Wallace Stevens, Death of a Soldier Essays

Wallace Stevens, Death of a Soldier Essays Wallace Stevens, Death of a Soldier Paper Wallace Stevens, Death of a Soldier Paper Alita Wright, ENG 311 Module 4, February 6, 2011 Depicting war into words is a strange and melodramatic practice, which can mean something different to each person. When my grandfather thinks of war, he thinks of friends and family that have lost their lives and the pride he feels that he defended his country and came home. My father, his own son, believes that war is a useless practice that wastes money and lives and holds no real purpose. My own beliefs are such that I can see the value in defending democratic beliefs, knowing that there is a price that must be paid to defend them. I am not so naive to believe that there is not a price for our freedoms and that many people all over the world would like to have the same freedoms and others would like to take them all away. Each author writes their story in their own words to share their views and leave them open to our interpretations. In Wallace Stevens’ poem, â€Å"The Death of a Soldier† he depicts that death is swift, unemotional and comparative to the season of autumn. Just as autumn dies swiftly and poignantly, a soldier’s death is just as cold and ill fated. â€Å"As in a season of autumn. The soldier falls. He does not become a three-days personage,  imposing his separation, calling for pomp. † This statement reflects that no time or expectation of memorial is taken or required. Comparatively William Faulkner’s â€Å"Two Soldiers† depicts this same kind of defense and pride. The story is about two brothers, one older, one younger who hears of the bombing of Pearl Harbor at the same time, but has different thoughts and views. The older brother leaves to enlist in the military and join the war. The two brothers are inseparable in their life and the youngest brother believes that this will continue. In his eyes he can bring water and firewood for the soldiers, being too young is not even a thought for him. He wants to do his part as well, as long as he is with his brother. The brother feels that he has to defend his country. The two brothers have the same type of pride and spirit that a soldier should. No expectation or belief of coming home is thought of in either the story or the poem. A soldier does what he has to in order to defend his beliefs and is proud of the accomplishments made for their country and for the freedoms being ttacked. Whether or not someone believes war should happen, it does occur and lives are lost. The best memorial we can give is to be proud of the sacrifice and remember that the price is high and we should never take it for granted. : Stevens, Wallace. The Death of a Soldier. Select Writers of the Twentieth Century. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005. Faulkner, William. Two Soldiers. Select Writers of the Twentieth Century. Boston, MA: Pear son Custom Publishing, 2005.