War

About the author

Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936) was an Italian short-story writer, dramatist, poet, and novelist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1934 in Literature for his tremendous contribution.

About the story

• ‘War’ by Luigi Pirandello is a fictional short story that is told from the third-person point of view.

• The story centered on the First World War and it was written in 1918  and published in 1919.

• The main theme of the story is war and its importance, and consequences including death, destruction, sorrow, suffering, sacrifice, and patriotism.

• The story enriches us with a message that there can not be any compensation for those people who lose their near and dear ones in war.

Summary

A bulky woman and her husband entered a second-class carriage. Five passengers had spent the night in the carriage. They assisted the woman to be seated. The woman seemed to be mourning, and the husband was anxious about her. He thanked the passenger and explained how their only son had gone to the war front. It was the time for every passenger to tell his story. A passenger told how his son had gone to the war front the first day of war and he had come back twice due to injury, but again he had gone back there. Another passenger said he had two sons and three nephews who had gone to the war front. Then the husband said that they had one son, and he had gone, which caused more pain to them than others. The passenger also replied that he had two sons, so he had to suffer double as love is not bread and it cannot be divided into equal pieces. This way a conversation continued among all the passengers. Later a fat and red-faced old man asked if they gave life to their children for their benefit. This question made other passengers stare at him. The passenger whose son had gone to war front the first day of war, agreed with the old man and also admitted their son belonged to the country. He explained how his son had sacrificed his life for the sake of the country, and he also glorified his son’s death. He described the last letter of his son who had expressed his satisfaction in sacrificing his life for the country. The bulky woman listened to everyone and became surprised. All the passengers congratulated the old man. In the meantime, the woman asked if his son had died. The old man broke into harrowing, heartbreaking, and uncontrollable sobs, to the amazement of all passengers on the train. He realized his son had died forever, and became unsuccessful in pretending to be happy and proud.

Multiple Choice Question

1. The bulky woman’s son joined the war at the age of-

(i)18 years  (ii)19 years  (iii)20 years   (iv)21 years

2. This story is set in ––––––––– in Italy during the First World War.

(i)a second-class carriage (ii)a platform (iii)a hut (iv) a waterfront.

3. The train departs from-

(i)France  (ii)China  (iii)India  (iv)Rome

4. The story presents to us-

(i) the deep trauma of World War (ii) the impacts of war (iii) the importance of patriotism (iv)all of these

5. The train left the station at

(i)dawn (ii)noon (iii) midnight (iv) evening

6. The story ‘War’ is set in the backdrop of –

(i) the First World War (ii) the Cold War (iii) a flood (iv) the Quit India Movement

7. Luigi Pirandello was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in

(i)1934 (ii)1943 (iii)1941 (iv)1963

8. War was written in –

(i)1918  (ii) 1916 (iii) 1904 (iv) 1900

9. Luigi Pirandello is ________ writer.

(i)Italian (ii)Irish (iii)American (iv)Indian

10. The bulky woman and her husband had their home at –

(i) Sulmona (ii) Rome (iii)London (iv)Paris

Short Answer Type Questions:

1. Why did the passengers grieve?

Ans: The passengers grieved for the loss or departure of their sons who had been sent to the battlefront.

2. Why was the woman lamenting?

Ans: The woman was lamenting because her only son had been sent off to war and she felt that she was the only mother who was grieving for the departure of her son.

3. When was the woman excessively pleased?

Ans: The woman was excessively pleased to hear everyone joining in congratulating that brave old man who could so stoically speak of his son’s death.

4. What suggestion does the fat man have for the parents?

Ans: The fat man suggests that the parents should not mourn and cry for their sons. All of them should stop crying, they should laugh.

5. Why does the husband feel that the other passengers should pity his wife?

Ans: The husband feels that the other passengers should pity his wife because their only son has been called to the front to fight in the war, and his wife has been suffering unbearable pain after being separated from her son for the last three months.

6. What was said in the last message the red-faced man’s son sent?   

Ans: The red-faced man’s son said that he was dying satisfied at having ended his life in the best way he could have wished through his last message before his death.

7. What is the fat man’s pretended attitude toward the loss of a son at war? 

Ans: The fat man pretended to be proud and happy. He was overcome with grief.

8. Why does the fat man, who has lost a son in the war, not even mourn?

Ans: The fat man, who has lost a son in the war, not even were mourning because before dying his son sent him a message saying that he was satisfied while sacrificing his life in the best way he could have wished.

9. How did the passengers help the wife? What did the husband explain to other passengers?

Ans: Some of the passengers helped the wife by making room for her.

 The husband explained to the others that their only son was being sent to war in three days and they were going to see him off.

10. How does the passenger respond when the husband says a man who loses one son has another left to comfort him?

Ans: When the husband says a man who loses one son has another left to comfort him, the passenger responds that such a man must live for his other son, and thus can’t end his misery at his hand, but if the son dies, the father of an only son can die too and put an end to his distress.

11. Why did the bulky woman not participate more in the conversation?

 Ans: The bulky woman did not participate more in the conversation because she was depressed and nobody could say something to console her deep sorrow.

12. Why does the bulky woman finally speak to the fat man?
Ans: The bulky woman finally speaks to the fat man because she is amazed and stunned by the fat man’s conversation with other people.

13. Who asked a ‘silly, incongruous question’?

Ans: The bulky woman asked a ‘silly, incongruous question’.

14. What had the woman ‘sitting bundled ‘ in a corner tried to do for the last three months?

Ans: The woman ‘sitting bundled ‘ in a corner had tried to find in the words of her husband and her friends something to console her in her deep sorrow, something that might show her how a mother should resign herself to send her son not even to death, but to probable danger of life.

15. What did the bulky woman ask the old man?

Ans: The bulky woman asked the old man if his son was really dead.

16. What did the two passengers who boarded the later, look like in the story ‘War’?

Ans: The woman looked like a shapeless bundle, and her husband looked shy and uneasy.

17. How did the old man react at the end of the story ‘War’?

Ans: The old man broke into harrowing, heartbreaking, and uncontrollable sobs, to the amazement of all passengers on the train.

18. Why did the passengers have to stop at Fabriano?

Ans: The passengers had to stop at Fabriano to continue their journey by the small old-fashioned local joining the main line with Sulmona.

19. How was the appearance of the husband in the story ‘War’?

Ans: In the story ‘War’ the husband was a tiny man who had a thin and weak body. He had an absolute white face and small and bright eyes. He looked shy and uneasy.

20. What is Pirandello’s attitude towards patriotism?

Ans: Pirandello depicts patriotism as something that common people glorify to justify war and accept the losses and pains that war causes, but in reality, patriotism can not alleviate the pain as the proud old man broke into harrowing, heart-breaking, uncontrollable sobs at the end of the story, and his pride of patriotism could not ease his pain.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Justify the title of the story, ‘War’.

Ans: The story, ‘War’, depicts the different reactions to war through the voice of the passengers. Through this story, Pirandello attempts to show the importance and consequences of war. According to him, war brings great losses for the people, and the parents feel so much grief at the loss of their sons, be it one or many, but defending the country is a natural necessity like bread which each of the people must eat to survive. So young ones need to go to the war front because of this necessity.

Pirandello’s story ‘War’ revolves around the deep trauma of the First World War, which brings death and destruction to many people and sorrow for their dear ones. The title ‘War’ hints at external conflicts and internal conflicts of the passengers. There is a conflict among all passengers in the train compartment when they compete with one another to prove who has suffered the most. Again, they have a conflict between their heart and mind when they try to accept the reality of war, loss, or departure of their sons but they fail to avoid grieving for their sons. So, the title ‘War’ is appropriate. 

2. Describe the physical appearance of the old man. What were the feelings of the old man toward sending young people to war? Why does the woman’s question cause the old man to lose his temperament?

Ans: The old man was fat and red-faced. He had the palest grey eyes that were bloodshot. The man was panting. His bulging eyes showed uncontrolled vitality which his weakened body could hardly contain. His two front teeth were missing and he tried to hide it by covering his mouth with his hand.

The old man thinks it is natural for young people to want to go to the war front. This is because as they are young, their love for their country is greater than their love for their families. If a Country, like bread, is a natural necessity, then someone must go to defend it. The old man says that people should stop crying if their sons die in the war and they should laugh or thank God because their sons die young and happy, without having the ugly sides of life.

At first, the man tried to answer, but he broke down crying. As he finally accepted the reality of the loss of his son, he realized that his son was indeed no more and would never come back.

3. How does Luigi Pirandello portray two contrasting pictures of parenthood?

or,

Compare and contrast the character of the woman and the old man.

Ans: In the story ‘War’ Luigi Pirandello depicts two contrasting pictures of parenthood. The bulky woman in deep mourning is contrasted with the old man who glorified his son’s death in war.

The woman was very affectionate to her son and devoted her entire life to her son’s well-being. So, She was engulfed in grief for the departure of her son to the battlefront, and stunned to see the old man glorifying war along with his son’s death. Later, she realized that she failed to find sympathetic words in the words of his husband and her friends as she could not rise to the same height as those parents who had been willing to send their sons to the battlefront and accept their deaths. On the other hand, the old man glorified his son’s death without mourning. He asked a heartfelt question to all the passengers, ” Do we give life to our children For our benefit?” According to him, defending the country is a natural necessity like bread which each of the people must eat to survive. He suggested that the parents should laugh and thank God for the departure and death of their sons in the war, but could not answer the woman’s question,” Then…. is your son really dead?” He realized his son had died forever, and became unsuccessful in pretending to be happy and proud.

The old man and the woman had different views towards their sons and war, but they had the same feelings and sufferings which the old man felt for his son’s death and pretended to hide, and the woman felt for her son’s departure and expressed throughout the story.

4. Describe the couple who was hosted into the second-class carriage. What advice was given to the husband about parental love? What did the passenger say about paternal love and duty?

Ans: When the couple was hosted into the second-class carriage at dawn, the woman was in deep mourning and she looked almost like a shapeless bundle. Her husband followed her puffing and moaning. He was a tiny man, thin and weak. His face was white. His eyes were small and bright, but he looked shy and uneasy.

 The passenger advised the husband that he might spoil his only son with excessive attention, but his only son could not be loved more than all the other children if there had been any. Parental love is not like bread that can be broken into pieces and distributed equally among the children. A father gives all his love to each one of his children without discrimination.

5. Why was the woman stunned by the remarks of the old man? Why did all the passengers congratulate the man?

Ans: The woman was stunned by the remarks of the old man because she realized that it wasn’t the others who were wrong and could not understand her, but herself who could not rise to the same height as those parents who had been willing not only to send their children to the battlefront but even accept their death. After she listened to the heroic death of the old man’s son, it seemed to her that she had stumbled into a world she had never dreamt of, a world so far unknown to her. She was extremely pleased to hear everyone joining in congratulating the brave old man.

All passengers congratulated the man for his stoicism and bravery.

6. How does Luigi Pirandello show us that war destroys the lives of the common people?

Ans: Luigi Pirandello’s “War’ depicts the deep trauma and inhumanity of the First World War. This story claims, “War is the science of destruction”.

In this story, five passengers along with a couple became victims of war. Every one of them had a different story of sorrow and sadness around the war. The couple that entered the train at dawn considered themselves the unluckiest people as their only son was being sent to war. The first passenger had sent his son to the front on the first day of the war, while the second passenger had two sons and three nephews at the war. Again, the third passenger’s son had come back twice wounded and been sent back to the front, while the fourth passenger had sent more than one son to the war, and he claimed that he had been suffering double pain. Meanwhile, the fifth passenger who was an old man advised all the passengers not to cry, and he also advised everyone to laugh or thank God, but he ended up grieving at the end of the story.

In this story, all of the passengers grieve over the loss or departure of their son to war. War is the only reason which brings death and destruction to many people, and it makes all the passengers unhappy and hopeless as nothing can compensate people for the lost lives of their children This story confirms the famous message of H.G. Wells, “If we don’t end the war, war will end us.”

7. What is revealed by the old man’s final speech?

or,

Write the significance of the ending of the story ‘war’.

Ans: At the end of the story ‘War’, Luigi Pirandello depicts the pain and pathos of common people through the voice of the old man who glorified his son’s death in war, but failed to answer the bulky woman’s question, ” Then … is your son really dead ?”. It was the time when “he broke into harrowing, heart-breaking and uncontrollable sobs, to the amazement of all passengers in the train.”

The old man advised all passengers not to cry but ended up grieving as nothing could give him compensation for his son’s death. The reality of war is rightly presented through the portrayal of his character at the end when he needed to snatch a handkerchief from his pocket, and the terror and trauma of was made him distorted by the realization of his son’s death.

The story ends with the helplessness of the old man but presents the true picture of the sorrow and sadness of common people who grieve every moment for the lost lives of their near and dear ones. The ending of the story is a lesson to those who glorify war and inspire others to join in the war. So, the ending of war presents the destructive side of war, and enriches all the people with a message that ‘we don’t end war, war will end us’.

8. What are the reasons given by the man as he says, “I do not even were mourning…?”

Ans: The old man thinks that parents should consider the feelings of their children when they are twenty, and it is natural for young people to want to go to the war front. This is because as they are young, their love for their country is greater than their love for their families. If a Country, like bread, is a natural necessity, then someone must go to defend it. The old man says that people should stop crying if their sons die in the war and they should laugh or thank God because their sons die young and happy, without having the ugly sides of life along with its boredom. The old man also says that before his son died, he sent him a message saying that he was dying satisfied at having ended his life in the best way he could give wishes. That is why he is not mourning.

Exercise

A. Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence :

(a) Why does the man feel that it is more difficult to lose an only son than one of many?

(b) What is the theme of the story, ‘War’?

(c) Why was the woman who boarded the carriage upset?

(d) How was the appearance of the husband of the woman?

(e) Why did one of the passengers say to the husband that he should thank God that his son was leaving then for the front?

(f)What suggestion does the fat man have for the parents?
(g)Why did the fat man, who had lost a son in the war, not even were mourning?

(h)What was the fat man’s pretended attitude toward the loss of a son at war?

(i)Why was the bulky woman in deep mourning?

(j) What did the fat traveler think about people who have sons?

(k)How do the fat man’s explanation and suggestion affect the other passengers?

(l)”he snatched in haste a handkerchief… and broke into….sobs.”-How did the author describe the sob?

B.Answer any two of the following questions in about 150 – 200 words :

 (a) Justify the title of the story, ‘War’.

 (b) “Then …. is your son really dead?” — Why did the speaker say so? How did the person speak to react to this statement?

 (c) What are the different views that the passengers express regarding war?

(d)Why does the husband feel that the other passengers should pity his wife?

(e)What is the story ‘war’ about?

(f)According to the old man, how should parents react to the death of a son in the war?

(g) Analyze the character of the old man.

(h)What is the theme of war by Luigi Pirandello?

(i)Pirandello’s “War” is a grim reminder of how much war destroys the lives of ordinary people. Justify the statement in your own words.

(j)The bulky woman’s son volunteered for war with an assurance. What was the assurance?

(k)Why did a bulky woman pull up her collar again to her eyes?

(l)Why was the bulky woman in deep mourning? Why did she not participate more in the conversation? Why did she finally speak to the fat man?

Textual Grammar

Do as directed:

1. He felt it was his duty to explain to his traveling companions that the woman was to be pitied. There was a war that was taking away from her only son. (Combine the following sentences into a compound sentence )

2. The woman under the big coat was twisting and wriggling at times growling like a wild animal, feeling certain that all those explanations would not have aroused even a shadow of sympathy from those people who – most likely – were off the same plight as herself. (Correct the errors)

3. There was silence all around, everybody nodding as to approve. (Correct the errors)

4. The fat traveler said, “Do you think of the country when we give life to our children?”(Change the Narration)

5. He turned round to the woman trying to pull down the collar of her coat. (Split into two simple sentences)

6. Parental love is not like bread that can be broken into pieces and split amongst the children in equal shares. (Split the following)

Word-Meaning:

Sulmona-city in Ireland, carriage-vehicle, stuffy-lacking fresh air, shy-ashamed, uneasy-uncomfortable, Nasty-unpleasant, ventured-dared to say, distress-sadness, Bosh-Nonsense, pettiness-mean act, motionless-not moving, sob-crying making loud sound, ties-connection, pettiness-mean act, stunned-shocked, amazed-greatly surprised