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Unintended Consequences In Mark Twain's The War Prayer

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"Details" Twain shows how we overlook details in his story "The War Prayer". In the story Twain shows the reader the unintended consequences of an unspoken prayer. I agree with Twain's view of this; we must be aware of what we truly wish for. In the story, the minority is persecuted for speaking out against the majority. Twain is showing that we as a society tend to disapprove of anything that goes against what we believe is right. I believe that Twain does an excellent job at pointing out this fault in society. Very often minorities will try to speak out, but be silenced because they go against the majority. In Twain's story, the preacher is unable to see the stranger as he approaches. In a literal sense the preacher cannot see him because
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And this is a great example of symbolism. Mr.Twain represents Mr. Sherburn and the mob is the rest of the audience who is hateful and bigoted and also that deny the African American people to receive equal rights. And through Symbolism we see that Mr.Sherburn is right about the mob and their lack of courage. He explains how all of them are pitiful and how they are all cowards. And this is true for them and the people in real life who hunt, mistreat, and even kill African American people they are all cowards, they don’t have honor.

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The first sentence of The War Prayer causes one to think that there is great and exalting excitement because Mark Twain said, “This was a time of great and exalting excitement. ” When we read the next line, Mark Twain says, “The country is up in arms.” In those first two sentences, your mind switches the perspective of what is happening from good to bad. In The War Prayer, there is also a lot of emphasis to exaggerate certain points like the soldiers swung by instead of marched. Other examples of this are cyclones of applause, and the deepest deeps of their hearts.

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“THE WAR PRAYER” MARK TWAIN The War Prayer," a short story or composing verse by Mark Twain, is a scorching arraignment of war, and especially of visually impaired energetic and religious enthusiasm as inspirations for war. The structure of the work is straightforward: An anonymous nation goes to war, and devoted subjects go to a congregation administration for troopers who have been rung. The general population call upon their God to allow them triumph and secure their troops. All of a sudden, a "matured outsider" shows up and reports that he is God 's flag-bearer.

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Between the church revival mob and the duke and the king as well as the lynch mob scene all topped off with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons feud, we find an abundance of examples against human weakness. One thing that Twain wants to warn against is that we can be so swept up in the moment in a crowd that we loose our own opinion and voice as our voice becomes that of hundreds or thousands. Twain also wants to bring to light that people don’t see their actions as negatively in a group than alone. Why could this be? Probable because we think of them as actions outside of ourselves.

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Victory for War In The War Prayer by Mark Twain,he talked about soldiers going to war and it relates kind of to all the wars that have happened before. He talks a lot about describing what the soldiers would go through and their families. He explained how soldiers were really patriotic about the war and the families saying a “ long prayer”. Twain uses satire to express what he thinks about war throughout his prompt he's describing about war and all the praying they did towards the soldiers who left to fight.

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343 Words | 2 Pages

When countries declare war soldiers suit up for war and when they do they tend to pray for their individual safety. What most people do not realize is that when they pray for their security, they are praying for the endangerment of others. Mark Twain proves this through his multiple social criticism's in "The War Prayer". Mark Twain uses metaphors and imagery in "The War Prayer" to demonstrate the effects war has on a community.

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Following the conclusion of Pudd’nhead Wilson, a novel written by Mark Twain in 1894, but taking place in the 1850s, it is obvious that the book was inundated by a myriad of differing themes. However, there is a theme that stands out the most in terms of the most influential message conveyed by Twain. This theme is that deception and foolishness, two themes that go hand in hand, do not have preferable repercussions. In recognizing these themes, I was able to choose one specific scene from the novel that truly represents these two themes. The scene that most symbolizes the backfiring of deception and the disadvantages of foolishness is in the scene where Tom gets sold down the river.

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Mise-en-scéne is crucial to classical Hollywood as it defined an era ‘that in its primary sense and effect, shows us something; it is a means of display. ' (Martin 2014, p.XV). Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) will be analysed and explored with its techniques and styles of mise-en-scéne and how this aspect of filmmaking establishes together as a cohesive whole with the narrative themes as classical Hollywood storytelling. Features of the film 's sense of space and time, setting, motifs, characters, and character goals will be explored and how they affect the characterisation, structure, and three-act organisation.

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Twain begins by comparing patriotism to religion. In both, one lives by a constant set of rules established by a higher force: the nation’s leader(s) in patriotism and God in religion. However, Twain also separates the ideologies of traditional patriotism and American patriotism, where politicians and the media are the rulers. Twain does this to signify that we are followers of Patriotism, just as many are of religion.

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Throughout the story, Twain pokes fun at the townspeople's blind allegiance to their country and their willingness to sacrifice themselves and their loved ones for the sake of a cause that they barely understand. One example of Twain's satire can be seen in the way that the townspeople pray for victory in the war. Twain describes their prayers as being filled with fervor and enthusiasm, but also notes that their prayers are tinged with a sense of self-righteousness and superiority. Through this satire, Twain shows how patriotism can sometimes be used to justify violence and aggression, and how it can blind people to the true consequences of their

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Literary Analysis The War Prayer was written by Mark Twain in the nineteenth century Imperialism. Twain uses satire to exploit the stupidity of war. In his prose, Twain explains the ghastliness of war and how people are praying to God for safety of their troops but they do not care if the opposing sides troops die. Twain uses satire in The War Prayer to make fun of the people praying for their side to win the war and the glorification of war. “It was a time of great and exalting excitement (Twain).”

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528 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout human history, war has been a common solution to settle conflict or disagreements between people. War has and will always be apart of this world, because no matter how much death it causes humans will never change. Some people have come to see the idiocy in war and have even written about it in poems, short stories, etc. One of these people, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, has mocked this absurd and pointless practice. Twain’s essay The War Prayer satirizes the customs of praying for safety and victory in war and for equating war with patriotism.

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516 Words | 3 Pages

Twain’s perspective on slavery and ideas regarding racism had been a source of debate. This theme of racism and slavery and Twain’s perception of it is developed throughout the “plot” events of the book. Twain was passionately anti-slavery during his

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

For instance, religion proves to be a prominent component to these issues in Huck’s environment. As stated, “I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there [Heaven], and she said not by a considerable sight” (Twain 3). The preset disposition of religion leads to these fraudulent assumptions of whether one’s actions are right or wrong. Subsequently, Mark Twain is subtly hinting that there are flaws in the teachings of any religions that become misleading to the entire population. Next, the most urgent topic he implies, is racism.

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