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I cannot see the war as historians see it. Those clever fellows study all the facts and they see the war as a large thing, one of the biggest events in the legend of the man, something general, involving multitudes. I see it as a large thing too, only I break it into small units of one man at a time, and see it as a large and monstrous thing for each man involved. I see the war as death in one form or another for men dressed as soldiers, and all the men who survived the war, including myself, I see as men who died with their brothers, dressed as soldiers. There is no such thing as a soldier. I see death as a private event, the destruction of the universe in the brain and in the senses of one man, and I cannot see any man's death as a contributing factor in the success or failure of a military campaign.

William Saroyan#49

DeathWarSufferingHistoryIndividualSoldiers

About this quote

What does it mean?
Saroyan rejects the historian's broad view of war, arguing that war is a massive, destructive event for each individual soldier and those who survive it.
In plain terms
War is a terrible personal event for every soldier, not just a big event in history.
What can you take from it?
Focus on the human cost of war rather than its scale.

Where it applies

  • writing about war
  • veteran perspectives
  • military history

Putting it to work

  • humanize soldiers
  • question heroic narratives

Questions to consider

  • How do you define the cost of war?
  • Who benefits from history narratives?

Another view

It may ignore strategic realities necessary for understanding conflict.

More from William Saroyan

  1. A man must pretend not to be a writer.

    Permalink to quote #48
  2. Everything begins with inhale and exhale, and never ends.

    Permalink to quote #50
  3. I am out here in the far West, in San Francisco, in a small room on Carl Street, writing a letter to common people, telling them in simple language what they a…

    Permalink to quote #47

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