War as Portrayed in 4 Stories

War as portrayed in these four stories is entirely destructive to humanity & human relationships. In none of these stories is there the slightest sign that any positive result is won for human beings from war. This stands in stark contradiction to the belief that war is fought for high principles, to combat evil, to bring about a better life, to champion justice, to elevate the good and trounce evil. In fact, as these stories illustrate, the effect of war is the destruction of human lives, including the lives of the survivors.

In "The Land of Sad Oranges," Ghassan Kanafani explores the impact of war on a young man who has lost his own family, except for a brother, and is now a part of a refugee family fleeing war, or trying to flee war, as the wear portrayed dominates every part of reality.

One might consider the war between the Jews and the Arabs in the Middle East to be one which was and continues to be fought over high principles, historical significance, cultural identity, Biblical pronouncements, and so forth. As portrayed by Kanafani, however, war has one meaning and that is found in the devastation it has on vulnerable human beings, especially children.

The boy in Kanafani's story has lost most of his family, he is a refugee, he is a part of a family whose leader does not really want him, and he is learning quickly that the way to survive and to avoid abuse is to silence his natural desires--for food, for security, for love.

Kanafani's protagonist's primary fear is

Related Essays

Role of the Media in the Gulf .... Israel that colors the way tensions in the Middle East are discussed and portrayed. .... "Bafflegag in a Living-Room ....." Maclean's (February 4, 1991), 64 .... (5056 20 )

Two Native American Writers .... certainly a major part of the world portrayed by Alexie .... and the traditions of the past (Floren 4). The stories .... with sarcasm, as when he refers to ".... paint and .... (2132 9 )

Representation of Immigrant Groups in TV .... work in a world free of ...., poverty, drudgery .... When Latinos are portrayed in television series, they are .... immigration (Torres and Vignoli, para.4). Co-author of .... (3172 13 )

TV and Immigrant Groups .... work in a world free of ...., poverty, drudgery .... When Latinos are portrayed in television series, they are .... immigration (Torres and Vignoli, para.4). Co-author of .... (3175 13 )

Literature, Sociology & Grammar .... (4) And he holds a book .... are actually not as poorly off as they are often portrayed, especially in .... who had suffered through the Great Depression and World .... II .... (2073 8 )

as a refugee of war. Thiong'o deals with an adult coming home after spending time in a detention camp. One deals with war in the Middle East, the other with war in Africa. Transcending these differences, however, is the basic message that war devastates survivors both young and old, causing them to die psychologically and emotionally in order to go on living in a world horribly altered by war. Chinua Achebe, in "Civil Peace," explores the impact of war on the survivors as well, focusing on the apparent happiness of one man, Jonathan Iwegbu, who "had come out of the war with five inestimable blessings--his head, his wife Maria's head and the heads of three out of their four children" (Geak et al. 129). Achebe shows how these blessings are altered by the state of lawlessness which is so often the result of war, even of wars which are fought specifically in the name of maintaining or restoring law. By the end of the story, as in the previous two stories by Thiong'o and Kanafani, Achebe has illustrated how, once again, the survivor of war must kill a part of himself emotionally and psychologically in order to simply carry on living from day to day in a world ripped apart by war. Jonathan manages to make money by his wits and his bi

Category: Literature - W