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Contemporary War
Literature:
Unit Introduction
English III
May 2016
War Literature Is Different
Written for specific purposes
Major difference depending on the
war and the writer
Several overarching themes in
nearly all war literature:
Brotherhood
Becoming a “man”
An enemy that is unknown and difficult
to understand
Survival versus brutality
Coping with the aftermath of intense
violence
World War I
First “industrial” war
Use of machine
guns—violence
never seen before
Chemical warfare
New horrors of war
are reflected in the
literature
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World War II
“Greatest Generation”—
soldiers had survived the
Great Depression
Hitler was a real, tangible
enemy—fighting for true
cause
Home front was deeply
affected
New horrors and violence
with the introduction of the
Atomic Bomb
Vietnam War
First televised war
“Guerilla Warfare”—new and unfamiliar fighting
tactics; an enemy that was not well understood
Literature of the era uses surrealism to deal with
the unspeakable horrors encountered
Lack of support at home
Iraq and Afghanistan
No draft—few volunteers; war
is easy to ignore at home
Enemy and purpose of fighting
isn’t always clear
Soldiers are supported and
welcomed home, but
misunderstood
PTSD is openly discussed and
understood—it’s ok to talk
about the psychological scars
of war
Much of the literature deals
with the difficult transition back
to civilian life
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Purposes and Techniques
Use of techniques such as hyper-realism, sarcasm,
surrealism, and dark humor—it is difficult to communicate
the reality of war
Major purposes:
To help soldiers come to terms with their experiences
To educate and communicate with civilians about war life
To connect with one another through common experiences
“…some will begin to
recognize their own
suffering in the stories of
others. That’s what war
literature does.”
-George Packer, The New Yorker
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