask them, have you ever experienced war? Have you ever been on those front lines, and seen death, orand watched one of your closest friends be killed before your very own eyes? “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity” (Dwight Eisenhower).
People who have experienced war, and people who have watched on the outskirts have different perspectives on the matter. I for one have not been in war, but I do believe that it is ridiculous that people try to prove that what they are doing is for “a good cause.”
What is a good cause? Is it why a manyou fights?
Perhaps it is that which a person fight’s for. … People make their own reasons to be in a war. Sometimes it is for peace, other times for their country. “ The biggest reason that I believe is the most common is for loved ones and family. By fighting in the war, they think that they are protecting and saving the ones they love, in some way. That is how they stay sane and. That is how they keep their motivation to fight. “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing more. I am so alone and so without hope that I cannot confront them without fear” (Remarque 295).
Works Cited
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html
Second Draft
It’s Just a War Theory.
War brings people of young ages to a battlefield, to fight a battle that influential men in the government who are craving more power, have begun. "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow (Remarque 263). . I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another" (Remarque 263).
Young men from the ages of eighteen through twenty five are in the range of what is called The Selective Service Act, established in 1917. It is also known as the drafting of soldiers. When these men are still just beginning to live, they are taken from their homes, their families, and their futures to serve in the war. What is worse, is some men don’t get to live their lives at all. Dead or alive, their time in school is interrupted, and they end up living lives that are horrible after the fighting is done. “‘The war has ruined us for everything'" (Remarque 87). There is a poem that my class read in the sixth grade, that really spoke to me. It went something like this:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. (John McCrae)
This poem is my view of war, and how I have seen it growing up. The reason why battles occur and people die, is not because soldiers want to fight. It is because the political leaders who are overtaken with greed, want to see power flowing through into the palm of their hands.. “While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying... they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing,” (Remarque 49).
Unlike what I believe, however, there are people who say that, “Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood” (George S. Patton). To those men I would like to ask, have you ever experienced war? Have you ever been on those front lines, and seen death, or watched one of your closest friends be killed before your very own eyes? “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity” (Dwight Eisenhower).
People who have experienced war, and people who have watched on the outskirts have different perspectives on the matter. I for one have not been in war, but I do believe that it is ridiculous that people try to prove that what they are doing is for “a good cause.” What is a good cause? Is it why a man fights?
Perhaps it is that which a person fight’s for. People make their own reasons to be in a war. Sometimes it is for peace, other times for their country. “ The biggest reason that I believe is the most common is for loved ones and family. By fighting in the war, they think that they are protecting and saving the ones they love, in some way. That is how they stay sane and keep their motivation to fight. “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing more. I am so alone and so without hope that I cannot confront them without fear” (Remarque 295). And sometimes, staying away from them is the reason you don’t want to go home.
Works Cited Page
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html
https://www.sss.gov/About/Agency-Mission/Military-Selective-Service-Act
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/aq/quo.html#gsc.tab=0
War brings people of young ages to a battlefield, to fight a battle that influential men in the government who are craving more power, have begun. "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow (Remarque 263). . I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another" (Remarque 263).
Young men from the ages of eighteen through twenty five are in the range of what is called The Selective Service Act, established in 1917. It is also known as the drafting of soldiers. When these men are still just beginning to live, they are taken from their homes, their families, and their futures to serve in the war. What is worse, is some men don’t get to live their lives at all. Dead or alive, their time in school is interrupted, and they end up living lives that are horrible after the fighting is done. “‘The war has ruined us for everything'" (Remarque 87). There is a poem that my class read in the sixth grade, that really spoke to me. It went something like this:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. (John McCrae)
This poem is my view of war, and how I have seen it growing up. The reason why battles occur and people die, is not because soldiers want to fight. It is because the political leaders who are overtaken with greed, want to see power flowing through into the palm of their hands.. “While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying... they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing,” (Remarque 49).
Unlike what I believe, however, there are people who say that, “Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood” (George S. Patton). To those men I would like to ask, have you ever experienced war? Have you ever been on those front lines, and seen death, or watched one of your closest friends be killed before your very own eyes? “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity” (Dwight Eisenhower).
People who have experienced war, and people who have watched on the outskirts have different perspectives on the matter. I for one have not been in war, but I do believe that it is ridiculous that people try to prove that what they are doing is for “a good cause.” What is a good cause? Is it why a man fights?
Perhaps it is that which a person fight’s for. People make their own reasons to be in a war. Sometimes it is for peace, other times for their country. “ The biggest reason that I believe is the most common is for loved ones and family. By fighting in the war, they think that they are protecting and saving the ones they love, in some way. That is how they stay sane and keep their motivation to fight. “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing more. I am so alone and so without hope that I cannot confront them without fear” (Remarque 295). And sometimes, staying away from them is the reason you don’t want to go home.
Works Cited Page
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/flanders-fields
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html
https://www.sss.gov/About/Agency-Mission/Military-Selective-Service-Act
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/aq/quo.html#gsc.tab=0
Final Paper
Amy Young
Mr. Pangier
A2 Literature
April 4th, 2016
War brings people of young ages to a battlefield, to fight a battle that influential men in the government craving more power, have begun. "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow (Remarque 263). Can it be justified that these men risk their lives for a peace that can never be eternal? Dead or alive, their time in school is interrupted, and they end up living lives that are horrible after the fighting is done. “‘The war has ruined us for everything'" (Remarque 87). There is a poem that my class read in the sixth grade, that really spoke to me about the soldiers. It went something like this:
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
This poem is my view of war, and how I have seen it growing up. The reason why battles occur and people die, is not because soldiers want to fight. It is because the political leaders who are overtaken with insatiable greed, want to see power flowing through into the palm of their hands. It is a gauge that can never be filled. “While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying...” (Remarque 49). The soldiers fight while the wealthy and rich drink champagne, hoping for the best. In Thomas' Foster's, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, There is a chapter that talks about vampires, but how it isn't only blood that is getting sucked from humans. It is the energy, and the will to live. War is a vampire. It sucks the will to live out of the soldiers who fight in it, ultimately concluding with the death of them.
Unlike what I believe, however, there are people who say that, “Battle is the most magnificent competition… The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood” (George S. Patton). Their argument is: There is always a wide variety of reasons for war to begin, such as religion, money, power and hatred. Why would one start for absolutely no reason if it wasn’t for a country's benefits? That is their perspective, but war is more than just fighting. It is about watching death and smelling the stench of rotting bodies out in the field. I would like to ask them whether they have ever been on those front lines and seen death, or watched one of their closest friends get shot and killed. “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can. Only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity...” (Eisenhower). The shrewd people who have been in a war, such as our grandparents, know of the fear fighting brings. That is why they know why it must be avoided at all costs.
People who have experienced war, and people who have watched on the outskirts have different perspectives on the matter. Experiencing war is different from reading about it in the papers and having an outside perspective on the topic. I believe that it is ridiculous that people try to prove that what they are doing is for “a good cause.” What defines a good cause? Is it the same for everyone?
Perhaps their causes are that which a person fight’s for. People make their own reasons to be on the frontlines. Sometimes it is for peace, other times for their country. By fighting in the war, they think that they are protecting and saving the ones they love, in some way. But they also have to die before they even begin living. That is why war cannot be justified. And yes, peace can never be kept, but there are other ways to fight. Through words, through advice… Not through killing and death. Death does not only affect the one who died; it affects the people who loved that person.
Works Cited
Poets.org. In Flanders Fields, 1872-1918. Web. McCrea, John “In Flanders Fields”
Brainyquote.com. War Quotes, n.d. Web. Eisenhower, Dwight & Patton, George
Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. 1928-1929. Print.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper Perennial, February 18, 2003. Print.