Introduction
What Every Soldier Should Know is a short poem in which Brian Turner explores the problems between soldiers of different cultures and worldviews. He reveals how people’s lives change throughout the war and what consequences can await any soldier or civilian. War invariably ruins many people’s lives, and when cultures clash, hatred and horror always dominate. Turner addresses American soldiers, arguing that their price for war participation is high and that they must be prepared to face hate.
Arguments
The first point to consider is that Brian Turner addresses in his poem What Every Soldier Should Know. He describes the experiences of soldiers in both the U.S. Army and the Middle Eastern factions, referring to the terror they feel from encountering each other. Turner addresses the American soldiers more because they are dominant (Turner 10). Moreover, he points them to the attitude of the adversaries, which is expressed in fear (Turner 20). In Turner’s vision, the main trigger word must be Inshallah because it is something sincere and intimate that American soldiers have continued to encroach upon. As heightened as the conflict is, one side shows sympathy, and it is not the Americans.
Second, the poem has a pronounced emotional edge associated with a sense of horror and pain from the battle. Turner talks about how life goes on even amid military events:
If you hear gunfire on a Thursday afternoon,
it could be for a wedding, or it could be for you (Turner 1-2).
No one wants to die or stop their measured life or their routine valuable work. No one wants to see “shells // sewn into the carcasses of dead farm animals,” but Middle Easterners have no choice (Turner 17-18). Moreover, they are not sure that their suffering will end: just as American soldiers make mistakes and kill civilians, so too can fellow citizens do harm. Turner is sure that “any one of them // may dance over your body tomorrow” because you never know when death will find a soldier or a civilian (Turner 27-28). No matter how hard people try to live ordinary lives, war can still find them.
The third important point of the poem is the American soldiers’ perception of the unfortunate civilians on the battlefields. Their measured lives have changed and gotten worse, but no American soldier will feel sympathy. Perhaps the Middle Eastern civilians will indeed “dance over your body” because Americans have violated their sacred culture and everyday life (Turner 28). They are strangers to each other, but civilians are more often attacked not by their people but by those who have come to save them or, conversely, to destroy everything.
American soldiers are seen only as enemies, and civilians are always seen as those against the new people. They fight against each other morally because they can never trust each other. For civilians, Americans are always “men who earn eighty dollars // to attack you, five thousand to kill” because guns always come before soldiers (Turner 23-24). This attitude cannot lead to the understanding or peace that American soldiers supposedly bring.
Opposite Position
Perceptions of American soldiers and civilians may differ if one looks at the conflict from a different perspective. Some may believe that the Middle East is to blame for its misfortunes and that only America could save them from misfortune. But as time has shown, the conflict remains acute and continues to ruin many lives. Turner speaks precisely of a clash based on hatred that will not end. He points out that not even forgiveness will be forthcoming:
Men wearing vests rigged with explosives
walk up, raise their arms, and say Inshallah (Turner 21-22).
U.S. soldiers and the Middle Eastern army are brutal and suffer casualties. However, America does not suffer civilian casualties, which is the defining point in not being recognized as auxiliaries or saviors. It must be remembered that their image will often be harmful, and it is difficult to acknowledge their rightness or support as long as they are involved in civilian deaths because of their bombs and missiles. In such a case, arguing about American soldiers’ morality is difficult, so they must always be mindful of the cost.
Conclusion
Thus, several key conclusions can be established in examining the meaning and purpose of the poem What Every Soldier Should Know. First, the poem is emotionally colored by the fear and horror caused by the war that has come to people’s homes in the Middle East. Second, it appeals to American soldiers to remember the price they pay for participating in the war: hatred, murders, and the chance to be the ones on whose graves they will dance. Third, it is a reminder that there is always suffering and regret in war because one side consistently violates the culture of the other, leading to grief and frustration. While some may argue that this is a poem about the need for sympathy for American soldiers, what needs to be remembered is how the value of civilian life is forgotten in war.
Work Cited
Turner, Brian. What Every Soldier Should Know. Alice James Books, 2005.