Treatment of War Two Different

¶ … treatment of war [...] two different aspects of the poem "german september" by libero de libero that reflect the traditional literary treatment of war. This poem memorializes a young boy killed by a Nazi during World War II. It indicates the horror of war contrasted with the beauty of nature, and the unnatural world of the Nazi killing machine.

War is horrible, and most literature supports this view. This poem is no exception. It uses exquisite and beguiling natural images to paint a beautiful picture of a beautiful world, and juxtaposes them with the horrific image of an eleven-year-old boy senselessly murdered by a trigger-happy Nazi used to being instantly obeyed. The poet writes, "And you, my golden hill, whose slopes / the wind has perfumed, bridle your fury; / Count your sheep, shepherd, count them well: / Your dog has just been mangled by the German wolf" (de libero 277). The poem serves as a warning to those under Germany's thumb, but it also paints a natural picture of the land, and the beauty we often take for granted. This poem indicates nothing should be taken for granted, especially life, and especially peace. The peaceful countryside can erupt in warfare in any minute, and then the bucolic life of the rural dwellers will disappear, never to return, just as the young boy will never return.

The peaceful images of the countryside are directly opposite all of the action in the poem, and this causes the reader to stop and think about what they are reading. How can such a peaceful scene produce such violence? This is one aspect of the poem meant to stun the reader and illustrate the horrors of war. Literature on war and the horrors of war is common, and so, the writer must work to create images so graphic, or so entirely opposite, that they stun the reader rather than lull them into a false understanding of what warfare entails. Warfare can be justified by just about anyone, but the truth of war is that it is about killing, and there does not have to be a reason for the killing. The poet writes, "Eleven years old, the son of Mary, / Claudio Bin who was just laughing / Was killed with a machine gun for just laughing'" (de libero 279). A world at war is a world where a child can be killed just for laughing, and that is the stark reality of war. War is not fair, it simply is, and the beauty and peace of the countryside cannot change that. The author uses the analogy of decay to indicate the end of the natural world. He writes, "For this, the ear of wheat will not decay, / the sun and moon will still present their show, / the Andes will continue in their chain, / the seasons wish to follow in their order" (de libero 282-283). Thus, life in the world goes on as normal. Life goes on, and the natural world slowly changes. Wheat grows from seed and finally dies, the seasons changed, and the sun and the moon continue their cycle. However, the natural world will always go on, even when war exists. Claudio's life however, has been arrested, and will not go on. Again, the poet uses contrasts between the natural world to point out the very unnatural world of war, and the Nazis.

The second aspect of this poem that is quite traditional in nature is how the Nazis are depicted. There is hardly anything good to say about the Nazis and their reign of terror during World War II. The Nazis were effective and efficient killing machines, and it did not matter if the victim was young or old, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, if they were in the way of the Nazis, they were eliminated. Most literature depicts the Nazis as exceptionally cruel and heartless, and this poem is no exception. Who kills a child simply for laughing? A Nazi, that's who. In fact, in most literature, there is hardly anything good to say about war. There is a long tradition of writing about the causes and effects of war, and most of the literature is graphic and horrific in nature. It depicts the worst parts of war, and depicts it graphically because writers what their readers to share in the feelings and desires of their characters. Even the war literature and media that is humorous (such as M*a*S*H), have their dark sides, and show the backside of war, where the injured go and how many do not make it. War is not pretty, and the literature about war illustrates that graphically and well. There is nothing pretty about a child gunned down by a much more powerful (and responsible) adult. It is simply the power of one pitted against the power of another. The Nazis were certainly powerful, and they enjoyed exerting their power over those who were weaker than they were, like children, and Jews. They were evil, and this poem paints them just that way. Just as the poem uses contrasts between the natural world and the unnatural world of the Nazis, the poem contrasts the innocence of a child with the arrogance of a Nazi with a machine gun. The child is harmless, and the Nazi is not. The Nazi is aware of his power, and is not afraid to use it on anyone who challenges him, even a child. Again, this indicates the powerful are those who win at war. Ultimately, the Nazis lost the war because, powerful as they were, they were not as powerful as the Allied forces that marched against them. This is another lesson about war that most literature explores. Power is the ultimate goal in war, and the ultimate winner in war. Military might is part of this power, but so are sheer numbers and armaments. Those who have the most win, and those who do not, lose. War is that simple, and that makes it all the more frightening and dark.