Short Questions
Part – 1
(a) In what way does John Brown become a victim of so-called glorious war? Discuss with close reference to the text.
Answer : There are many persons who regard war as something glorious and those who fight it as heroes. They believe that war may be destructive but it is essential to finish the enemy. Wars, in their eyes, are never obsolete.
In the poem ‘John Brown’ the poet shows how young soldiers like John Brown are nurtured on the illusion of heroism in fighting the war. John Brown’s mother takes pride in false sense of heroism and encourages her son to join the army, fight bravely and win medals. So John Brown is soon enamoured of military glory. He joins the army leaves for the battlefield. His mother, seeing him in the uniform, enflames his fervour for heroism.
Oh, son , you look so fine, I’m glad you’re a
son of mine
You make me proud to know you hold a gun
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you
will get…….
Thus, John Brown inspired by heroic ideals goes to the front. He obeys his mother and tries to fulfil her ambition. When he returns home, his mother goes to the railway station to receive her son. She fails to recognise him. How can he be his son? In place of a young, dashing handsome young man, he is a cripple with badly disfigured face. Brown is now a totally helpless creature. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He wears a metal brace which provides him support to stand erect. He can hardly open his jaw. What he speaks is so low that it is mostly incomprehensible.
In this way, the poet shows how John Brown becomes a victim of the so-called glorious war.
(b) What do you think of John Brown’s mother?
Answer : John Brown’s mother is quite ignorant about the horrors of war. Like many other people, she is under the illusion that wars are glorious and soldiers are real heroes. That is why, she wants her son to become a soldier. She wants him to be a good soldier who fights for the sake of his country. Her desire is to see his medals of victory won by him during the war. She is oblivious of the horrible side of war.
Never does she ever think that her son may have to lose his life or precious limbs. When her son is about to leave for the battle front, she makes it a point to make her neighbours know that her son has become a soldier and is going to war. Her over-enthusiasm is vivid. However, when her son returns as a hopeless cripple she is shocked. She is far from happy on seeing the medals dropped on her hand by her disgruntled son. Thus, she is shown as the representative of all those who falsely glorify war.
(c) What experience of war does John Brown relate to his mother?
Answer : On returning from the war front in pathetic condition, John Brown tells his mother is a low voice his experience of war. He reminds his mother how she thought that the best thing that had happened was his going to the war. He says she felt proud of him as he was fighting. He wishes she should have been in his place.
The son continues to speak. He says that he wondered what he was doing in the war, trying to kill someone or die doing so. What frightened him the most was when the enemy soldier stood in front of him. He saw that his face resembled his .There was no difference at all.
In the midst of explosive sounds of shells bursting and stink from the dead bodies he realized that he was just a puppet in a play. He had no will of his own. Through the roaring sound and smoke a cannonball took his eyes away.
The son, while turning to go away, calls his mother to come close. As she comes nearer he quietly drops the medals he has won into her hand. It is the most pathetic moment in the poem.
Part – 2
(a) ‘John Brown’ underlies the idea that soldiers are mere puppets in the horrible show of any war. Discuss.
Answer : John Brown is a young soldier. He is encouraged by his mother to become a soldier and go the the battle field. She wants him to prove his heroism and win medals. She believes that soldiers are true heroes. Sadly, she in unaware of the horrors of war. She comes to realise the destructive side of war only when her soldier-son returns home in a miserable condition. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He has to wear a metal brace around his waist to support himself. His jaws do not open easily. When he speaks he speaks so low that it becomes difficult to understand what he speaks.
On being being asked by his mother what happened to him in the war, John Brown remind her that when he was going to the war it was she who thought that it was the best thing that he could do. He was fighting while she was at home, pretending to be proud of the fact since she was not in his place. On the battlefield, he soon realized the meaninglessness of war. He called upon God and asked himself what he was doing there. He was trying to kill someone. When an enemy soldier came face to face before him, he was shocked and puzzled. The enemy soldier had clear resemblance with him. His face looked like his. He could not think of killing him. At that time he could not help thinking in the midst of continuous gun-roar and stink that he was just a puppet in the show. He was being manipulated by others. He was fighting without knowing any reason. This realisation was quite saddening. Thus the poem ‘John Brown’ reveals that ordinary soldiers are just pawns in the hands of others. They are made to fight in the name of patriotism, nationalism, democracy, so and so forth. Sometimes they wonder what they are fighting for.
(b) In what way does the poem reveal irony of life?
Answer : Irony refers to the gap between what we assume and what happens in reality. This is the great irony of life that what happens is often contradictory to our expectations . In the poem ‘John Brown’ the young soldier John Brown’s mother has high hopes of her son’s heroic capabilities She wants him to join the army, fight for the glory of the country and win medals for heroism on the battlefront. When her son is about to go to war she tells every neighbour that her son is going to the battlefield. When her son is fighting, she continues to brag about his valorous acts.
However, she is stunned when her son returns as a cripple. He has lot his eyes and one of his hands. His jaws hardly open. What he speaks is in whispers. As he turns away, he drops his medals on the palm of his mother. This act is ironic and pathetic. The irony of fate is that he has won a lot of medals but has to pay a heavy price for them.
(c) ‘John Brown’ is a modern ballad. Comment.
Answer : ‘John Brown’ is a ballad and embodies many features of the traditional ballad, but in its construction it is modern. It is episodic and is set in no specific time and place. It has twelve verses. Each verse has a quatrain, but there is no set rhyme scheme which makes it modern in style. In some stanzas rhyming words are used, as in stanza 8 (‘way’: ‘away’), stanza 11(‘play’ : ‘away’) and stanza 12 (‘stand’ : ‘hand’). The rhyme varies with the mood, as in stanza 11:
“And I couldn’t help but think, through the
thunder rolling and stink
That I was just a puppet in a play
And through the roar and smoke , this
string is finally broke
And a cannonball blew my eyes way.”
The subject matter of ‘John Brown’ is war, but its anti-war stance is against the spirit of the traditional ballad which often eulogies heroism related to war. Here a young man, John Brown, joins the army to the pride of his mother. He goes off to war to fight. But he soon loses his fervour. He realizes that war is futile. Even then he fights. His encounter with the enemy-soldier makes him realize the common bond of humanity with him. When he returns home, he is a changed man. His face is disfigured. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He wears a metal brae which enables him to stand erect. He cannot open his jaws. So his speech is incomprehensible. Thus, war turns a healthy, energetic young man into a cripple.
The ballad ends on an ironic note. John Brown puts his medals in the hand of his mother who is already in a shock. There medals are the sign of John Brown’s valour, but we wonder if they are any worth.
Long Questions
Question 1 : ‘John Brown’ by Bob Dylan debunks the belief in heroism surrounding war. Discuss with close reference to the text.
Answer : Most of the people have romantic notions about war. They believe that wars must be fought. It is during the war that ones proves one’s valour and heroic spirits which get the approval of everyone. It is thought that a war hero is an honoured and revered person. Such views have been challenged by many writers. G.B.Shaw shatters the allusion about heroism in his play ‘Arms and the Man’.
‘John Brown’ by Dylan shows how the notion of romanticism surrounding war is false and hypocritical . John Brown is a handsome young man. It is his mother who wants to see her son in the military uniform. Like other young men of his age, Brown too is enamoured of military glory. So he joins the army and goes to the battlefield. His mother only enflames his fervour for heorism:
“Oh, son , you look fine, I’m glad you’re a
son of mine
You make me proud to know you hold a gun
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you
will get……”
John Brown’s experience of war, however, dampens his heroic spirits. He soon realizes that he is used as a mere puppet for someone to fight for them. His control is in somebody else’s hand. Even he is unaware of the purpose behind the war. When he finds an enemy before him he finds his face like his own. He must have pictured in his mind the horrible picture of enemy soldiers. He is puzzled as to why he should kill a man who seems to be very much like him.
At last, when John Brown returns home, his mother goes to the railway station to receive his son. When she sees him, she fails to recognise his face. His face is badly disfigured. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He wears a metal brace which enables him to stand erect . He can hardly open his jaw. What he speaks is so low that it is mostly incomprehensible.
John Brown puts the medal he has won into the hand of his shocked mother. Thus, the poet seems to shatter the romantic illusion of heroism and machismo surrounding war.
Question 2 : ‘John Brown’ is a modern ballad. Discuss it with close reference to the text.
Answer : A ballad is a story in verse. It was originally intended to be sung to an audience. Its subjects have mostly been deeds of the simplest kind – a memorable feud, a thrilling adventure, a family disaster, love, war, and the like. The traditional ballad was written in the Ballad Measure using quatrains with a variable metre. A ballad opens in a dramatic way, introduces the subject and builds up the suspense which is kept towards the end. The end often provides a message, either directly or indirectly. Or it enriches us with a novel experience.
‘John Brown’ is a ballad and embodies many features of the traditional ballad, but in its construction it is modern. It is episodic and is set in no specific time and place. It has twelve verses. Each verse has a quatrain, but there is no set rhyme scheme which makes it modern in style. In some stanzas rhyming words are used, as in stanza 8 (‘way’ : ‘away’), stanza 11 (‘play’ : ‘away’) and stanza 12 (‘stand’ : ‘hand’). They rhythm varies with the mood, as in stanza 11:
“And I couldn’t help but think, through the
thunder rolling and stink
That I was just a puppet in a play
And through the roar and smoke, this
string is finally broke
And a cannonball blew my eyes away.”
The subject matter of ‘John Brown’ is war, but its anti-war stance is against the spirit of the traditional balled which often eulogises heroism related to war. Here a young man, John Brown , joins the army to the pride of his mother. He goes off to war to fight. But he soon loses his fervour. He realizes that war is futile. Even then he fights. His encounter with the enemy-soldier makes him realize the common bond of humanity with him. When he returns home, he is a changed man. His face is disfigured. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He wears a metal brace which enables him to stand erect. He cannot open his jaws. So, his speech is incomprehensible. Thus, war turns a healthy, energetic young man into a cripple.
The ballad ends on an ironic note. John Brown puts his medals in the hand of his mother who is already in a shock. These medals are the sign of John Brown’s valour, but we wonder if they are any worth.
Thus, ‘John Brown’ as a ballad is modern in construction and in conception, even though it embodies some recognizable features of the traditional ballad.
Question 3 : Discuss ‘John Brown’ as an anti-war poem.
Answer : ‘John Brown’ is certainly an anti-war poem, though the poet denies that it is so. There is no doubt that the poet does not openly give expression to the horrors of war, but the condition in which the young soldier (John Brown) returns is clearly something which forces us to think how horrible a war can be:
Oh his face was all shot up and his hand
was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist
He whispered kind of slow………..
The poet’s own views should be taken into account, but what matters is what the text says. The focus remains on the young man ‘John Brown’ who proudly goes off to war. His mother is proud of the fact that her son is going to the battlefield, and she brags about it. However, when her son returns, she shocked to see him. She is unable to recognize his face. He is all shot up. His face is disfigured. He has lost his eyes and one of his hands. He wears a metal brace which helps him stand up. He can hardly open his mouth. What he speaks slowly is mostly incomprehensible.
John Brown’s experience of war is of disgust and horror. He says that it was on the battlefield that he realized that he was a mere puppet. His control was in somebody else’s hands. The worst thing he discovered was that he did not know what he was fighting for. When the enemy-soldier came and stood before him, he found his face similar to his. He realized that they shared an invisible bond of humanity. We are reminded of the soldier in ‘The Man He Killed ‘ By Thomas Hardy, who had similar feelings under similar circumstances:
Had he and I but met
By an old ancient inn
We should have sat down to wet
Right many a nipperkin
When John Brown drops his medals down into the hand of his mother, he seems to be making a powerful anti-war statement.
Thus, despite the denials of the poet himself, ‘John Brown’ is basically an anti-war poem. It is, of course, about human nature and human tragedy as well.