Analysis on Ernie Pyle's on World War II

In Ernie Pyle’s “On World War II”, he made a few statements. His statements are immediately about World War II, yet they can be applied to nearly every other war. Edward Pyle embedded his messages into the reading through the clever usage of rhetorical devices and figurative language.

Of the few messages that Edward Pyle made, one of them is more prominent than the other. “Anything and everything is expendable.” Pyle was implying that in war, a man’s life is unfortunately no more important than the equipment he uses.

This can be implied to almost any war that has happened before. The men and their equipment can be replaced almost instantly.

The other message embedded within Pyle’s story is almost the opposite of the previous one. “There were the latest letters from home, with the address on each one neatly razored out-one of the security precautions enforced before the boys embarked.” Here, Pyle was talking about the importance of the otherwise “expendable” men.

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They are not just some replaceable toy soldiers to test out some new strategies. They have families and friends off of the battlefield. They might be only one person in the world, but they can be the world to one person; which means they are irreplaceable and undependable.

Ernie Pyle uses rhetorical devices such as description to transfer his messages to the reader. His messages are about the individuals in the war, but can be implied to every large scale war. The main messages are opposites of each other; one is of the individual’s importance and the other of their unimportance.