Analysis Of Mark Twain's The War Prayer

“The War Prayer” Précis Mark Twain, in his Harper’s Monthly juvenalian writing “The War Prayer” (1916), argues that he is against war because “visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender” are bloody and atrocious. He supports his argument by exemplifying sanctimonious situational irony, incredulous verbal irony, and incongruity. Twain’s purpose is to reveal the hypocrisy of religious people “when you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results” in order to denounce war and the support of it. He embodies an astringent tone (“If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware”)

“It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half-dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such stern and angry warning” (para. 1).

c. “The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside—which the startled minister did—and took his place” (para. 4).

Link to Argument: Twain is using situational irony in these quotes because there is a contradiction between expectations and reality. Delineated through the joy that is associated with war even though war is a solemn event without a show of jubilance; exhibited with the austere, judgmental reactions from religious people towards those against war when it is Biblically taught to love everyone no matter what; and demonstrated with the deliberate interruption of the minister where stillness and silence are the expectations during a prayer show the effectiveness of Twain’s situational irony towards his argument. In order to tergiversate the idea of war, Twain establishes a connection with the reader’s sense of ethos because the hypocrisy of religious people takes away the credibility of their support for war. Therefore, the reader is inclined to be against the war effort because it has a more credible

If the presumed understanding that God is not supposed to be terrible but is made out to be so; the putative thinking that prayers proclaimed were not the actual prayers of the heart; and the conjectural acceptance of merciless torture for the enemy that was not initially declared are all revealed to the reader, then he/she would be galvanized to be against war—Twain’s argument. These new truths justify that the true meaning of these prayers by demolishing the facts in support of war—which is just merciless annihilation of