Mark Twain's The War Prayer

Words: 622
Pages: 3

Due to my insane love for Mark Twain, I read “The War Prayer” first. This was probably the best order in which to read the two stories because in Twain’s story it is a time of war and pride for country. Pray was dedicated to the front lines in hopes to ensure victory for their flag. This story is a focus on the fact that, in any conflict, for there to be a victor there has to be loser. In war, the loser ends up bloody beaten and bruised. While the people of each country pray for life and victory they are simultaneously praying for blood, pain, and suffering. While they pray for the survival of their own, they are praying for the death of others. They want to live, thrive, and love but they do not consider the other end that will be filled with death, suffering, and hate. …show more content…
Innocent will die, homes and families will be ripped apart. Loved ones will be lost in the flames of battle forever. The messenger of God himself shed light on this fact with his speech. None wanted to admit that that is the true secret their prayers of victory held. Instead in the end they discredit the man, saying he was mad; he was insane. On a side note, I feel it is important to note that, while I agree with the fact that war is a curse and we should not pray for victory but safety instead, a country or people should not just let themselves be wronged. Retaliation is an inevitable force. We should fight to protect, not overcome. For if we as humanity didn’t do this over the hundreds of years, then humanity as we know it would never even