by Katie Fuentes
Hector
Hugh Munro, known as “Saki”, lived during a period that influenced his writing.
With his father in the British army, a grandfather who was an admiral in the
British Navy and, later, a brother in the police force, there is no surprise
that Saki’s father gave him a position in the military police. After getting
malaria he decided to resign and afterward in 1896 he became a writer in
London. His writing led him to St. Petersburg, where he “was a witness to the
Bloody Sunday massacre in St. Petersburg on 22 January 1905” (Modlish). Not
only that, “On 10 May 1906 he reported on the first session of the Russian
Duma, the newly constituted governing body of Russia, formed in the wake of the
1905 rebellion” (Modlish). World War I began and Saki enlisted but was later
killed by a shot in the head. Interestingly enough, Saki’s “The Toys of Peace”
was first seen after he was already dead.
It is safe to say that Saki was surrounded by violence and war.
“The
Toys of Peace” is a work that obviously was influenced by Saki’s involvement in
the war, and the surrounding violence of other countries. According to George
James Spears, “S.P.B. Mais ventures the suggestion that Munro was so ardently
engrossed in the art of being a soldier, at this time, that writing must have
seemed but toying with life and a sorry substitute for ‘the real thing’’’ (73
Spears). It is never really said
when this short story was actually written, but if it were written before he
had rejoined the army it would make sense. He has been so involved in the military
and was always writing about situations involving violence, with a hint of
humor, that he felt like he could make more of a difference fighting in a war.
Seeing as though
Saki spent a good part of his career writing political articles in the
newspaper, he knew the hardships that people had to go through. Knowing this,
writing the short story “The Toys of Peace” was a good way of attempting to
open the eyes of his readers and showing them how violent human nature it.
Alexander Malcolm Forbes describes “The Toys of Peace as showing “Munro’s conviction
that human nature is neither benevolent nor easily susceptible to change”
(Forbes). Since Saki has seen how easily the world can become violent, he
notices that it is just human nature to fight and this is an irremovable
characteristic embedded in humans.
Understanding
Hector Hugh Munro’s background helps readers grasp why these short stories were
written. Saki’s military history helped him recognize the hardships of war, yet
how inevitable war really is. All of his stories were not of war, but when the
time came close to World War I, it seemed as though that was what was on his
mind. Do you believe that the influences WWI would have had on Saki would have
altered his opinions on war if he had survived it? Also, do you feel as though
Saki would have continued to write about violence and how unavoidable it is, if
he was not killed? Given the history of the world, is it safe to agree with
Saki in believing that human nature is not compassionate and cannot be easily
changed? Or that even as children, we are inescapably prone to some sort of
violence?
Work Cited
Forbes,
Alexander Malcolm. "H(ector) H(ugh) Munro." British Short-Fiction
Writers, 1915-1945. Ed.
John Headley Rogers. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1996. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 162.
Literature Resource Center.
Web. 7 Mar. 2012
Modlish, Maureen. "H(ector) H(ugh) Munro." British
Novelists, 1890-1929: Traditionalists. Ed. Thomas F.
Staley. Detroit: Gale Research,
1984. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 34. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 7 Mar.
2012.
Spears, George
James. The Satire of Saki. New York: Exposition Press Inc. 1963
I think if Saki would have survived that it might have changed his view on violence and war. Fighting in a war can be life changing. A person may come out of it thinking they just did a good duty or they may think that war is an awful thing. His views could have went either way. I think as children we are prone to violence in so many ways. Television, movies, video games,toys and so much more. Children can not escape the violence that surronuds them, they can only deal with it in a manner that they choose.
ReplyDeleteI think it is rather ironic that Saki wrote about teaching children about violence and he ended up dying in a war. Maybe he enlisted because he saw it as his family duty, but deep down inside he was an advocate for peace. I do believe that if he had survived a war he would have been more of an advocate for peace, and his writings would have shown that, and he would have possibly pursued his writing career even more.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe his view on war would have changed had he survived it. His point in "Toys of Peace" was to point out how inescapable war is in our "civilized" society. War is a way to influence opinions and getting what you want, which is embedded in human nature. So, I believe it is safe to agree with Saki that human nature is not compassionate. Humans make war and are attracted to violence from a basic human predisposition and from the influence of the society that wants you to fight for it.
ReplyDeleteWith the history of the world depicted through all sorts of newspapers and films, children of today’s world as well as in the 18th and 19th century are prone to partaking in some sort of violence throughout their childhood. Things depicting violence are much more censored and regulated than they were in the 1800’s and 1900’s. As children when playing with toys and other things lying around the house you want to see as much action and hands on confrontation to keep your attention when at a young age it is hard to keep focused on something. When playing “war,” children are given the opportunity to keep their minds entertained and use their imagination. In the history of the world I chose to agree with Saki that human nature cannot be easily changed but I disagree that human nature is in no way compassionate. I think human nature can be controlled but not changed.
ReplyDeleteChildren are obviously influenced very easily. When violence is the main thing in the headlines and war heroes are glorified it gives children a predisposition to violence. It is sad that violence is always the first thing read in the paper or seen on the news and with children being swayed very easily ir would make sense that toys depicting war and violence (though often not in a bloody manner) should be the top sellers. Nerf guns, water guns, army men and toy swords are sold on the market with no intent to cause violence but the sellers know that because of the history of war and violence these children will be more interested these types of playthings.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the story was written before the war had ended and Saki had died. How did he know the outcome would reflect war so negatively? Obviously, Saki was against the war and if he hadn't died I agree with Erin, that he would have continued to advocate for peace. In today's society violence resides outside of war. I believe external influences are more responsible for children resorting to violence than an inescapable ability to partake in it. Although the idea of introducing non-violent toys to the children seemed like a good idea, they still used them as weapons because of their environment. There's no way of sheltering children from violence in war because it is such a large influence in American history.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Saki would have survived, he would have continued to write about war and violence. Being involved in the military can have a huge impact on people with memories that are going to be hard to forget. I do think that if he survived, he would have made other points in stories referring to the war. I would not say that human nature is not compassionate, but I do think that even as children, we are all very susceptible to violence. Between movies, television shows, toys, etc, it is true, but sad, that children will be introduced and may be influenced by violence even at young ages.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said that he used humor in his stories I did not notice it till I re-read the story. After mentioning that I really saw the humor in "Toys of Peace". The one think that I found very funny was that he got his nephews a council building for voting. He could of gotten them a lot of toys that do not represent violence. The fact that he got them that is almost dreadful and might cause someone to be violence because of how bad of a present it is. The question that you asked, if he would write the same things after experiencing war and surviving is tough to tell. Most of us will never be in the situation of war and be able to survive it. Other than that I think that he would not be humorous about war anymore, I think that he would be more serious and be very against war.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Saki that it is part of human nature to not be compassionate and easily changed. People have different opinions and therefore have disagreements with one another. A lot of times these disagreements result in a war because that is a method they have always used. In addition to that, children have been exposed to a lot of violence from watching tv and playing video games and see that it is exciting and fun so they continue to play pretend war. In the story, the uncle tries to show the boys how to play differently to avoid playing war, however these children had already spent most of their time playing war and enjoy playing war and they do not plan on changing their playing method at the age they are at.
ReplyDelete