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The Reality of Heroism in War

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War is a timeless subject discussed in countless pieces of literature to shed light on different authors opinions on the same idea. Two novels in particular, A Farwell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien, convey enlightening messages on war heroes. Even though the novels discuss different wars, their views can be compared due to the fact that war is an ageless happening. Hemingway writes of World War I in A Farwell to Arms, while OBrien tells about the Vietnam War in The Things They Carried. Although these two wars are different, men are still fighting and each other provides an opinion on war heroes. Hemingway creates a war hero who is the typical manly man, and OBrien discredits the idea of a war hero altogether, yet both Hemingway and OBrien use a confessional tone to convey their respective opinions. Hemingways confessional tone in A Farewell to Arms conveys his view that an ideal war hero is a character who has learned how to face experiences with grace, courage, and dignity. His tone helps to convey this outlook due to the fact that it gives the entire novel a very realistic depiction of World War I. He tells the reader everything, which aids in conveying his view on war heroes. Therefore, his view on a war hero comes out as very believable and helps him to establish his opinion. In this novel, Frederic Henry is used to prove Hemingways ideal code hero. Hemingway sees a war hero as someone who does not win the game of life, but loses with stoic acceptance of the worst life can give to him. Frederic Henry clearly does not win the game of life and is left with nothing when he loses Catherine and his child, but has accepted death, showing a typical trait of Hemingways hero. Additionally, Frederic Henry is depicted as a mans man who is constantly drinking, yet never appears drunk. More importantly, he is a man of action, who rarely shows emotions, because that is a feminine trait. He demonstrates courage due to the fact that he is an American fighting in the Italian Army. Frederic Henry often

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