Below is the text for another of my favorite poems. This one speaks to the theme of people being enemies because of a word of command, instead of personal conflicts. Respond to this poem and relate it to both the book as well as any other war literature or movies. The Man He Killed ~Thomas Hardy "Had he and I but met By some old ancient inn, We should have sat us down to wet Right many a nipperkin! "But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him and he at me, And killed him in his place. "I shot him dead because – Because he was my foe, Just so – my foe of course he was; That's clear enough; although "He thought he'd 'list perhaps, Off-hand like – just as I – Was out of work – had sold his traps – No other reason why. "Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down You'd treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown."
Lit Terms 2
5 years ago
4 comments:
When I read the poem, I automatically thought of the part in the book when Paul killed Gerald Duval because he was on the opposing team, not because Paul didn't like him. I think that part of the book stuck out to me the most. It was touching. I think this can also relate to any war. Say for example, you've got an old friend on the enemy side. Not only is this person your friend, but you've got to fight against them and possibly kill them because they are who you are against. One real life example I can relate to is select soccer games. My friend Hannah Ellis plays for a different team than I do. When our teams play eachother, Hannah and I are acting like nothing is wrong but when we step on the field, we'll push the other down and we'll be more agressive than we would to another player. I think this is because we're fighting for the victory of OUR team. We want to win. After the game, Hannah and I are back to normal, hold no grudges. But for isntance, in war, you could possibly kill this person and you might not get to talk and joke about the war together after it's over. I hope that got the point across.
I agree with the Anonymous poster. I really thought of the section of the book that talked about Paul and Gerald Duval. Like we mentioned at the beginning of reading the book: they thought of the enemy as an abstraction. Paul thought and experienced this until he faced Gerald Duval. Then, he realized that he was fighting actual men. I think this is a common idea in sports, media, movies, and war. This somewhat reminds me of some chick flicks. In some of them, the main character dislikes some other person for whatever reason and makes fun or harasses the individual, but doesn't really know him or her. Later on, they find out who they really are by getting to know them. I think its similar to abstraction.
This poem reminds me of when Paul was in the trench with Gerald Duval. I think the poem is saying that the only reason that enemies are against each other is because the war has caused them to be and because someone said so. If there wasn't a war they were fighting in and they ran into each other somewhere, there would be a chance of friendship. The poem and the scene with Gerald Duval both talk about being face to face with an enemy that you killed and having to watch them suffer. It changed the author's mind and Paul's mind about war completely.
This also reminded me of the scene in the book where Paul was in the trench with Geral Duval. It reminded me of this because in the poem it said,"And staring face to face,I shot at him." It brought back Paul because when he was in the trench he felt like he had to kill the Gerald Duval or be killed by him so he killed him. Although soon after he started to feel bad when he realized that the only reason he killed him was because he was told that he was evil. However,in both cases they realize that if it wasn't for war they wouldn't have killed them because if they met in any other place they probably wouldv'e been friendly towards each other;not trying to kill each other.
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