Samuel Clemens Vs Wilfred Owen

Samuel Clemens analyzes how war is portrayed as an organized event due to the deficiency of information whereas Wilfred Owen examines the chaos that one is divulged to on the battlefront. Samuel Clemens’ community celebrates the commencement of war with a parade that is dedicated to the volunteers. With fireworks in the distance and toy pistols firing, “the young volunteers march down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms” (Twain). The “young” soldiers illustrate the average age of those who chose to participate in the war. Although they have heard an insufficient amount of information, they are nonetheless eager to fight. The men “march down” with a sense of order and develop the idea that the war will be machinated at all times;

Before the soldiers are sent to battle, they sit with their families who feel “envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or failing, die the noblest of noble deaths” (Twain). The town is enthralled when their loved ones are off to serve for what they think is a good cause. The families of the volunteers are “envied” because their neighbors have no one to send to the field to appease society. Referring to the battlefield as a “field of honor” emphasizes how society depicts war. They believe it is a God given right and a privilege to serve their country. To “die the noblest of noble deaths” conveys the soldiers will die in an honorable way because they died on the glorified battlefield that serves a meaningful purpose to the town. Despite this theory, Wilfred Owen exemplifies the reality of death at the front. After a war related death, the soldiers have to dispose the body. The way they know how is to “[fling]” him “behind the wagon and watch the white eyes writhing in his face” (Owen). The soldiers “fling” their colleague to illustrate how meaningless the death is. They toss him as if he is uncared for and just a number in the war death rate. The “writhing” the soldier is feeling demonstrates how unpleasant it is to die on the battlefield. There is no celebration on the soldier’s deathbed because it is atypical to glorify one’s death. Once the soldier has passed, Wilfred announces “the old Lie: [it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country]”. Death is appaling in any circumstance, but when one dies on battlefield, it is unjust. It is unnecessary for one’s life to end because they were sent to war for the satisfaction of the uneducated.