Soldiers are often idolized in society for their bravery. While this is positive because they courageously risk their lives to protect others, the trauma soldiers face is rarely addressed. Often the stories one is told will not be used to incite fear, but to encourage a person to enlist, similar to the many others soldiers who have patriotically fought before them. In Luigi Pirandello’s War and Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est, they criticize society’s use of patriotism as a means to manipulate people into suffering in service of their country. The author’s take different approaches to conveying this message, resulting in the texts having different tones. Patriotism as a rationale may convince a person to do something, but it is not enough …show more content…
In War, a third-person narrative is used, while in Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen uses the first and second person narratives. Both texts lead the reader to think about the limitations of using patriotism to justify loss and suffering. In Pirandello's story, the passengers on the train discuss "which of [their] positions [are] worse” (Pirandello 1370) because they all have children who have been called up to fight in the war. By using the third-person, the reader becomes empathetic towards the stories of the characters, creating a more pitiful tone. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen addresses the reader, writing "you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face” (Owen l.17-19). Other lines are written in the first person, such as when he describes the poison gas attack he witnessed, saying "under a green sea, I saw him drown” (Owen l.14). This perspective creates a traumatic tone because it places the reader in the story, causing one to imagine oneself in these horrific situations. While Pirandello uses the third person to create a pitiful tone about others’ suffering, Owen uses first and second person to appeal to the reader on a more personal