An Experience of Hell for Innocent People - Literature review Example

WAR 256038 War: An experience of hell for innocent people The “A New Kind of War” by Ernest Hemingway (127-131), “Hiroshima” by John Berger (168-274), & U.S. Attacked: Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon in Day of Terror” by Serge Schmemann (415-421) have similarity in showing that war or terrorism aims to destabilize the society and influence the politics. The three writers disclose below that the innocent people who are worst victims of these devastations actually emerge true winners. Loss of Precious Lives and Human Dignity The war brings such sights that make it difficult to sleep for many nights. The dignity of humanity is totally destroyed. Berger wrote his heartrending sorrow at Hiroshima: “A woman, who looked like an expectant mother, was dead. At her side, a girl of about three years of age brought some water in an empty can she had found. She was trying to let her mother drink from it” (272). We all become children who are not aware of death and like them we also think that our loved one is just sleeping and would get up soon. But when the reality strikes us, we are devastated. The dropping of bombs caused feelings of horror, outrage, pity and helplessness all at the same time. No wonder, the writer compared it to today’s terrorism rather than calling it a war. Since Warfare differs from terrorism in that the violent actions in the former are aimed at the combatants on each side and public generally is made aware that a war has erupted. Terrorist acts target innocent people deliberately. In warfare, innocents are not the primary targets. But this definition of war does not apply to Hiroshima bombing. Berger further proves his point as: “The two bombs dropped on Japan were terrorist actions. The calculation was terrorist. The discriminacy was terrorist. The small groups of terrorists operating today are, by comparison, humane killers" (273). The writer supports his comment by saying that terrorists also attack unaware common people at the railway station, in the market or people going home after the work. The war and terrorism are the evils and it is first duty of human kind to fight against evils and preserve life. This concept of ‘evil’, however, has been abandoned and it remains just an adjective today. The writer also discloses that today’s terrorists are from small nation who have dispute over large powers while Hiroshima atom bomb attack was made on a nation that had conceded defeat and was ready for negotiations (273). Schmemann, who is numb with shock at the September 11 terrorist attack, echoes similar feelings. He wrote: “While doctor and nurses at hospitals across the city tended to hundreds of damaged people, a disquieting sense grew throughout the day at other triage centers and emergency rooms that there, would, actually be less work: the morgues were going to be busiest.” (418) In the normal life, even a distant thought of a loved one’s death creates fear and we scold ourselves for such a thing, but seeing the gory dance of death and losing precious lives due to such outrageous and mindless violent act is unbelievable to most of us. A war without principles and terrorism are both extremely cowardly deeds. He continues: “But the real carnage was concealed for now by the twisted, smoking, ash-choked carcasses of the twin towers, in which thousands of people used to work on a weekday.” (417). It is not just that the pride of a nation has been blown away by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and that the absence of twin towers would always remind us the disfamy of the event. It is the terrible loss of innocent lives and a hell on the earth, which would hurt people for many years to come. The time of attack was carefully chosen so that maximum number of people is injured or dead. It was not merely the secondary effect of demolishing the symbolic buildings. If these suicide squads of terrorists are fighting this war for religious reasons then no religion teaches killing of innocents and if they think this is fight against some imagined injustice to their tribe then also it is not leading them anywhere. The terrorists are not even aware why they are taking others life and for the same matter why they are giving away their own? Emergence of Our True Human Self Hemingway writes that one may have felt relieved that he is still alive when he said Oh! It’s not me as:“The Italian dead on up on the Guadalajara front weren’t you, although Italian dead, because of where you had spent your boyhood, always seemed, still, like our dead.” (128). But any dead in our city, country seems like our own people. The ordinary people are bonded more strongly in war though it is they to whom the most damage and injustice is done. He further expresses the brotherhood and great concern for his countryman: “My face was pretty bad,” he said. “It got sort of burned from the grenade, but it’s peeled couple of time and it’s doing better.” “It looks swell,” I said. “It’s doing fine.” I wasn’t looking at it when I spoke” (129). The bonding in war makes one believe what is not true and make other’s also believe the same. It is a way to get courage and to be hopeful even when the things are deteriorated almost to the point of no return. Probably it is the spirit that is known as being human. Conclusion The history of such events as presented above should emphasize the sufferings and losses of these ordinary citizens, children and women so that a person, though totally devoid of human feelings and rationality, does not dare commit such misdeeds. It is well impacted by the paintings of ordinary and common people in the Berger’s Hiroshima and in the narration of Hemingway and Schmemann. The extraordinary tale of these ordinary people would unite us more strongly to fail pervert designs of few maniacs or the vested interests of strong nations over the weaker ones. Works Cited Berger, John. “Hiroshima.”In: Section: Arguing In the Arts and Humanities. 168-274. Hemingway, Ernest. “A New Kind Of War”In: Arts and Humanities, 127-131. Schmemann, Serge. “U.S. Attacked: Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon in Day of Terror”.In :Social Sciences and Public Affairs Reporting,415-421. Read More