"APO 96225"
Larry Rottmann
Obviously, war is hell. But, why is war hell.
The young man who became one of the few honored and cursed people to ascertain the reason obviously tried to hide his family from this answer. His mother, still intent on enlightenment for her son's sake, both begged for and refused the answer.
Although there is great irony in the mother's response to the war, the irony is situational rather than dramatic. Although the reader may guess that the details of war sometimes are best left unknown, the reader garners only the information already known by the characters. Utilization of situational irony provides an insight into human nature in regards to learning of atrocities. Frequently, many claim to desire full knowledge of dangerous and destitute circumstances under the assumption that they can cope with understanding. However, this is rarely true. Most often, when people learn of terrible situations which they cannot reverse, they react like the young man's family: "Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother" (Rottmann, 846).
It is human nature to combat those who seek to withhold information. As the young man's family learns, sometimes, ignorance brings more comfort than complete knowledge- especially when the situation is hopeless. Nevertheless, those who deal with the situation are left to cope with the knowledge themselves.
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