Refresh your knowledge about the 20th c. world wars here, where you can find a structured approach to the two major conflicts that shaped the first half of the century. It is important to keep this historical context in mind to be able to better understand the literary texts we will be dealing with throughout this semester.
Related to Sandburg’s poem I found this very interesting essay that I would like to share to expand some different opinions and facts about its main theme. David P. Barash, the author, makesa clear a distinction of war and violence and questions the possibility that this aspect can be biological and innate on every living being ("violence is almost certainly deeply entrenched in human nature; warfare, not so much”). Also, there is an observation and appeal on the way we view war and peace ("Although we carefully identify a multitude of wars — the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War, the American Civil War, the Vietnam War, and so forth — we don’t have a plural form for peace.”): a concept addressed on the poem as well.
ResponderEliminarhttps://aeon.co/essays/do-human-beings-have-an-instinct-for-waging-war
A parallelism, that probably isn’t a coincidence, between the two texts is the final idea: the suggestion to redirect our purpose, establish balance and to devote our imagination to creation.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
Francisca Portugal