1

Student

Instructor

Course

Date

The theme of Warmongering in ‘The War Prayer.’

Known by his writing name, Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on 30th

November 1835 in Florida. Being a citizen of America in the dispensation of immense

revolution, Twain did a lot of work reflecting his individual experiences and beliefs on the

ongoing changes. Twain saw the unification of America to a single powerful state from states

that were torn apart, the revolution in the sector of industry, and military expeditions in a foreign

land. All these and others are effectively captured in his works either directly or indirectly in

literary forms. Mark piloted a boat in the Mississippi river till the outbreak of civil war when

transport in the river was stopped. He then decided to volunteer at the Marion Rangers, a

confederate unit during the civil war but chose to leave barely in a fortnight(Twain and De Voto,

15). Twain went through many frustrations in his late life, possibly contributing to the views he

had towards the end of his life. His writings and speeches were directed to humiliating and

criticizing the evil deeds in society and the wrong actions by the government. This earned him a

negative image in public, with some people labeling him a traitor, which posed an imminent

threat to his life after his debt frustrations. During this period, a number of his works were never

published because magazines rejected them. Publishers dreaded that they would stain an

admirable public writing profile that he had made for himself. A number f these works were

published later after his death at 74 on 21st April 1910. Being the humorist he was, Twain
 2

satirizes society's ignorance on the impacts of war in his work, 'the war prayer. Mark uses a

story to illustrate how warmongering can easily cause people to ignore the realities of warfare in

society.

Warmongering is a concept of game and mechanic in the fourth civilization. It is the act

of encouraging or advocating for violence against other nations or another group. Warmongering

can be so intense to the extent that an individual or individuals would not realize the adverse

effects that war would cause to them either directly or indirectly (Alstyne, 530). Mark, in an

attempt to paint the picture of the American society then, when glory was vested in the number

of battles won, criticized in the article ‘The War Prayer' by pointing out the blind eye that the

society had turned to the harmful effects of war. In the text, Mark states that the community in

the literature discouraged and warned the few he quantifies the number at half dozen, who dared

to doubt war and question whether it was right (Twain, 1). This shows how society had been

brainwashed into believing that war was a righteous form of expressing patriotism. This view

was held by almost the whole community, with only a few, 'half a dozen' being sober enough to

question the negative side.

Institutions in the society that should influence people towards realizing the importance

of peace and sobriety in decision making lead the community astray. The church, contrary to the

doctrine of 'do unto thy neighbor what you wish to be done unto thee,' promotes warmongering

by praying for 'victory.' In the sense of religion, victory has lost its meaning since spiritual

attainment does not advocate for physical destruction but for taking care of each other. In these

texts, Twain illustrates how this institution has led society astray by painting a preacher who

prays against the wellbeing (Twain, 2) and a congregation that perceives the peace and wellbeing

of their neighbors as insanity (Twain, 3). Religious institutions played an essential role in
 3

warmongering, holding on to the Old Testament of the bible, assuming the new doctrine that

introduces peace and care for one another. This has been seen even in modern society.

Twain also presents a society excited about war and does not care about their neighbors'

welfare. Victory is in killing the highest number of soldiers from the other side, and pride is in a

son or a brother who returns from war, having killed other soldiers and survived being killed.

Men of society who opt to join the army are praised and encouraged to battle with courage. The

preacher in Twain's article refers to them as 'idols of our heart' (Twain, 3). Being shown how evil

and sadistic killing is and how it causes pain and agony, society depicts insanity.

Contrary to the view in Twain’s ‘The War Prayer,' Hemingway presents a lack of interest

in war and a feeling of voidness in soldiers after the war. For staying in the war zone for long, it

is expected that Krebs should receive credit from society for being the bravest. However, this is

not the case as his return is not even noticed, and the few who notice it sarcastically wonder what

he was doing in the warzone in that whole period (Hemingway 1). There is no value attached to

participation in the war, and Krebs does no receive any exemplary treatment in the society for

participating in a war.

The warmongering society is so adsorbed in war victory that they do not even consider

the impacts of war on individual soldiers. Instead of celebrating the return of Krebs, he is

assumed, and even his parents wonder why he cannot be like other members of society. No one

cares to examine the impacts of war on Krebs, even as observed that his behaviors have changed

after the war. He is instead expected to be of value to society by marrying and finding a job to

make his parents proud. As it is evident from Hemingway's 'Soldier's Home,' Krebs parents are

more concerned of his social status, comparing him to Simmons, who has a job and is married

(Hemingway, 6) than to his mental status and why he sits on the front porch the whole day
 4

reading books and avoiding ladies. It is expected that any person who has participated in war is

brave and strong and should approach life issues from that sense. Generally, society expects

participant soldiers to be proud of surviving war and killing others without giving attention to the

psychological effects that war experiences may cause.

Warmongering is a form of manipulation that leaders use to brainwash society into

believing that battle is patriotism, to prevent them from considering the negative impacts of war

as they gain popularity and status. Modern society experiences minimal military combats, which

are generally discouraged but are brainwashed into creating rivalries with other countries and

feeling right when these countries face challenges economically, socially, or politically. A good

example has been portrayed in coronavirus conspiracy theories and battles of superpower

countries.

References:

Alstyne, William W. Van. "The First Amendment And The Suppression Of Warmongering

Hemingway, Ernest. Hemingway On War. Scribner, 2014.

Propaganda In The United States: Comments And Footnotes". Law And Contemporary

Problems, vol 31, no. 3, 2010, p. 530. 

Twain, Mark, and Bernard De Voto. Mark Twain In Eruption. Harper, 2007.

Twain, Mark, and Justin Kaplan. The Signet Classic Book Of Mark Twain's Short Stories. Signet

Classics, 2006.