How I Won the War Short Story Analysis
How I Won the War by Robert Flynn is a short story about a young boy living in small rural town in southern United States during the World War II era (1939-1945). The boys father has left to go fight in the war, leaving the boy and his mother alone living in a poor financial state as they give a lot of effort in growing their own food and making their own clothing, as is common for the people south west to do during this time period. Despite the lack of money, the young boy slowly and consistently begins to save up his money in order to buy a victory bond to buy bullets for his dad and aid him in battle. One day, as the young boy was making his way home from school, he came across a strange man brutally kicking a tired horse. Filled with concern, he asks the man if this was his horse.
“He is until I can sell him for dog food.If I can get him to town.” “You don’t think your folks might want to buy a horse, do you?” (Flynn 2)
The young boy mind suddenly sprouts an idea… He decides to buy the horse with the money he had been patiently saving up to buy a bond, and use it to buy the
tired horse, rest it up, and eventually sell the horse for enough money for maybe even two bonds. However, he fears that his father might think that he is being lazy by buying the horse. The weak horse acts as a symbol of hope for the young boy.
Finally, the boy buys the horse, only to realize he has made a terrible mistake. About 15 minutes afterward, the horse’s life quietly slips away leaving the boy empty handed. The mother of the boy soon arrives and is informed about what the boy did. Instead of lashing out in anger, she was kind and accepting, However, the boy is worried of what his father will think of his actions. At the end of the story, the reader is told of what the father though of the decisions the little boy made.
“I think your father would have done the same thing.” said Mother. “But when I told Dad, he said mother was right.” (Flynn 4).
Throughout the story, I could pull out many different characters, themes, setting characteristics, and aspects that I could relate to the American Southwestern Culture. For starters, the setting and way of life of where the story took place shares various similarities with the culture. It was set in a small southern town, leaving the reader to infer that there is many people living there that come from a Mexican, or Native American background. Also, you can see how the author interpreted his personal life into the story, since he as well grew up in a quiet rural town in Texas. When you deeply look into the way of life of the main characters,(the boy, the mother, and the stranger with the horse), you can detect characteristics that are definitely southwestern.
"I fed the chickens, hogs, and milked the cow, and tended to the victory garden." (Flynn 1).
The reader can clearly acknowledge that the family of two has to work hard in order to be self- sufficient by growing their own crops, and producing their own food and materials necessary for everyday life. In the American Southwestern region, large masses of people are self-sufficient. Cowboys and ranchers in this region raise and round cattle and livestock for meat and leather, while some Native Americans continue to proceed with their custom "hunting and gathering" techniques by picking berries and edible plants, while hunters kill wild animals such as buffalo and deer in order to provide meals for the family/village.
In many Native American cultures, horses are not only a primary method of transportation, but a powerful symbol and reminder of freedom and hope for the future. They are frequently mentioned and interpreted in stories, folk tales, and myths as symbolization for the ideas of freedom and hope. In this particular story, the feeling of hope is deeply intertwined with the tired, beaten down horse. The young kid sees the horse as a way to make even more money, in hope of helping his father in the war by purchasing as many victory bonds as he possible can.
I can clearly identify the sensation of hope to be the most domination mood of the story. A large portion of the story revolves around ways that the boy could use the horse to make money, whether it be to quickly sell him as soon as it was healthy, or to wait and use it as a way of transportation to collect scrap metals around town to sell for additional cash. However, towards the end of the story when the horse silently passes away, the plot and theme completely change. The mood metamorphose into a feeling of devastation and hopelessness, and the boy begins to greatly worry what his parents will think of his poor and greatly unlucky decisions, and a slight feeling of suspense begins to emerge. If you submerge deep enough into the text, you can find there there is a connection to the Southwestern culture. In the South, kids tend to have a much greater respect, and a slight healthy fear of their parents. Proper educate is expected of the young, and punishments tend to be slightly harsher on the children for naughty behavior. You can definitely see these characteristics in the behavior of the boy.
"I thought about Dad and about how I would have to explain what I had done." (Flynn 5)
The parents are accepting of their child's mistake, and kindly admit that it was the right thing to do, and they they both would have done the exact same thing in the given situation.
The story ends swiftly, with a single dominant theme to the story clearly standing out after the falling actions take place. The theme shares the idea that one should not become aggravated or disappointed with another, when they have done everything in their ability to help or attempt to ease the plight of difficult situation. Both parents accepted the child's mistake, knowing that he wasn't intentionally trying to lose money, but instead trying to work hard for more.
In conclusion, How I Won the War by Robert Flynn is a story that reflects many aspects of the American Southwestern culture, including setting, way of life, characters, and symbolization.