Explain Why A War Should Not Be Romanticized Essay

“Thousands entered the war, got just a taste of it, and then stepped out again permanently” (Clemens 149). Based on this, one can infer that many people signed up for war, underestimating the amount of fatigue and torment they would endure both mentally and physically, on and off the battlefield with their comrades. It seems as if the ones who signed up for the war only envision the glorious and prideful exterior, not putting into perspective the hardships that will unexpectedly come their way, and is definitely not something to be taken lightly or belittled. War should not be romanticized. There is more than meets the eye. One argument is that people should volunteer to fight a war with a very specific outcome in mind. This can be supported
Not only did the soldiers finally realize what was happening, but also one can infer that the soldiers were now remembering why they volunteered to fight in this war in the first place. This argument is also supported when Samuel Clemens states: “One of the very boys who refused to go out on picket duty that night and called me an ass for thinking he would expose himself to danger in such a foolhardy way, had become distinguished for intrepidity before he was a year older” (157). This suggests that the boy inevitably realized what his true intention of volunteering for the war was. It also seems as if the boy first entered the war fearing for his life, but eventually his mentality changed to one that would typically
This is supported when Samuel Clemens states: “Then about dawn, we straggled into New London, soiled, heel blistered, fagged with out little march, and all of us, except Stevens, in a sour and raspy humour and privately down on the war” (152). This suggests that the soldiers are fatigued and despising what was currently happening, and only a few of the soldiers stayed optimistic. It seems as if the soldiers have been treading all night and are desperate for rest. This argument is also supported when Clemens makes a reference to the hardships the soldiers are undergoing. He writes: “It was a dismal and heart breaking time. We were likely to be drowned with the rain, deafened with the howling wind and the booming thunder, and blinded by lightning… The drenching we were getting was misery enough, but a deeper misery still was the reflection that the halter might end us before we were a day older” (Clemens 156). Based on this, one can infer that the pleasant part of the war was over now, and the soldiers were currently experiencing the truth of what goes on during wartime that regular civilians don’t realize. This suggests that the soldiers finally understand that war is not glamorous, and they were dreading the war day by day. This argument is again supported when Clemens alludes to the soldier’s reaction when he first shoots who he thinks is the enemy. He states: “The thought shot