R & R war

Passage A
GUNS,
Long, steel guns,
Pointed from the war ships
In the name of the war god.
Straight, shining, polished guns,
Clambered over with jackies in white blouses,
Glory of tan faces, tousled hair, white teeth,
Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses,
Sitting on the guns singing war songs, war chanties.
Shovels,
Broad, iron shovels,
Scooping out oblong vaults,
Loosening turf and leveling sod.
I ask you
To witness—
The shovel is brother to the gun.

(“Iron” by Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems, Henry Holt, 1916)

1. “Guns / Long, steel guns / Pointed from the war ships” (lines 1-3). What type of
gun is Sandburg describing here?

Iron Guns

2. “Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses, / Sitting on the guns singing war songs,
war chanties” (lines 8-9). Who are the “jackies” in these lines, and why would
they be singing “war chanties”?

The jackies referred to the seamen. Theses "jackies have repeatedly do the same work, hence singing to ease the boredom.

3. “The shovel is brother to the gun” (line 16). Explain what Sandburg means by
this statement.

Both the Gun and the shovel are made from iron. The gun is created to kill, and the shovel to dig the graves. Hence, without the consequence of the shovel, the guns will not be created, hence, the shovel is the "brother" of the gun.

Passage B

SMASH down the cities.
Knock the walls to pieces.
Break the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into loose piles of stone and lumber and black burnt wood:
You are the soldiers and we command you.
Build up the cities.
Set up the walls again.
Put together once more the factories and cathedrals, warehouses and homes
Into buildings for life and labor:
You are workmen and citizens all: We command you.

4. What is the significance of the poem’s title, “And They Obey”?

To show that after a country is taken over by another country, the citizens have lost their rights and voices. They could only listen and obey. The commanding army then have very high authority, even if it was only a minor soldier in the army.

5. What is the effect of the contrasting actions between stanzas 1 and 2 (smash/
build, knock/set up, break/put together)? What is the persona’s attitude toward
the soldiers and citizens in the poem?

It was about how different were the soldiers of the opposing army and the citizens of the town does. It also showed the irony, on how the army had told their soldiers to break down these buildings, however, again, it was them who commanded the citizens and workmen to rebuild all these buildings once again. Hence, it was an anti-war poem, to show the resent, of the poet towards war, and questioning the need of war.

6. In your view, is it harder to tear a society down, or to build it back up again? Use examples from current events to support your answer.

In my view it is harder to build a society back up than to tear a society down. To tear down a country, it can be in the matter of weeks, days or even seconds! Howecer, to rebuild the society, years are needed. In the recent Japanese earthquake, only a wave of earthquake that occurred only for minutes had reduced the buildings and propeties into rubbles. However, it was estimated that for the city to be rebuilt, it may take up to five years. With this example, I can tell that rebuilding a country is much harder.

Passage C
IN the old wars drum of hoofs and the beat of shod feet.
In the new wars hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires.
In the wars to come silent wheels and whirr of rods not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars clutches of short swords and jabs into faces with spears.
In the new wars long range guns and smashed walls, guns running a spit of metal and men falling in
tens and twenties.
In the wars to come new silent deaths, new silent hurlers not yet dreamed out in the heads of men.
In the old wars kings quarreling and thousands of men following.
In the new wars kings quarreling and millions of men following.
In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust and millions of men following great causes not yet
dreamed out in the heads of men.

7. Explain the progression of onomatopoeia in the first stanza. What do you
imagine the sounds of the future wars represent?

In the beginning of the poem, the "hoofs and beat of shod feet" was probably caused horses that the soldiers used during the war. Then, the "hum of motors and the tread of rubber tires" was probably caused by the cars or tanks used for the modern warfare. Then it was silent that represented the future wars. This may represent that that the technology in future was beyond imagination, or that the future may not even require such physical fights anymore, probably through a higher form of technology.

8. “In the wars to come kings kicked under the dust” (line 9). Taking an example
from current events, discuss one “king” that has been “kicked under the dust” in
recent times.

One example would be Muammar Gaddafi the leader of Libya, who had been removed from office. It was largely due to his over-usage of power to control the country which caused the rebel against him.