Patriotism- loyally supporting ones country.
Patriot- A person who is devoted to and ready to support and defend his or her country.
Patriotism has been at the centre of our society since the beginning of civilisation, the desire to serve ones country was seen as a desirable trait. Patriotism has also been at the centre of the world’s biggest conflicts because, as I found in my research, patriotism effectively is or at least was the fuel that drives all wars, a metaphorical weapon of humanity. The focus of my research was to look at the portrayal of patriotism in different texts from different time settings. I figured that America was and is the most openly patriotic country of recent times, so using the USA as a focal point, I looked into their military history examining the authors’ portrayal of patriotism in modern texts.
The texts I studies cover various military conflicts in history these texts included; The Patriot directed by Robert Roheart and set in the war for independence against the colonial British, Ducle Et Decorum Est written by poet Wilfred own about the battled field of France in WW I, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brian set in the Vietnam war, Jarhead directed by Sam Mendes set in the gulf war. Two out of my four texts I studied were primary resources written by real veterans and soldiers, all of my texts are based on true events which give the reader a non-fictional opinion although the story is fictional. This I expected and hoped would give me a real insight to how patriotism affects people while at the same time giving me a view on society’s portrayal of patriotism through modern literature.
To what extent does the setting of each text affect the actions of main characters?
In a particular text I studied author Wilfred Owen uses language techniques to create a vivid setting in the readers mind. The setting in this text is the horrors of war, the descriptive language uses paints this setting well. “Knock-kneed, coughing like old beggars under sacks.” The author is creating the perspective in the readers mind that was is not glorious and un-patriotic, that instead it is horrific. Because we know the poem is written by a soldier (Owen) our bias is shaped further because if anyone knows what war is truly like, it is those on the battlefields. He challenges the reader to experience what he has and then still be pro-patriotic, pro-war. “If in some smothering dreams you too could…If you could hear…My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie; Dulce Et Decorum Est.” our back ground knowledge of the text leads the reader to believe Owen is talking to the people back home, he lived in a patriotic time and his words flow against common perception of patriotism. His conflicting opinions come through as he tries to change the social setting of the time that glorifies war and death.
In the two texts The Things They Carried and The Patriot the setting of war affects actions of all main characters an example of this in the novel when Rat Keily mutilates a baby water buffalo in a Vietnamese village, the war is causing him to loose all moral of normal society and acting in a way that he normally wouldn’t. This led me to believe that the setting of war causes people to do things that the characters would never do in another setting. This idea was strengthened in my head when I watched The Patriot where the war is causing the British to commit hennas war crimes like locking a whole village in a church and burning them alive. These actions of main characters show us some of the consequences of such an influential setting of war. Not only the physical settings of texts affect characters, like in Wilfred Owens poem the social setting in the movie Jarhead affects actions of the main character Swofft. His social background pushes him to join the military, his grandfather fought in the 2nd world war and his father survived the Vietnam campaign. In some sense this is his excuse for joining the army, that and “I got lost on the way to collage sir!” This caused me to think that social settings as well as physical settings cause the characters to take certain actions i.e. join the army. This is linked closely with my other research questions, how much patriotism affects people and events.
Through whose eyes do we witness the events and how does this perspective influence how we view patriotism?
During my research I found that the reader will tend to sympathise with the main character whose eyes we view the events through. Their perspective influences ours and synchronises our view with that of the authors/directors, the authors use their characters to communicate main ideas in the text. In the texts I have studied the main characters will have a strong view of patriotism that often or always conflicts against society this is the same with ideas like racism, the author will use a model who is empathetic to all races to highlight the ills of other characters in the text showing that that model character is right and that of course racism is evil etc. an example of this would be Wilfred Owens poem as he uses the character to persuade society that is not glorious or honourable to die for your country. The author wants us to understand this and think about society’s view of war in modern times because war will always be an issue in our world.
When I think about how my view of patriotism is altered by the main characters of each text, I think that if I had come into this research with a blank view on patriotism and this renewed itself each time I read a text then I would have many different views on patriotism because each author/director has different view and ways of portraying these. I read Tim O’Brian’s book and though patriotism had died in that setting, that the Vietnam War has in fact changed the views of so many on patriotism, millions of people did watch the scenes on colour TV. They saw the affects of war and most did not like what they viewed. Wilfred Owens poem gave me an insight to the opinions of society at the time and the author convinced me that war is not at all honourable dieing on the battlefield for your country. I watched jarhead and saw there was no glory in war only destruction. The patriot however was pro-America at least but also the idea that being a good man does not require one to die for or fight for his country, a man that puts his family first can be as brave as those being shot at. In saying this I did in fact have a bias before I began my research, I used my own view of patriotism as a hypothesis for my research. There is such a strong connection between war and patriotism and I believe that once we get rid of war, (not saying that’s ever going to happen) then patriotism itself would not be a bad thing at all, a good trait to have which can benefit a country on so many levels like sporting and economical benefits. The fact is war is going to be there and even though there are so many anti-war texts and anti-war media these days, there will always be patriots and war enthusiasts amongst us and that is just human nature. In the word of Sam Mendes, “you show an anti-war text e.g. apocalypse now to a bunch of war enthusiasts of course they are going to perceive it as a pro-war text, a display of military might and action.” The truth is it really does depend on a persons existing perspective based on their family background, upbringing and morals as to how much a characters perspective can influence their view. However for me it is fair to say that the eyes in which I viewed the texts through altered greatly how I answered each question on patriotism.
How are the events shaped by patriotism and what does this reveal about humanity?
The primary event in each of the texts I studied was the main characters decision to take up arms for their country. In a way all of the characters in the three anti-patriot texts are affected by patriotism in some way, whether they joined out of desire or fear they quickly realised the cause in which they were fighting for was not patriotic e.g. in jarhead the characters are forced to guard an oil field “in the name of their country” they are confused about what they are fighting for being so far from home. Swofft questions why he is there at all while his girlfriend back home apparently doesn’t appreciate that he is “honourably serving his country” he snaps and realises in the epiphany of unglorious acts (burning latrines) that war is not patriotic. In the things they carried the character Norman baker realises war is not honourably when he see that no one else cares that they have been fighting for America, as he returns home he doesn’t get the parade he had dreamed about. He was not honoured; he received no glory, his patriotism died then and he committed suicide 4 months later. When I thought about what this reveals about humanity I thought about the idea of having something to fight for, an excuse or motivation to hurt others, for many that excuse is patriotism. This reveals an ugliness of humanity and is linked to Wilfred Owens poem where the main event is a gas attack; gassing the enemy would have to be the sickest way of winning a war and shows patriotism drives people to do anything for their country (using the excuse of acting in patriotism.) gassing is a black mark on the history of warfare, humanity at the time of this text was driven by patriotism for example it was patriots who sparked the first world war driving the black hand to assassinate the duke of Austria. (Austria has annexed their homeland of Bosnia-Herzegovina), it clearly reveals that humanity puts patriotism above morals, willing to sacrifice mass death in the name of patriotism.
Patriot- A person who is devoted to and ready to support and defend his or her country.
Patriotism has been at the centre of our society since the beginning of civilisation, the desire to serve ones country was seen as a desirable trait. Patriotism has also been at the centre of the world’s biggest conflicts because, as I found in my research, patriotism effectively is or at least was the fuel that drives all wars, a metaphorical weapon of humanity. The focus of my research was to look at the portrayal of patriotism in different texts from different time settings. I figured that America was and is the most openly patriotic country of recent times, so using the USA as a focal point, I looked into their military history examining the authors’ portrayal of patriotism in modern texts.
The texts I studies cover various military conflicts in history these texts included; The Patriot directed by Robert Roheart and set in the war for independence against the colonial British, Ducle Et Decorum Est written by poet Wilfred own about the battled field of France in WW I, The Things They Carried written by Tim O’Brian set in the Vietnam war, Jarhead directed by Sam Mendes set in the gulf war. Two out of my four texts I studied were primary resources written by real veterans and soldiers, all of my texts are based on true events which give the reader a non-fictional opinion although the story is fictional. This I expected and hoped would give me a real insight to how patriotism affects people while at the same time giving me a view on society’s portrayal of patriotism through modern literature.
To what extent does the setting of each text affect the actions of main characters?
In a particular text I studied author Wilfred Owen uses language techniques to create a vivid setting in the readers mind. The setting in this text is the horrors of war, the descriptive language uses paints this setting well. “Knock-kneed, coughing like old beggars under sacks.” The author is creating the perspective in the readers mind that was is not glorious and un-patriotic, that instead it is horrific. Because we know the poem is written by a soldier (Owen) our bias is shaped further because if anyone knows what war is truly like, it is those on the battlefields. He challenges the reader to experience what he has and then still be pro-patriotic, pro-war. “If in some smothering dreams you too could…If you could hear…My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie; Dulce Et Decorum Est.” our back ground knowledge of the text leads the reader to believe Owen is talking to the people back home, he lived in a patriotic time and his words flow against common perception of patriotism. His conflicting opinions come through as he tries to change the social setting of the time that glorifies war and death.
In the two texts The Things They Carried and The Patriot the setting of war affects actions of all main characters an example of this in the novel when Rat Keily mutilates a baby water buffalo in a Vietnamese village, the war is causing him to loose all moral of normal society and acting in a way that he normally wouldn’t. This led me to believe that the setting of war causes people to do things that the characters would never do in another setting. This idea was strengthened in my head when I watched The Patriot where the war is causing the British to commit hennas war crimes like locking a whole village in a church and burning them alive. These actions of main characters show us some of the consequences of such an influential setting of war. Not only the physical settings of texts affect characters, like in Wilfred Owens poem the social setting in the movie Jarhead affects actions of the main character Swofft. His social background pushes him to join the military, his grandfather fought in the 2nd world war and his father survived the Vietnam campaign. In some sense this is his excuse for joining the army, that and “I got lost on the way to collage sir!” This caused me to think that social settings as well as physical settings cause the characters to take certain actions i.e. join the army. This is linked closely with my other research questions, how much patriotism affects people and events.
Through whose eyes do we witness the events and how does this perspective influence how we view patriotism?
During my research I found that the reader will tend to sympathise with the main character whose eyes we view the events through. Their perspective influences ours and synchronises our view with that of the authors/directors, the authors use their characters to communicate main ideas in the text. In the texts I have studied the main characters will have a strong view of patriotism that often or always conflicts against society this is the same with ideas like racism, the author will use a model who is empathetic to all races to highlight the ills of other characters in the text showing that that model character is right and that of course racism is evil etc. an example of this would be Wilfred Owens poem as he uses the character to persuade society that is not glorious or honourable to die for your country. The author wants us to understand this and think about society’s view of war in modern times because war will always be an issue in our world.
When I think about how my view of patriotism is altered by the main characters of each text, I think that if I had come into this research with a blank view on patriotism and this renewed itself each time I read a text then I would have many different views on patriotism because each author/director has different view and ways of portraying these. I read Tim O’Brian’s book and though patriotism had died in that setting, that the Vietnam War has in fact changed the views of so many on patriotism, millions of people did watch the scenes on colour TV. They saw the affects of war and most did not like what they viewed. Wilfred Owens poem gave me an insight to the opinions of society at the time and the author convinced me that war is not at all honourable dieing on the battlefield for your country. I watched jarhead and saw there was no glory in war only destruction. The patriot however was pro-America at least but also the idea that being a good man does not require one to die for or fight for his country, a man that puts his family first can be as brave as those being shot at. In saying this I did in fact have a bias before I began my research, I used my own view of patriotism as a hypothesis for my research. There is such a strong connection between war and patriotism and I believe that once we get rid of war, (not saying that’s ever going to happen) then patriotism itself would not be a bad thing at all, a good trait to have which can benefit a country on so many levels like sporting and economical benefits. The fact is war is going to be there and even though there are so many anti-war texts and anti-war media these days, there will always be patriots and war enthusiasts amongst us and that is just human nature. In the word of Sam Mendes, “you show an anti-war text e.g. apocalypse now to a bunch of war enthusiasts of course they are going to perceive it as a pro-war text, a display of military might and action.” The truth is it really does depend on a persons existing perspective based on their family background, upbringing and morals as to how much a characters perspective can influence their view. However for me it is fair to say that the eyes in which I viewed the texts through altered greatly how I answered each question on patriotism.
How are the events shaped by patriotism and what does this reveal about humanity?
The primary event in each of the texts I studied was the main characters decision to take up arms for their country. In a way all of the characters in the three anti-patriot texts are affected by patriotism in some way, whether they joined out of desire or fear they quickly realised the cause in which they were fighting for was not patriotic e.g. in jarhead the characters are forced to guard an oil field “in the name of their country” they are confused about what they are fighting for being so far from home. Swofft questions why he is there at all while his girlfriend back home apparently doesn’t appreciate that he is “honourably serving his country” he snaps and realises in the epiphany of unglorious acts (burning latrines) that war is not patriotic. In the things they carried the character Norman baker realises war is not honourably when he see that no one else cares that they have been fighting for America, as he returns home he doesn’t get the parade he had dreamed about. He was not honoured; he received no glory, his patriotism died then and he committed suicide 4 months later. When I thought about what this reveals about humanity I thought about the idea of having something to fight for, an excuse or motivation to hurt others, for many that excuse is patriotism. This reveals an ugliness of humanity and is linked to Wilfred Owens poem where the main event is a gas attack; gassing the enemy would have to be the sickest way of winning a war and shows patriotism drives people to do anything for their country (using the excuse of acting in patriotism.) gassing is a black mark on the history of warfare, humanity at the time of this text was driven by patriotism for example it was patriots who sparked the first world war driving the black hand to assassinate the duke of Austria. (Austria has annexed their homeland of Bosnia-Herzegovina), it clearly reveals that humanity puts patriotism above morals, willing to sacrifice mass death in the name of patriotism.
In the film the patriot the director chooses to portray patriotism in a different light. There is a particular scene that is the epiphany of the film that is so pro-American I would not be surprised if they were paid by the government to include it. The scene is the first battle in which the Americans force the British to retreat; this victory contains blatant patriotic symbolism. The director is using symbolism of the character waving the flag to symbolise patriotism an how this shot inspires retreating soldiers to turn and fight, to die under the guidance of the stars and stripes. The highest point of the symbolism is when the main character (played by Mel Gibson) charges at the villain that is the British commander, he uses the flag as a spare skewering the commander. This symbolises patriotism puncturing the British colonial power. An army of militia can beat an empire with patriotism on their side. Of course this is a Hollywood blockbuster and shouldn’t be taken as fact but the director is, I believe, saying that humanity uses patriotism as a weapon to win conflicts. The idea I came up with out of all of this was that patriotism is a metaphorical weapon of humanity.Conclusion- similarities and differences between the texts I have studied.
Anti-war media is very common in the 20th century and this meant that trend continued into the texts I studied. I believe this was useful because I could analyse how the author is showing they are anti-patriotic, how they communicate the ideas. The main way this is done is through the actions and dialogue of characters. These ideas were strengthened by various texts I studied, there were similarities between Jarhead, Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Things The Carried, the characters in each faced their own inner conflicts while at the same time discovering that war does is not just containing horrific acts as it is horror itself. The difference between these three texts and the film the Patriot is the way in which the director portrays the main character as he is patriotic and shown to be a strong leader, good father and above all a patriot.
The reason I chose certain texts was because I wanted to have a range of different settings in my research, the ones I did choose are set in 4 different war zones and are centred on American military history. This is so that I could compare and analyse how perception has changed or patriotism is portrayed by different authors. There is without doubt that perspectives on patriotism have varied in American history and the texts I have studied show this about society. I also came to the conclusion that it is often the soldiers whose perspectives change first they are the ones who realise the truth about war; there is not such thing as a glorious patriotic death.
To some up the judgements I have found about each question; the setting of each text is developed by language techniques and applies to more than just the physical setting, including social background and time setting. These setting heavily affect the characters in each text prime example in Jarhead where his social background of his family pushes him into his military career. I found that the found that it was defiantly the main characters perspective that had the most influence on the reader’s view, its natural in literature to sympathise with the main characters of a text. Patriotism as a force has shaped events in our history like WWI and the text I studied mirror this with patriotism shaping events in the texts like battles or joining the army.
My study of patriotism has reveal ideas about warfare an its relations with physiology because is war not only about the type of weapons you’ve got and how many tanks etc, but also the mind sets of the individuals fighting. I do not disagree if I wanted to win a war I would need my soldiers to be patriots because its war, but I realise we do not live in a Spartan state war is not an everyday part of our lives, the sooner we can separate patriotism from warfare the soon it will bring peace to certain areas. Patriotism is hard to agree with or disagree, its not as clear cut as being a patriot or not, but modern literature has made up its mind that war is the definition of evil and there for it also condemns patriotism.
.jpg)
