Smith 1

Period 4

Mr. Boyatt

AP English Literature

14 February 2019

Historical Songs Assignment

The song, “Hero of War”, by Rise Against, is about the stresses and misdeeds committed

by the US Marines, and our country’s attempts to glorify it amongst the horror. This song was

written in 2008, a time during our war with Afghanistan, and shows the inhumane horrors

associated with war, for both sides. The band shows their overall hatred for the pain and immoral

acts that follow war through diction, to show the moral struggle amongst soldiers, imagery, to

give a contrast of both sides committing horrendous actions, and tone, which not only shows

these horrors further, but also presents a questioning of the purpose of war if it is as horrendous

as is described.

The use of diction in this song allows an explanation of the intricate and mind-boggling

rules and morals associated with being a soldier of war, and how one is constantly in a mental

tug-of-war between right and wrong, and doing the wrong thing anyways. The song starts with

the line “He said ​son, have you seen the world?” and continues to talk in the same fashion

someone would if they were an officer bringing them into the war. The repetition of this line in

the song shows how the officers constantly are bringing in more and more soldiers, continuing

the death and pain associated with war. In addition, the “he” can also be seen as Uncle Sam, and

how the patriotism associated with him is tied with immoral acts of war. The contrast of “we all
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became friends” and “we learned how to fight” shows the complexities of wartime for our

soldiers, and how they build relationships with one another, only to lose many of them while

killing others. He then uses children crying and him shouting commands as another description

of the confusing morals one must have to be a soldier.

The imagery of the tough, cruel, harshness of war associated with the loss of peace

amongst people proves the profound amount of pain experienced by both sides in a war. The

image of a children crying, and a man having a bag over his face as the soldiers took him from

those he loved helps create the idea that the commands of a soldier are heartless, and will always

bring pain. The band further proves the heartlessness of a soldier’s orders, or duty to their

country, by saying a girl “​walked through bullets and haze”, and the soldier begged for her

to stop moving. The girl, however did not, so the soldier was forced to open fire, for those

were his commands, and the shells that fell to the ground were soaked in blood amongst

the girls flag, “a flag white as snow”. The image of the girl calmly walking against deathly

bullets only to die creates the idea that hope, and something as pure as the color white, the

color of surrender, peace, and purity, is now soaked, stained, and tainted with blood, is

inevitable in war. The contrast of peace and death amongst the moral struggles is further

seen when the soldier describes himself as “just medals and scars”, and says the flag that he

fought for, killed for, and would have died for “gathers dust”. This reveals the torment

experienced by the soldier, and how, in the end, he created a war for himself by trying to

fight in one for the country he loves.

The song starts with a proud, patriotic tone, then shifts to one of remorse to show

how the patriotized ideas about war created by people are severely marred, and different
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from, the realities of war. The song starts with messages about the friendships amongst the

soldiers, formed through similar experiences such as training to fight in the war together,

how they all got their hair cut, and are all wearing similar uniforms, such as the spit-shined

boots. They also talk about the patriotic ideals in the third stanza that are generally

believed in amongst American soldiers, such as carrying the American flag “to the grave if

(they) must”, and people being proud of them when they come home, for they are a “hero of

war”, each and every one of them. The shift to regretful feelings associated with a soldier’s

wrongdoings during war are seen when the song says “I told them to stop But then I joined

in” when talking about beating and mistreating a captured enemy. It is also seen when the

girl the soldier had shot “collapsed with a flag in her hand”, “a flag white as snow”. This

shift is proven through these stories because they are reflections on the man’s time as a

soldier, and he is filled with regret over his immoral actions and duties. In the last stanza,

the soldier is questioning the entirety of the war itself when he says “A hero of war Is that

what they see? Just medals and scars”. Words such as “proud” being used in different parts

of the song show how his mindset changed through the difficult experiences and disgusting

acts committed, simply for a flag.

The band, Rise Against, sends a message about the morally disturbing consequences

of war, and how it can change your perspective on the things you love most, even your own

country.
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