'Great War Assignment\r'

'This garner collection sort out us approximately their bitter new person-to-person make do story. The amass earn from Murray are addressed to his fiance Margaret who he was engaged to be married to. The t wholeness in his letter are affectionate and loving. In the letters, he refers to her as â€Å" right girl”2 â€Å" erotic love girl”3 or â€Å"Girlie”4, and often tells how overmuch he ” dream[s] of [the] days”5 that they had to irritateher. For Murray, the existence of his sweet fiance Margaret was probably an emotional support on the fight front. Letters from her perhaps gave him sense of conclusion close their delightful future that eased his l whizliness.Wellington Murray Dennis and Margaret Munroe letter, June, 1917, network Collection, www. Contraindicates. Ca ! university extension Murray Dennis and Margaret Munroe letter, 20 May, 1917, network Collection, ! filename extension ! Elongation ! Elongation Murray Dennis and Margare t Munroe letter, July, 1917, web Collection, Maturas 3 The table of con populates of his letters extend from e realday demeanor on the battlefield to treatment on their relationship. He did non tell Margaret about the detailed hardships or horrors he experienced on the battlefield; this is, probably, be eccentric he did not want to make her worried or frighten of losing him.Ins tead of sounding so concerned, he tries to think of something grateful; â€Å"Instead of coming scale to you tonight dear (as we had figured) I come â€Å" habitation” to a tent and in place of having you pouring out my tea and roading me delicious cakes across a brush blanched table cloth I get a certain issue of tea in a mess tin and I wipe out bread and discontinue seated on the spy. â€Å"6 In this note, Murray combines truthfulness, nostalgia, and fantasy. Together, they work as an escapism for him. In his mind, the reality of the battlefield somehow exists in couple to expert me mories and a spotless dream image.As he sipped â€Å"tea in a mess in” and eats â€Å"bread and cheese on the grass” after his duty, he remembers of going to â€Å"picnic parties”7 with Margaret rear in Canada. As for nostalgia, he flashes back to her gentle way when she would pour his tea and pass him the delicious cake she made. Then fantasy plays a role in the memory. The phrase â€Å"coming home to you” represents his dream future of being married to Margaret, and â€Å"a clean white table cloth” is one example of details in his idealistic image. His conceive of alters bitter ! Elongation ! Wellington Maturas 4 reality; â€Å"a tent” into the dream home, â€Å"bread and cheese seated on the grass” to delicious cakes”, and a â€Å"mess tin” to ” a clean white table cloth”, believe it or not. indite a letter to his fiance provided Murray a sunshineing time that he bottom choke by from the reality for a little while. It perhaps was a escapism for him; however, he might not had been inf everyible cute to escape from the reality he was placed. Regarding the discussion about their relationship, it seems like Murray was having a debate in his head whether if he should buzz off gotten married originally he left Canada.In the first letter in this collection, written on May 4th, 1917, he say it was a good session not to be married; â€Å"Still we were wise that we did not marry, no matter what our hearts prompted. â€Å"8 Perhaps, Murray thought he was saving her from having to populate a lonely brio by choosing not to marry her. Thus, Margaret is not force to wait for him to be back to Canada, in addition, she would dumbfound a break up chance to be marrying to other man and not live a lonely life, when Murray does not survive the state of war.Despite the rational decision in the beginning, he started to pretend mixed feeling about it because he realizes how â€Å"my[ his] love [towards Margaret] has matured. 9 On July fifth 1917, he admits that he â€Å"thought it would have been better to have married [with Margaret]”10 because she might get under ones skin â€Å"someone else to help you[her] ease the burden. ” 1 1 Clearly, Murray was faced with a dilemma; he cherished to establish an unshakable ! Elongation Murray Dennis and Margaret Munroe letter, 4 May, 1917, vane Collection, ! 9 ! Elongation ! Elongation Maturas 5 tie-up with Margaret but Just could not let her to live a lonely life if he could not manage to survive. Not a single letters from Murray suggests that he supported or liked the war although he rarely expressed his dissatisfaction towards the warfare he was involved in. On May 4th, 1917, he reassuringly wrote in the letter â€Å"Im [ He is] not lonesome nor agglomeratehearted”12 but he to a fault tells Margaret that hes thinking about â€Å"what[their happy marriage] might have been had[happened] [if] t his war [did] not intervened”13 in the analogous letter.Murray said he is not downhearted to knuckle under her sense of safety about him at the war, however, at the aforementioned(prenominal) time, he did not hide thwarting about the war holding them back from the happy marriage. About 2 months later, he expressed his personalised reflection about the war n the letter: â€Å"We had thought to be living our lives together in piece F[f]ann. how fate plays tricks with human plans. â€Å"14 Murray was astonied how the war derailed his future plans they had in mind in such(prenominal) an unpredictable way.As suggested in the beginning, he was an implement dealer not a career pass; and, he probably had never thought hed be a soldier nor supported the war. Everything 112 ! Littleton ! Eliminating ! 14 ! Elongation Maturas 6 that seemed to be real and going smoothly sank out of his sight, then his life changed dramatically. The war move him in a grim battlefield in an un f ill outn country. There is no doubt that Murray was phrenetic about what the future holds for him and Margaret.Perhaps, he tried the very best he could to survive on the battlefield, so that he can be back to his â€Å" dear Girl”1 aback in the country. The avocation shows how he ended the letter written on the letter written on July 7th, 1918; â€Å"The way you showed yourself so all mine honey girl is one of the sacred memories I have taken to France … L love you with my whole heart… N[n]owe kisses and all love and honor to the mother of our children. Your faithfully Murray16. This quote shows Murray fuddled love towards Margaret and it alike his want to settle down and raise a family.The endpoint of the letter â€Å"all love and honor to the mother of our children” shows his idealistic position about domestic pleasure as a father and husband. This specific written on July 7th, 1918 is elicit because Murray strong feeling as never in advance is e nclosed into the writing. Perhaps, he was afraid if he can survive as the war went on for a long time, so he tried to persuade himself to live by feeling hopeful about the future. Sadly, Murray could not raise a loving family with Margaret as he desired, more pathetic pacify, he was killed in action on August 9th, 1918.On November 1 lath same year, only three months later his death, the WWW ended. II 51 Elongation ! Eliminating Murray Dennis and Margaret Munroe letter, 7 July, 1918, WWW Collection, Maturas 7 After his death in France, many letters from family and friends were delivered to Margaret but not from her fiancee anymore. It seems her family and friends were teary about Murray death, at the same time, also trying to cheer her up: Oh Margaret I hardly drive in what to print but I want you to feel you have my good-will despite my own feelings as unless it seems impossible to realize the truth.I have had no elevate correspondence but seen his dear name in the list†¦ Yours affectionately Murray Mother”17 ” You know How Sorry I am for you I cannot tell you You will Just know and I know how Brave you are going to be… wads of Love Sorrowing P[? ]e” â€Å"Only today did I hear of your great sorrow,When any one I love is in sorrow it makes my heart torture Oh Dear… Lovingly Elsie”18 Many of her friends and family approximately immediately wrote to Margaret when they eared the deplorable news. This shows how much Murray was loved by people around him and the strength of their deposit between family and friends.The letters were filled with thoughtful expressions of sympathy. However, it also sounded like they got used to write letter of sympathy on the death on young soldiers as in that respect were many killed and hurt soldiers; â€Å"This is a sad time for the Wellington Murray Dennis and Margaret Munroe letter, 4 September , 1918, WWW Collection, www. Contraindicates. Ca Wellington Murray Dennis and Marg aret Munroe letter, 7 September , 1918, WWW Maturas 8 people of Canada such long lists of killed & wounded coming in every day 19.Some of the letters praised his braveness battle his last breath for the war effort: â€Å"l know you will be proud as we are for the one who is so grand for he is not dead but sleepers… Your loving niece atomic number 31”20 â€Å"Mingled with your sorrow there must †be a feeling of pride that your friend gave his life for such a noble cause… Yours sincerely yours Ethel Radcliff”21 It appears people who lived during WWW considered being sacrificed for the war is noble and honorable. This is a twisted convention because what Murray wanted on the battlefield is to being back home and live in piece with Margaret.Battles fought, invented efficient weapons, metrical composition of soldiers killed or treaty that ended everything after such turbulence; those are the â€Å"facts” I learned in history or social classes . Reading the letter collection of Murray expanded brought me a different spatial relation to wars. Wars are not only about those â€Å"facts” and their cause and effect; there are plethora of personal stories behind them. Murray was a soldiers but, at the same time, he was young. He had a bright future in advance of him, and it has just started to shape itself.There is no reason for me to demur at this statement. But then, there are wars still going on around the world. I oppugn why, after 14 years from the beginning on 21st century, violence is still used as a last resort. I wonder if there is such a thing as ending of the use of violence. I was grown in lacquer where all children receive peace education, and always thought, as a child, starting a war had meld from options. It is sad that there are parts in the world where people are forced to live under the tension and straining situations.\r\n'