Analysis Of The Man He Killed By Thomas Hardy

The two soldiers are on opposing sides, facing eye to eye. When they see each other, they know what they have to do. They swiftly aim their guns at each other and fire. Opening his eyes, he sees the enemy lying on the ground motionless. His teammates cheer for his victory, however, little did they know, the soldier is impacted and tries to ease his guilt or justify his action. Killing a man during war and how one copes with it is shown in the short story “The Man I Killed” by Tim O'Brien, and in the poem “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy. In O’Brien’s passage, Tim shot a Vietnamese soldier. This action caused him to feel remorseful and guilty. In the poem, the speaker was also a soldier, but instead of feeling guilty, he feels uncertain of his action after killing his enemy. Because of their actions, Tim and the speaker show their refinement of shooting the enemy in a similar way, but they also show differences as well. In O’Brien's story, he refines his actions by killing the enemy out of survival, but in the end feels remorseful. However, in Hardy's poem, the speaker refines his actions by attempting to rationalize the man he killed was his enemy, but feels
Yet, he hesitates to say the reason why he killed the man, meaning he feels uncertain of his action. It was either: letting the enemy win or let his side gain victory. ""All right, let me ask a question," he said. "You want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down—you want that? I mean, be honest."" (O'Brien) When Kiowa, his fellow soldier, asks him the question, Tim already knows he is in war. He knows his life was on the line, therefore, he kills the Vietnamese soldier out of survival, although he feels guilty. Tim and the speaker feel differently and have a different reason as to why they shot the man. However, both characters have a similar way to refine their