War is natural!!

 

Topic Sentence (Claim): War is a natural action that is normal to human nature.

In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag makes the argument that “War has been the norm and peace the exception.” Sontag is arguing, the way war is depicted in images it is seen as normal behavior for humans. She includes an example from Leonardo Di Vinci and how he portrays combat in a photo. Di Vinci ordered to “Make the conquered and beaten pale, with brows raised and knit, and skin above their brows furrowed with pain….” With this explanation Di Vinci explains exactly how he portrays war with specific details of the war scene and the bodies of alive and dead soldiers. In addition to the idea that war images depict it as normal is the argument that photographs of war or tragic incidents are “beautiful.” Even though the scene itself is gruesome and horrific we the viewers’ describe the details of the image and how the artist captured the moment as beautiful. Along with photographs these ideas are represented in films as well. For example, Clint Eastwood’s film, “Letters from Iwo Jima,” supports this idea throughout the film with the Japanese soldiers’ dedication to continue the war even though they knew they were all going to die. Also, the Japanese soldiers’ commitment to continue fighting on behalf of their country and Emperor shows that war is a natural reaction for human beings everywhere. The Japanese felt the need to defend their country and protect their island to the very end even if that meant committing suicide instead of actually surrendering and appearing weak. The suicide scene goes with the beauty argument as well. Eastwood showed each soldier breaking the seal on bombs, holding them to their chests, and blowing themselves up, ending with the bloody aftermath. Though the gruesome details may be hard to watch they also serve as the beauty of the scene. Being able to see every soldier take his own life in honor of his country and the Emperor makes the viewers’ sympathize with the soldiers making this a “beautiful” scene.