Men at war : what fiction tells us about conflict, from the Iliad to catch-22 / Christopher Coker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coker, Christopher, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and literature.

Masculinity in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (336 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Since Achilles first stormed into our imagination, literature has introduced its readers to truly unforgettable martial characters. In Men at War, Christopher Coker discusses some of the most famous of these fictional creations and their impact on our understanding of war and masculinity. Grouped into five archetypes-warriors, heroes, villains, survivors and victims-these characters range across 3000 years of history, through epic poems, the modern novel and one of the twentieth century's most famous film scripts. Great authors like Homer and Tolstoy show us aspects of reality invisible except through a literary lens, while fictional characters such as Achilles and Falstaff, Robert Jordan and Jack Aubrey, are not just larger than life; they are life's largeness-and this is why we seek them out. Although the Greeks knew that the lovers, wives and mothers of soldiers are the chief victims of battle, for the combatants, war is a masculine pursuit. Each of Coker's chapters explores what fiction tells us about war's appeal to young men and the way it makes- and breaks-them. The existential appeal of war too is perhaps best conveyed in fictional accounts, and these too are scrutinized by the author"-- Provided by publisher.

"This is the story of the fictional warriors, heroes, villains, survivors and victims whose exploits thrill and appal us, capturing the existential appeal to men of wa"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note:

1. AN ABSOLUTE TRUTH

2. WARRIORS

Achilles

Aeneas

Hadji Murat

'Lucky Jack' Aubrey

Vollmer

3. HEROES

Henry Fleming

Brigadier Gerard

Bourne

Robert Jordan

Malaparte

4. VILLAINS

Col. Ferauld

Col. Moredock

Gen. Cummings

Dr Strangelove

Judge Holden

5. SURVIVORS

Falstaff

Svejk

Yossarian

Kien

Flashman

6. VICTIMS

Philoctetes

Col. Chabert

Paul Baumer

Guy Crouchback

Billy Pilgrim

7. WAR IS KIND: A FINAL SUMMING UP

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-025748-2

0-19-023788-0

OCLC:

891386575