War Questions and Answers
War
What is the summary of the story of "War" by Luigi Pirandello?
This is a very short story about a couple traveling by train to Rome to see their only son off to the front. The couple enter the train. The woman is very sad about her son going to war, and the...
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In the story "War," what is the main conflict and who are the main characters?
The primary conflict is how parents effectively justify their children fighting and dying in the nature of war. The main characters are a husband and wife who are in a railway car. The husband is...
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What is the deeper meaning of “War” by Luigi Pirandello?
One of the train passengers in Pirandello's “War” is a man whose son has recently lost his life in the First World War. At first, the man appears not just stoical in the face of his loss but...
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What are the characters, themes and conflicts of the story "War" by Luigi Pirandello?
The characters in "War" are the people in the traveling carriage. A man and his wife who are mourning because their son is about to go to war join the original five people on the carriage. The...
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Examine the use of symbols in Pirandello's "War."
One significant symbol in "War" is the second class railway car that serves as the setting for the story. It is significant because all of the travellers are thrown into this car, with varying...
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What is the climax of the story "War"?
The climax of "War" comes at the point that the bulky woman, bundled in her coat as she weeps that her son has been taken to the front to fight for the country in the war, suddenly turns to the old...
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In "War" by Luigi Pirandello, what was the last message sent by the old man's son? Did he believe it?
The message that the old man's son sends to him justifies his participation in the war. While his father believes the son's words, it does not ease the pain over his death. The old man carries...
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What is a significant theme that is found in Pirandello's "War?"
I think that a significant theme that comes out of Pirandello's short story is that there is a pain intrinsic to war that cannot be placated. Pirandello's story is so powerful because it...
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What were the influences/historical background that inspired Luigi Pirandello to write "War"?
One of the story's main themes is the intellectualizing of the emotions. The fat man on board the train attempts to try and rationalize unpleasant emotions as a means of banishing them altogether....
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What is theme of war?
The theme of Pirandello's short story is that there can be little justification to the horrific nature of war. At the time of Pirandello's writing, World War I had been waged by many countries in...
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Why was the woman who entered the carriage upset?
According to her husband, the woman is upset because their son, an only child to whom they have “devoted their entire lives” is set to leave for the warfront in three days time. The couple enters...
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In Pirandello's "War," what are the different views that passengers articulate regarding war?
In Pirandello's "War," the different attitudes that the passengers articulate about war reflect the challenge of enduring it. When the man and wife enter the train, they sit amongst the other...
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How is Luigi Pirandello judging patriotism in "War"?
The story is a polemic that takes place among passengers on a train. The thin man and his large wife, who are upset over their son's impending assignment to the front, are chastised by the other...
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What is the theme of the story, "War"?
The overriding theme in Pirandello's work is the inescapable premise that the existing orders that helped to provide meaning and understanding no longer apply in the modern setting. The...
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What's purpose of fat man in war?
The "fat man" is meant to offer the ultimate justification in sending boys and soldiers off to war. His rationale in how parents must deal with their children going off to fight lies in the idea...
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What does the red-faced passenger share about his personal experience in "War"?
It is important to understand what the red-faced passenger shares in "War" by Luigi Pirandello in the context of the short story's situation. A couple boards a train in Italy. They are deeply...
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Can someone tell me the mood of "War", the short story by Luis Pirandello? Please and thank you
The mood of this story is one I would describe as ironic and darkly humorous while still retaining a core emotion of tragedy. All the characters have a varying degree of detached misery. As a way...
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Comment on the physical appearance of the old traveller.
When the old traveler is introduced, he is described as "a fat, red-faced man with bloodshot eyes of the palest gray." This description suggests that the traveler is unwell, and this impression is...
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WHY DID THE WOMAN ASK THE FAT MAN "THEN IS YOUR SON REALLY DEAD"? DIDNT SHE HEAR THE SPEECH THE FAT MAN WAS GIVING...
I do not see the woman as oblivious. I think that her asking the question is quite appropriate in a several ways. The fat man is railing on quite extensively about how kids are meant to be...
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What are the fat man's feelings towards sending young people to war?
The fat man at first appears to be an unapologetic jingoist and militarist. He ventures to suggest that young men don't really belong to their parents; they belong to the nation. That being the...
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What are the fat man's convictions in this short story?
The fat man operates as the force that tells parents the nobility of a child dying in name of country. When he hears of the parent son the train feeling despondent over sending their children to...
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In the short story "War," who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist?
Oddly, Nobel Prize winning (1934) dramatist Luigi Parandello's short story "War" has no specifically designated protagonist or antagonist; instead all the characters who board the train at Fabriano...
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What does the fat man say about parental love and duty?
The fat man makes the argument that the parents should not dwell too much on how they must give up their sons to the war effort. He draws the picture of his own son who writes and conveys how...
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Why is the man made to be unappealing in "War" by Pirandello?
I assume that you are talking about the fat man who talks about how his son was proud to die for his country... I imagine that the author makes that man unappealing as a way of commenting on his...
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Which of the following best states the turning point that the big woman experiences in "War"? She realizes that her...
Luigi Pirandello's short story "War" presents a brief yet harrowing glimpse into the world of those who are left behind when the young are sent off to war. The story follows a number of parents...
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How do all fanciful proclamations of the fat red-faced man prove futile towards the end of the prose piece "War"?
A group of passengers are packed aboard a second-class railway carriage, waiting to complete the remainder of their journey to the Italian village of Sulmona. As they wait, they begin striking up...
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Why does Luigi Pirandello use so much dialogue in the short story "War"?
In one sense, it's impossible to know why Luigi Pirandello uses so much dialogue in his short story "War." We don't actually have an essay by him explaining his choices, and we can't read his...
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What is the importance of dialogue in the short story "War" by Luigi Pirandello?
In this short story, Pirandello relies on dialogue, which allows the characters to tell their own story. This is important because the dialogue carries the story and shows that people don't really...
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What do you think about the main theme of the story? the main purpose of the writer of the story, what he wants to...
I would say that the theme of this story is that war is pointless. War is pointless (in modern times) because the old things that made war have a point do not apply today. Pirandello shows the...
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Compare and contrast the fat man and the women: their appearence, mood, approach to life.what is their role in the...
I would say that a very interesting contrast can take place between the fat man and the mother. The mother is relatively silent throughout most of the story. She appears inconsolable, and...
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What does the author mean by the term "the country" in "War"?
The characters in Luis Pirandello's short story "War" refer to Italy, the country where they are from, as "the country." It is as if, to them, it is the ultimate authority. They say their sons have...
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What is the controlling idea in the story "War" by Luigi Pirandello?
The controlling idea of the story "War" is how the people cannot control some events around them, no matter how much they may believe they can. Humans tend to believe they are superior...
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The fat man focuses on the wishes of his son throughout this whole argument. Why does the lady's question about his...
A group of travelers are on board a train heading for Rome. All of them have been affected in one way or another by the ongoing war. A lady has just come aboard with her husband; they are traveling...
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What do the train and the smoky, stuffy compartment represent?
The train with all the people in it might represent the collective sense of helplessness that envelops all people when a nation goes to war. There does not seem to be a lucid direction to the...
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What is initial observation about war 1919?
There can be many initial observations about Pirandello's short story. One such relevant musing could be on how advanced it is in terms of thematic development. Pirandello is ahead of his time in...
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Is there any hint in the story that the fat man was not as sure of his argument as he claims to be?
One of the reasons that Pirandello's story is so effective is that it rests upon the fat man's certainty. He enters the car and commands the center of attention. He gives a spirited discussion as...
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Why does bundled up woman ask most important question?
The woman who was separated from her son as a result of the war sits in the corner and asks the question that drives the stake into the heart of all the rationales and justifications behind war. I...
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How is War constructed?
The construction of the story is through dialogue in a railroad car. There is the presence of a third person omniscient narrator that understands the internal feelings of all the characters and...