(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Man He Killed

             Thomas Hardy's poem, "The Man He Killed" is about a young man trying to make sense of war and justify his action of taking another man's life. We see this occurring in the war with Iraq. Innocent men and children are killed with killers trying to justify their actions. Families from both sides have mixed reactions about going to war and the actions that are taken in war.
             The problem is that no one can really justify war. War is a means to an end but not a solution. Wars have happened since the beginning of time (dating back to biblical times). They will always occur.
             I dont think it is possible to justify war. For centuries man has entered into war for one reason or another (following their leader) sending young men who arent really prepared for their upcoming fate into the battlefield. Only one thing is on their mind- Destroy the enemy. How can we really justify killing another? Is it for the right reasons? Should we kill someone we dont know because someone else told is to? All are good questions that we ignore when going into war.
             The poem begins with the speaker saying, "Had he and I but met/ By some old ancient inn" (1-2). This statement informs the reader that the action or event that the poem is based on has already occurred, and that the speaker is pondering over what has happened. He, the speaker, is placing himself and the man whose life he took in a calm and cozy place in his imagination, away from the harsh reality of a battlefield. He goes on to say that if he and this man had happened to meet in this imaginary calm and civilized environment that "we should have set us down to wet/ Right many a nipperkin!" (3-4). The speaker of the poem is basically saying that if he had met this man in any other situation they probably would have of sat down and had a drink together and maybe even have become friends. The use of an exclamation point at the end of line four serves to stress the speakers sense of puzzlement of what has taken place, and that he cant seem to find a way to make sense of what has happened.


Essays Related to The Man He Killed

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - The Finch Family

Atticus Finch is a complicated character in "To Kill A Mockingbird." ... "He doesn't believe in killing just to kill. ... He tells Scout, "as you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life....whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rick he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash" (295). ... He decided to defend a black man because "If I didn't I couldn't hold my head in town. ... When confronted by a mob at the jailhouse, "Atticus got up from his chair, but he was moving slowly, like an old...

  • Word Count: 1941
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

Tom Robinson, a simple ,kind, and helpful man. If he was white, he would probably be a very highly respected, influencial man. ... He didn't hurt anyone, but he was shot , just like a sportsman would kill a mockingbird. ... At first, Scout describes him as an 'evil man' whom she should get near. ... All he tried to do was defend an innocent man, he never did anything wrong, yet the townsfolk looked down upon him for doing this---calling him names and disrespecting him. ...

  • Word Count: 1255
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Invisible Man

Although the invisible man at first think he will not do harm to the public, he is not accepted by the public anyway. ... Following is a scene, which shows the vivid reaction of the public toward the invisible man when he first reveals himself in public. ... When they get to know there is an invisible man, they want to kill him for their own security. ... And all who disobey his orders, he must kill, and kill all who would defend them."" ... The group kill the invisible man and get rid of the threat of being dominated by the Reign of Terror, but they get nothing from the discovery of inv...

  • Word Count: 1333
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Invisible Man

The reason that the invisible man had for becoming invisible was that he was suspected as to be a vivesectionalist and he did not want to be punished for it. ... Although the invisible man at first think he will not do harm to the public, he is not accepted by the public anyway. ... When they get to know there is an invisible man, they want to kill him for their own security. ... And all who disobey his orders, he must kill, and kill all who would defend them."" ... The group kill the invisible man and get rid of the threat of being dominated by the Reign of Terror, but they get nothing fro...

  • Word Count: 1536
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

5. To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb county, Alabama in the 1930's. ... The story is about two people but the most important part is about a black man whose name is Tom Robinson he is on trial for raping a ninteen year old girl whose name is Mayella Ewell. ... Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout, is defending. ... (page # 178) Later Tom says "She says she never kissed a grown man before an" it might as well kiss a black man . ... Ewell tried to kill both Scout and Jem Boo stopped hi...

  • Word Count: 590
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Man vs Nature

Sometimes man conquers nature, or thinks he has, but then he also knows nature is much more powerful than him, and it's that balance of trying to control nature as much as possible. Man tries to control nature as much as he can. ... Man may be able to predict earthquakes to an extent, but he is not able to stop Mother Nature's destruction. ... In this poem, the sea is compared to a grey wolf, which creates the image that the sea is cruel and vicious, and that it has the ability, and the power, to hunt and kill. ... Ozymandias was an important man, but he wasn't immortal, and ...

  • Word Count: 661
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Old Man in the Sea Heroism

The Old Man and the Sea: Hero Qualities Santiago was a man who would not quit. ... The old man set out to catch the biggest fish in the whole sea, and he was not coming back empty handed. ... Santiago is proving his own moral choice by not killing it quickly, but letting it kill itself. ... The old man did not stop to worry about his hand when it was cut, and he just carried on. ... Even though Santiago was an old man it does not mean he still cannot be physically strong. ...

  • Word Count: 595
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Fallen Angels and The Man I Killed

Whereas in "The Man I Killed" the theme is evident after O'Brien kills the man and is feeling guilty. ... This depicts the loss of innocence, because as O'Brien is going through all the emotions of guilt after he killed the man he is coming of age as he is faced with the inhumanity of war. ... Where he states the emotions he felt when he first killed a man and imagining the life that the man may have lived before his life was ended when O'Brien kills him with a grenade. Tim focuses on the man he killed unable to remove his eyes from him as he looks at the wounds he ...

  • Word Count: 938
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography

9. Lord of the flies (man inherintly evil)

Some Reasons that I think man is naturally evil is because when all authority figures are taken out and man is free to do whatever he feels it is easy to see man is evil. ... Killed?"(201) The officer is very surprised to hear that someone has been killed because he thought that little British boys would have known better and would've been able to endure more. ... (Thomas Hobbes) By this he means that man is always at war against another person. ... He thinks that man is always in competition due to our equality. ...

  • Word Count: 948
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question