Comparison of “War is Kind” and “A Mystery of Heroism” Heros may not be defined as superheroes such as Superman or Batman, but may be used to describe soldiers fighting in combat as Stephen Crane did in his short story, “A Mystery of Heroism.” Crane, who is widely known for his sarcasm and realist tradition, has written many literary works involving war and insensitivity. In “War is Kind” and “A Mystery of Heroism,” Crane ironically expresses his insensitivity toward war through the soldiers’ use of emotion and figurative language. The Soldier’s lack of emotion throughout the short story “A Mystery of Heroism” highly contradicts the emotion of the soldiers in the poem, “War is Kind.” In the short story, soldiers are falling to their death, …show more content…
In his poem, “War is Kind,” Crane uses irony in his opening statement, “Do not weep maiden, for war is kind,” to draw in readers from all different sides, such as those pro-war and those who were against the war. In his poem, Crane uses vivid imagery to describe both the deaths of the soldiers “because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches, raged at his breast, gulped and died,” and the flag from the Southern flag “the unexplained glory flies above them” and the Northern flag, “blazing flag… eagle with crest of red and gold” to show the readers how terrible and cruel war can be, but does it in a witty, dramatic kind of way to open the eyes of those who believe that the war is the best thing for the United States during the Civil War. Similes found in the short story such as “he wondered why he did not feel some keen agony of fear cutting his sense like a knife,” and “it came upon his heart like the grasp of claws. “ These similes allude to the terrors of the war, not knowing if the soldiers will be able to make it out alive or not. Even though all of the figurative language examples help allude to the central mood of insensitivity, Crane continues to use his wit and sarcasm to show how the war was not as friendly and useful as most Americans believed at the