Review Of This Republic Of Suffering

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

This Republic of Suffering: Death and The American Civil War exposes a different perspective of the Civil War that is sparsely discussed and challenges the reader to broaden their views and beliefs of the war. Author, Drew Gilpin Faust, conducted nine chapters, or the new and transformed ars moriendi, primarily focusing on the past and present of the Civil War and its soldiers.

Without Hesitation, it was factually evident, through the letters and diaries of soldiers, that “religious belief helped many soldiers overcome the fear of death” . Some were content with the fact that they

Most people around the world are in pursuit of a religion that reflects one’s personal interests, qualities, and beliefs. As a Holocaust victim, Elie Wiesel has a first hand experience with the overall cruelty that Jews become accustomed to in these times of torture. Within the second World War were additional wars inside the minds of innocent people, or internal conflicts. God is an entity that is positioned in the hearts of the enslaved; however, when put in distress, one’s faith in God slowly begins to repress. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, the significance of the loss in faith of God can likewise be perceived as the loss of identity. Wiesel reveals how during this time of pure hatred towards his religion, he becomes unfocused on who he used to be, and strays from his true self. Religion has been the motive of most wars throughout history, and often this external conflict leads the oppressed to internal conflict. As seen through Elie, one can see how this internal conflict or loss of faith alters personal identity.

What they fought for is an analysis of a collection of nearly a thousand personal letters and journals entries written by the soldiers who fought America’s famous Civil War. This book seeks to define the ideology of what the soldiers understood they were fighting for, and their comprehension of the outcome of their service .Although counter arguments agree that most soldiers could not give a solid explanation of why they fought for, nor the real Constitutional issues that were at stake; the thoughts the soldiers recorded show that they fought for more than just masculine identity; they highly valued being at home safe with their loved ones, at any cost. This book gives an inside perception of the Civil War, and a

Death defines life; it has the ability to reinvent the living for better or worse. “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, provides a non-linear, semi-fictitious account of the Vietnam War that poignantly depicts the complicated relationship between life and death. His account breathes subtle vitality and realism into the lingering presence of the dead, intimating that the memories they impart have as profound an impact as the living.

In Confederates in the Attic, the author, Tony Horwitz, gives an interesting, historical, and semi-humorous take on the Civil War, taking us on his journey through places and people that resonate the Civil War, a journey he called the hardcore campaign of his own. Throughout this adventure, Horwitz’s obsession with the Civil War is supplemented by reenactors who call themselves “hardcores,” historians, museums, Daughters of the Confederacy, teachers, and battlefields, along with everyday people who express their views and knowledge of the War. As Horwitz takes his readers through his journey, he brings to light the idea that the Civil War is “unfinished” for many Americans. This idea is explained and discussed through many of his encounters.

Often times war is depicted in a victorious, triumphant manner when in reality war is chaotic; full of destruction and death. In Stephen Crane’s “A Mystery of Heroism” and Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge,” we witness the harsh reality of the war and the common human reaction to the havoc. Fred Collins simply wants water, but the well is on the other side of the battlefield. Peyton Farquhar, a loyal civilian to the South, just wanted to help in the war but instead was hanged for his good-intentioned attempt to destroy the bridge to help the Confederates. Ambrose Bierce and Stephen Crane wrote “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” and “A Mystery of Heroism” to show the natural human condition in adverse situations.

“More than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in the American civil war”. (Faust, 2012) It is equivalent to 2% of the current American population, which in present terms, it means six million dead. It was a period of time that made history but also an important historical event that is often overlooked, or even worse that many are misinformed about. In the book, This Republic of Suffering, Drew Faust dissects and illustrates into detail the war for what it really was. Faust primarily focuses on death and the dying and the suffering surrounding it, not only on the individual lives but how it affected the people nationwide, and its devastating circumstances. The Civil War took place from 1861 till 1865. It took a toll on humanity, religious beliefs

This week’s readings featured aspects of American culture that were present during the Civil War, yet not typically mentioned in historians’ dialogues about the war. Side stepping the typical slavery and federalist versus anti-federalist focuses, this week’s readings, especially Drew Faust’s The Republic of Suffering, talked about how the incredible amount of death that resulted from the Civil War changed American Culture. My understanding of the civil war has always been that it was bloody and bad, but all it really did to reshape the country was get the south back in the Union and end slavery. This week’s readings have taught me that the deadliness of the Civil War impacted everyday life in America profoundly.

In This republic of suffering, Drew Gilpin describes the unfathomable damage to the country, both civilian and soldier, created and caused a Civil War that would forever change the American notion of death on a unprecedented scale. Faust does a good job of explaining “Death transformed the American nation as well as the hundreds of thousands of individuals directly affected by the

The context of the play reflects the individual demand for purpose including current conflicts about the questioning of religion and existence. Past disasters such as the atomic attacks on Japan and the Holocaust caused a massive change in people’s Thinking. They lost faith in God and wondered what kind of God could allow the horrors of wars (Esslin 26).

Upon reading Drum-Taps, a published collection of Whitman’s poems from the American Civil War, one cannot help but be struck by its incredibly hopeful tone, seemingly ill-suited for such a dark portrait of the United State’s at it’s most divided. But embedded in this hopefulness, is something deeply resonant about Whitman’s philosophy surrounding healing in the context of violence and political turmoil. Whitman’s account of the Civil War is so impactful because it stems from his experience serving as a medic in Union camps. In addition to this lived experience, Whitman is well suited for recording historical events, because his broad scope allows him to understand the historical significance of the war as it plays out, giving Drum-Taps an almost prophetic quality. It’s clear that Whitman is deeply disturbed by the violence he is witnessing, but he is constantly trying to assign some sort of purpose to the violence by attaching a sense of patriotic duty to the war. It’s clear that Whitman recognizes the historical significance of the war that’s playing out in front of his eyes, both for solidifying a sense of national identity, but also for asserting America’s place in the world. At the same time, contrary to his typical “vast similitude” worldview, Drum-Taps taps into specific cases of human suffering, stressing the role of individuals in making history. But even more important to Whitman, is the role of poets, to which he assigns the task of healing the nation.

War is a disastrous part of the human race. The competition for land and resources has driven humanity to unrighteously slaughter its fellow species. This type of barbaric warfare has been shown many times throughout the course of time, including the U.S. The United States Civil war remains to this day one of the most bloody and deadly wars known to man. The four bloody years spread havoc across the U.S. over the fight for slavery. This war left a mark on the American society for as long as it stands. Stephen Crane, a man born just after the end of the civil war, took the liberty of interviewing a multitude of veterans from the war. He then compiled these notes into a naturalist story called An Episode of War, designed to show to the American people the real horrors faced in the civil war. There are three messages that can be derived from Cranes Episode.

What is our purpose in life? How should we be living? How does war change that? In 1861 through 1865, a war divided the United States, and it claimed more American lives than any other war has taken: the Civil War. The north and south became distinctly different entities in a bloody battle (“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Historical Context”). 26 years later, Ambrose Bierce wrote a short story by the title of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” It is a story that explores the nature of war in order to give the audience advice on how life should be led. Using the narrative approach, readers can explore Bierce’s take on the human experience and how the life and untimely death of Peyton Farquhar reflects Bierce’s lessons on life.