Journal 10 Mark Twain Disillusioned Soldier

Allister Lo
English 48B
Journal 10 Mark Twain

Quote: “O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain “ (323).

Summary: In this passage, an old man prays what he terms the “unspoken” prayers for the success of the army in the upcoming battle with a violent prayer.

Response: As was mentioned in Twain's author introduction and discussed in class, Mark Twain was previously a soldier in an extremely unorganized Confederate militia. However, he was either disillusioned or scared with the fighting to the point that he ran away from the army to accompany his brother to Nevada.

It is possible that, as a result of this forgettable stint with the army that he developed a sense of anti-nationalism and anti-war sentiment that his poem "The War Prayer" conjured up.

The city happily celebrates the impending glory of the soldiers and pray for their success. However, in these lines, Twain reveals the ugly side of war through the words of the old man, conjuring up visual images that still leave a lasting impact on readers today. When it comes down to it, the celebration of those going to war is a celebration for the murder of others, people you might not even know. These lines reveal this disheartening image.

Twain also seems to poke fun at religion and those who call on God to deliver them victory in time of war are hypocritical in a way. In essence, those praying to God to bring them victory in war are praying for the destruction of their enemy. The mysterious old man claims to be praying on the behalf of the congregation, yet his language is extremely violent and grotesque. He claims to be speaking the words unspoken, and again victory for the soldiers can only come at the expense of the opposing side, so in essence, what the old man is saying has some a ring of truth about it. However, these people who called on religion, upon hearing these words, immediately claim that this is not what they intend and cast the old man as crazy.