Antiwar Literature (Identities and Issues in Literature)
History
Rather than glorifying the romance of combat, antiwar works demythologize war by illustrating the debilitating effects of warfare on the individual combatant, typically a young man whose wartime experience leaves him psychologically or physically shattered. Antiwar literature aims at debunking popular myths about war: The soldier as romantic hero, war as a proving ground for manhood, and death in combat as the patriotic ideal. Antiwar literature subverts these illusions about war through realistic, frequently first-person portrayals of the horrors of combat and its...
[The entire page is 1226 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
