Pathos of Edward Starr's "War"

            Edward Starr’s “War” captivates his listeners with pathos to protest the conflict in Vietnam by illustrating the horrors of war.  For example, in the first verse, Starr depicts war as the cause of “tear[s] to thousands of mothers eyes / when their sons go off to fight and lose their lives.”  Starr uses this image to invoke the sympathy of his audience for the mothers grieving for their sons lost to the war.  From the sadness war brings onto families, Starr then describes the effect of the war on the soldiers.  By explaining that war has “shattered many young man’s dreams / [and] made him disabled bitter and mean,” Starr triggers his audience to deplore Vietnam War for ruining the lives of America’s young warriors.  Although Starr convinces audience sympathizes with the soldiers and their grieving families, he indicates that their sacrifice was unnecessary by repeating the line claiming “war . . . / is good for . . . / absolutely nothing.”  This repetition serves to emphasize that the horrors of war amount to nothing since “peace love and understanding” can end the conflict in Vietnam without the bloodshed.  In addition, this reiteration of the pointlessness of war contrasts with the government’s assertion that “we must fight to keep our freedom.”  In turn, Starr utilizes this disparity to illustrate that the government failed to tell the truth about the Vietnam War, to invoke the American people’s anger against their leaders for those lies, and to direct their discontent by protesting the war.  Thus, Starr’s “War” brings its listeners to oppose the Vietnam War through its emotional appeal.

-Shawn Rosofsky