War Is Kind Group

Question:

brittney09
brittney09
Student
High School - 12th Grade

Why did Stephen Crane use the word "kind" to describe war?

In "War is Kind", Stephen Crane, of course, describes war as kind. Why do you think he used the word kind?

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Posted by brittney09 on Saturday July 12, 2008 at 3:41 PM and tagged with cruelty of war, irony, patriotism, themes, war is kind.

Answers:


  1. bmadnick Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    This is an example of verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but actually means something else. Crane says war is kind to illustrate his point of the cruelty and uselessness of war. Crane's poem deals with the ravages of war, describing how the soldiers suffer when they die and the suffering this causes in their families. Crane also attacks patriotism and the devotion to our flag, suggesting that the blind obedience to the flag misleads soldiers to committ unnatural acts of slaughter and killing. By describing war as kind, Crane immediately gets your attention, and you want to find out why anyone would describe war in this way. After reading the poem, you then realize Crane uses the title to send his message about war. He is sympathetic to the soldiers who die and their families, but Crane vehemently criticizes the military and the government for teaching men "to drill and die" and to accept "the excellence of killing".

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/war-is/themes

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    Posted by bmadnick on Saturday July 12, 2008 at 5:32 PM