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The Literature of WarBy Rea Berg

Since the beginning of recorded history, war has defined the story of mankind in

profound ways. Mans propensity for war reflects not only his fallen nature but also

the sublime heights to which he can rise in selfless acts of courage and heroism. Nowonder then, that entire periods of history are often characterized by the wars that

were fought and by the literature created by those seeking to ascribe meaning tothese times of tremendous upheaval.

One of the earliest epics known to mankind, TheIliad, is the poet Homers accountof the final year of the decade-long Trojan War. TheIliadis a study in human nature,the capricious nature of the Greek gods, and the immutable quest for immortality

through military glory. From this enduring epic, many of our Western notions aboutwar derive their essence. For instance, the Trojan hero, Hector, wrestles with

whether or not the war he wages against the Greeks is a just war, since it wasinstigated by his brother Pariss ill-fated alliance with Helen, the wife of the Greek

hero, Menelaus. In reality, Hector has little choice, as he either fights or watches thedestruction of his city. When his beloved wife Andromache begs Hector to leave the

battle and return to her and their young son, the scene is one of the most heart-wrenching found in literature, echoing the sublime tragedy repeated every time a

soldier dies defending his homeland. The profound beauty and enduring relevance ofTheIliadrests upon the ways this epic presents the various faces of war through the

Greek and Trojan heroes, as well as the impact upon their wives, their families, andtheir societies.

The battles and military engagements of the Old Testament patriarchs also reflect

universal themes of war, but with a key difference. While the heroes of the ancientGreek and Roman works battled for supposed immortality through military glory, the

military engagements of the Israelites are purposed by Jehovah, the one true God, in

His plan to establish a chosen people to reflect His glory and prepare a people for thecoming of his Sonthe one whom we hail as the Prince of Peace. God rejected the

warrior King David in building the Temple because he had shed blood abundantly

and hast made great wars (1 Chronicles 22:8); the King of Glory comes as thePeacemaker, and He comes to a war-torn world to bring peace, good will toward

men (Luke 2:14).

Wars of the Old WorldWars that are depicted in great works of literature for mature readers (high school)

include War and Peace by the Russian author and patriot, Leo Tolstoy. One of theworlds finest works, this tome treats the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812 and

though fictional, presents more than 150 historical characters. Les Misrablesby

Victor Hugo depicts the uprisings of the French Republicans in 1832 as studentssought to overthrow the French monarchy. The splendor of Hugos work is thatwithin this beautifully crafted novel is a powerful tale of redemption. Sentenced to

nineteen years in prison for stealing a piece of bread for his sisters starving child,when finally released, the embittered Jean Valjean is redeemed through the kindness

and mercy of a humble parish priest.A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens opensin 1775, and in classic Dickensian style throws light upon issues of class, injustice,

and redemption against the drama, intrigue, and bloodshed of the French Revolution.

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Wars of the New WorldA Caldecott Honor book of 1950,Americas Ethan Allen by Holbrook and Ward tellsthe life story of the Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen, who fought in both the Frenchand Indian War and the American Revolution. For middle-grade readers,JohnnyTremain by Esther Forbes depicts a prideful silversmiths apprentice and his comingof age amidst the turbulent days leading to the War for Independence. For younger

readers,Americas Paul Revere by Esther Forbes presents the life of the giftedsilversmith and patriot and the pivotal role he played in the colonists struggle.

George Washingtonand Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Edgar Parin DAulairepresent primary readers with the stories of two of Americas most important

founders and the service they rendered their young country. Those who haveenjoyed the work of David McCullough in his Pulitzer Prize winner,John Adams, alsowill enjoyAbigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie Bober, as the authorexplores the amazing role Abigail played as wife, counsel, and encourager to her

patriot husband.

The Civil War has been immortalized in far too many works to cover here, but a fewnoteworthy ones include these: Killer Angelsby Michael Sharra, another PulitzerPrize winner. The Red Badge of Courageby Stephen Crane is the first novel towrestle with the shame of the soldier who turns coward upon the battlefield, acommon occurrence, yet one not previously addressed in literature. Cranes depictionof the agonized mental state of the young soldier was a sea change in literature and

led the way for other novels to follow. Two other Civil War novels for middle andjunior high level are Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith andAcross Five Aprils byIrene Hunt. Both Newbery Award-winning novels present true-to-life depictions ofteen protagonists facing the conflicted reality of Northern versus Southern

sentiments and the ways in which these affect their families. In Bull Run by PaulFleischman, Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and

worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment ofthe first battle of the Civil War. Undying Glory: The Story of the Massachusetts54th Regimentby Clinton Cox tells the inspiring story of the first black Union

regiment under the heroic and noble Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.

Wars of the Modern World: The Bloodiest CenturyThe twentieth century was mankinds bloodiest in history. The scale of human

tragedy and horror was ushered in by the rise of communism, socialism, and Nazismand compounded by the dawn of atomic weapons, the horrors of Stalins Russian

gulags, Hitlers Nazi death camps, and Mao Zedongs wholesale slaughter of untold

millions of Chinese. While none of these topics is approached with relish, these aretales that must be told, and knowledge of the best works is essential.

Works addressing World War I include these: Erich RemarquesAll Quiet on theWestern Front; like The Red Badge of Courage before it, this book deals with thehorror and ignominy of war from the perspective of young German soldiers. Two

other works dealing with this period are The Yanks are Coming: The UnitedStates in the First World WarandStalin: Russias Man of Steelby the award-winning Albert Marrin. Marrins willingness to approach these topics specifically forthe young adult reader is commendable in itself; parents who are committed to

introducing their children to these eras of world history (and their wars) will profitfrom his works.

Albert Marrin has also written about World War II; both HitlerandVictory in thePacificare engagingly written and will educate students far better than the best

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