Purpose of this text/novel. Is it meant to educate the reader if so what is the lesson in the text or novel
Jim, the main character and narrator of the novel, is a young boy whose reports of the war are relatively untainted by adult propaganda or nationalistic inclinations. He recounts the apparent silliness of each aggressor side: he reports the arrogance displayed by British colonial forces towards the Chinese, then the indiscriminate violence inflicted by the Chinese soldiers later on directed towards everyone it seems, peasant and soldier alike. He describes what he considers to be the ridiculous notion of honor in victory and defeat espoused by the Japanese soldiers. Unlike many novels that glorify war as a noble endeavor and a holy duty the novel removes all the gloss by narrating events from the point of view of a young child. The truth is loud and clear: war is stupid. There is no such thing as a “right side” and ultimately it is the common person who ends up paying the steepest price for the squabbling of a handful of powers-that-be.
GradeSaver
