// War Literature

It is very interesting that DeLillo decides to use the baseball game between the Giants and the Dodgers to compare with war. At first glance, one may not really see much of a connection between the two. One person even considered it an “escape” from war. I completely disagree.

One of the major differences between baseball and other sports, such as soccer or basketball, is that there is a lot less physical activity, and a lot more mental activity. Although many people consider the sport to be dull and boring, it is actually the opposite. When playing baseball, every single player on the field has a different job to do, just like in any sport. But once the ball is thrown, everyone’s job changes relative to where the ball goes. Baseball is a psychological game, and every player is constantly thinking of what they must do when the ball is hit. And the tasks are always different, because it all depends on where the ball is going. This can be directly related to war, in that everyone has a certain job to do, relative to the situation of the battle. This also can relate to the Cold War going on behind the scenes. The Cold War was considered an arms race, where both the U.S. and the Soviets were waiting for the each other to make the first move, so they can react. This is the exact concept of baseball, because the players must wait for the ball to be hit first before they can react to it.

Baseball is similar to modern warfare, in that it is more about strategy than anything else. In order for a team to win a baseball game, everyone has to complete different individual tasks in order for the whole team to win. The same thing goes for war. One person cannot fight a war alone, and one person cannot win a baseball game alone. For example, say you are in center field, and there is a runner on 2nd base.  if the ball gets hit to you out in center field, then the runner has enough time to run around 3rd base and go straight home. So, if there is a runner on 2nd base and the ball gets hit to you, you have to throw home. At the same time, the catcher has to be ready for you to throw it to them at home plate to tag the runner out. Also, after the ball is hit, the pitcher has to run behind the catcher, to back him up in case he misses the throw.This is very similar to the different duties of soldiers and officers in war. One man has to shoot, one man has to cover, one man has to radio coordinates to the headquarters, etc.

Although the game between the Dodgers and the Giants may seem peaceful, it really is it’s own mini-war. Both teams are arch enemies fighting to win, and each inning is an individual battle.  And in the last inning it took a bomb-or a homerun-to end it.  I can think of a few wars that were exactly like that.

This is a pretty interesting article, by famed philosopher and critic Slavoj Zizek about the genre of holocaust cinema.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/17/

The book S. introduces our class to a new aspects of war that we never really discussed deeply before. Civilians play an important part in wars, especially since the twentieth century. I believe that wars used to be more about hand to hand, one army fighting another for the most part. Although, the capture and raping of civilian woman has been a staple in war for centuries, only more recently has it been on this great a scale. Since the twentieth century, when terrorism became more widely used, civilians became as much a part of war as the army.

Now its common to hear of villages being bombed during wartime or of “insurgents” being detained. Now war is not about destroying the other side’s army, its about breaking down and destroying their way of life. It isnt fair that innocent people get thrown into wars that they have no part in. This is what I understand the message to be in S. She often wonders how she ended up in this situation so abruptly or why she didnt realize that she was apart of the war since the army started coming into villages.

The content of this book saddens and disgusts me. To think that this went on less than 2 decades ago is scary. War is funny. It seems that all of the things that people go to war for, freedom, security, human rights; this  all goes out the window during the war. In the pursuit of victory, it is alright to strip people of these basic freedoms. It makes no sese to me.

Examining these readings and watching current events convinces me that wars will never make it better and they only get worse.

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/genevaconventions

Slavenka Drakulic’s novel S tells the story of a war with many unthinkable acts. What I found interesting about the novel is that the brutal events such as the raping and torturing of civilians sends a message not that those acts are so unreal that it is hard for anyone to think of this happening, but that these acts have happened before in history.  It shows that war turns human beings into monsters. It affects people in such a way that a woman would think a child is a tumor instead of a blessing.

Despite the rhetoric of people when the holocaust ended of, “never again” in different parts of the world ethnic cleaning exists.  The fact that this war became so brutal with inhumane acts, shows that humanity is still capable of unthinkable acts. Additionally, the fact that the novel is written from a woman’s perspective is essential to the novel’s message.  The twisted superiority that the men get from committing terrible acts depict how crazed the men have become.  However, the small bit of power that S gets from seducing the men at least gives her some sense that she can claim a little bit of power and dignity.

While reading Delillo’s prologue to Underworld, I was confused as to the direction Delillo was trying to take us.  What exactly is his take on war?  It’s definitely different and challenging in its own right – not resembling the typical war stories that we had read.  However, there are a few parts to the novella that leaves quite an impression – impressions that I believe help to sketch out Delillo’s perspective on atomic weaponry and the moral health of humanity.  First instance is when Edgar examines, the painting, “The Triumph of Death,” and makes the observation that “the living are sinners” (p. 50).  He also then goes on to state that the “terror [is] universal” (p.50).  It is possible that Delillo is saying humanity as a whole is down falling – almost fatally inflicted with wounds of vices and moral stupor.  And the ultimate consequences of so are the appearances of skeletons coming to reel in the living and infernos blazing throughout the land – a terrifying image of how Hell might be.  Except, this Hell takes place during life, known as war.  And war is probably pretty damn close to the real thing, don’t you think?

If we look at the background of “The Triumph of Death,” towards the left, there is actually an explosion of fiery colors which could be viewed as the atomic bomb.  As we know, the power of atomic bombs is devastating enough to wipe out all of mankind.  Perhaps, this blaze in the distance does not only depict how the bomb looks after it is set off.  It also captures an apocalyptic sunset, the last sunset that will put the world into darkness, into nothingness.

Another part that stuck out to me is on the following page when Edgar states “that weird peeled eyeball exploding over the desert – for every one of these he reckons a hundred plots to go underground, to spawn and skein” (p.51).  It hints to the chain effect that one atomic bomb has after it goes off.  That is the “genius” of the bomb (p.51). It is not a weapon that has momentary killing effects, but it continuously spurs nations into a frenzy of conspiracy, secret planning, and paranoia.  In essence, I’d consider this a pretty good definition of the Cold War – the weaponry aspects of it at least.  What weapon to build next?  How to become stronger?  Who can create a scarier Hell?

This piece by DeLillo is arguable the most “positive” work that we have read thus far in class. with the exception of the minor battle for the winning ball towards the end of the introuction, this piece is relatively quarrel free. Rather than being centered around war and the effects that it is having on the society, DeLillo centers it on the famout pennet between the Giants and the Dodgers. At first when reading this piece and bearing in mind that we are in a Literature of War class, I kept anticipating something gruesome to happen–perhaps a bomb to explode in the center of the field, soldiers to bombard the crowds due to a possible bomb threat, or something graphic and exciting that would make my heart race (like many of the other things that we have read/watched in class). Surprisingly, after 20-30 pages, I realized that I was more concerned with the game and the stories of the crowd members than anything else. The imagery provided through DeLillo’s elaborate use of words provided an escape for what I expected in this text. This realization drove me to consider and realize that during times of war it was activities and events (baseball games) that provided the same escpe for members of society. Without moments such as these where individuals are provided with the opportunity to come together and submerge their thoughts and focus outside of the negative media that they encounter daily (especially in reference to war), people would probably go insane. DeLillo seems to attempt to do the same thing in this introduction and successfully achieves this–atleast I think so.

Drakulic

Originally published as a novella, The Triumph of Death is the prologue to Don DeLillo’s Underworld, one of the most important American novels of the last 25 years.

See the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/fiction-25-years.html