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    Arms and The Man As Anti War Play

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    Farha Neel
    1) Arms and the Man is a play by George Bernard Shaw that satirizes romantic views of war through realistic portrayals of soldiers who are afraid of death and more concerned with food than ammunition. 2) The play debunks notions of noble heroism in war by having the character Bluntschli tell Raina that "nine soldiers out of ten are born fools" and that food is more necessary than ammunition. 3) By the end of the play, characters like Sergius and Major Petkoff who were involved in the war have become disillusioned with war and prefer the simplicity of domestic life over combat.

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    Arms and The Man As Anti War Play

    Uploaded by

    Farha Neel
    2K views2 pages
    1) Arms and the Man is a play by George Bernard Shaw that satirizes romantic views of war through realistic portrayals of soldiers who are afraid of death and more concerned with food than ammunition. 2) The play debunks notions of noble heroism in war by having the character Bluntschli tell Raina that "nine soldiers out of ten are born fools" and that food is more necessary than ammunition. 3) By the end of the play, characters like Sergius and Major Petkoff who were involved in the war have become disillusioned with war and prefer the simplicity of domestic life over combat.

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    Arms and the Man as Anti war play

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    1) Arms and the Man is a play by George Bernard Shaw that satirizes romantic views of war through realistic portrayals of soldiers who are afraid of death and more concerned with food than ammunition. 2) The play debunks notions of noble heroism in war by having the character Bluntschli tell Raina that "nine soldiers out of ten are born fools" and that food is more necessary than ammunition. 3) By the end of the play, characters like Sergius and Major Petkoff who were involved in the war have become disillusioned with war and prefer the simplicity of domestic life over combat.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Arms and The Man As Anti War Play

    Uploaded by

    Farha Neel
    1) Arms and the Man is a play by George Bernard Shaw that satirizes romantic views of war through realistic portrayals of soldiers who are afraid of death and more concerned with food than ammunition. 2) The play debunks notions of noble heroism in war by having the character Bluntschli tell Raina that "nine soldiers out of ten are born fools" and that food is more necessary than ammunition. 3) By the end of the play, characters like Sergius and Major Petkoff who were involved in the war have become disillusioned with war and prefer the simplicity of domestic life over combat.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Arms and the Man as Anti war play

    Arms and the Man is set against a real war between the Serbs and the
    Bulgarian in 1880s. Even the title is taken from the translation of Virgil's
    Aeneid which celebrates the glory of arms and of heroic valour in an
    exalted manner. But Shaw's intention is quite opposite. He bitterly
    satirizes the disillusions regarding war and heroism prevailed in the
    contemporary society. Though not an anti-war writer like Tolstoy and
    other modern humanitarians and pacifists, Shaw certainly laughs at the
    romantic view of war. One of Shaw's aims in this play is to debunk the
    romantic heroics of war; he wanted to present a realistic account of
    war and to remove all pretensions of nobility from war.
    Shaw propagates his anti-war ideas through Bluntschli, a Swiss soldier.
    Bluntschli takes refuge in Raina's bedchamber. He exposes to Raina the
    hollowness of war and heroism. Though his manner is light and comic,
    the intention is serious. Raina is surprised that Bluntschli, a soldier, is
    afraid of death and stuffs his pocket with food instead of and all of
    them actually are afraid of death. He also surprises her cartridge. In
    reply Bluntschli says that soldiers are like common people disclosing
    the fact that "nine soldiers out ten are born fools" and food is more
    necessary in war than ammunition. Here Shaw's emphasis on food over
    ammunition suggests his anti-war attitude.
    Shaw's anti-war attitude is seen in Raina's and Bluntschli's
    conversation. For example, Raina says to Bluntschli , "some soldiers, I
    know are afraid of die. " Then, Bluntschli says, " All of them, dear lady
    all of them, believe me. It is out duty to live as long we can. " From this
    line, it is clear that It's an anti war message. No-one wants to die in the
    war. Another anti war message is seen in Raina's speech. Raina says to
    Chatherine, her mother, "what glory is there in killing wretched
    fugitives? " Here, it is observed that there is nothing good in killing
    people. G.B Shaw shows another anti war message in the play in
    Raina's speech.
    The crowning point of the disillusionment of war is exposed through
    the Byronic hero Sergius himself. He returns from the war, which
    promises him so much, empty handed. He is utterly disillusioned and
    has decided to leave the army. He has come to realize that soldiering is
    "the coward's art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and
    keeping out of harm's way when you are weak." To Shaw war is devoid
    of romance and heroism and it is fools who rush to war whereas the
    victorious are those who stay at home and make a fortune out of it.
    In Arms and the Man Shaw's anti-war treatment is further noticed
    when he makes his men of arms favour the simplicity of domestic life
    over war and heroism. Major Petkoff, an important person in the
    Bulgarian Army, finds relief to return home when the war has been
    over. He is more interested in domestic life, his wife,daughter, fresh
    coffee etc. He and other men of arms are concerned of peace as soon
    as the war ends.
    Therefore, though Arms and the Man opens with an atmosphere of war
    and heroism, the end strips it of all its romantic glamour. Shaw
    lampoons war using a variety of methods, namely satire, irony and
    sarcasm. Characters like Sergius and Bluntschli whose war experiences
    have taught them that war is anything but heroic and noble. It is also
    accomplished by the disillusionment of those who have not been to
    war, like Raina, when they discover from those who have what the
    actual experience is like. The domestication of Major Petkoff further
    suggests how much war is unwelcomed. Shaw who himself fought in
    battles knew about the realities of war. His experiences and ideas of
    war are reflected in Arms and the Man.

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