STORY-

WAR

LUI
GIPI
RANDELLO

Answeri
nTwoort
hreesent
ences.

1.Whati
stheset
ti
ngoft
hest
orywar
?

Theset
ti
ngoft hest
oryisasecondclassrai
lwaycarr
iagefr
om Rome,par
kedata
st
ati
onwithsomet r
avell
ers.Theyar
ewaiti
ngforthedepart
ureoft
hel
ocaltrai
ntoa
smal
lvi
ll
age.Theyarejoi
nedbyacoupl egri
evi
ngforthei
rsononthewarfront
.

2.
Whydoest
hehusbandf
eel
thatt
heot
herpassenger
sshoul
dpi
tyhi
swi
fe?

Thehusbandfel
titwashisdutyt
oexplai
ntotheot
herpassenger
swhyhiswi
fewas
gri
evi
ngovert
hef actt
hatthei
ronl
ysonwasbeingsentt
ot hewarfr
ont
.Hewant
edt
hem
topit
yasthewarhadt akenawaythei
ronl
yson.

3.
Whydoest
hepassengersayaboutpat
ernal
lov
eanddut
y?

Thepassengerexplainsthatonecannotloveone’
ssonmor ethananyofone’
sother
chi
ldr
en.
Parentalloveisnotli
kebreadthatcanbespli
tequall
yamongchildr
en.
Af at
her
,
he,
saysgivesallhislovetoeverychi
ld,
wi t
houtdi
scr
iminat
ion.

4.Whatwast
hel
astmessagesentbyt
her
ed-
facedman’
sson?

Thered-
facedman’ssonsenthim amessagebeforedying.
Int
hemessage,t
hesonsai
d
thathewasdyingsat
isf
iedathavingendedhi
sli
fe’i
nthebestwayhecouldhav
e
wished.
’Thati
swhyther ed-
facedmanwasnotev endressedi
nmourni
ng.

5.Whyaccor
dingt
otheol
dtr
avel
er,
aresonsbor
n?

Accordi
ngt
otheol
dtravel
er,sonsarebor
nsi
mpl
ybecauset
heymustbebor
n.When
theycomet
oli
fe’
theytaketheparent
’sl
if
ewi
tht
hem.

6.Whati
sthecount
rycompar
edt
o?

Thecountr
yiscomparedt
onaturalnecessit
iesl
i
kebread.
Inor
derthatpeopl
edonotdi
e
ofhunger
,thecount
rymustbedefended.Thesonst
husgot of
ulf
il
lthi
srole.

7Howdoy
oungonesdi
eaccor
dingt
othest
oict
rav
ell
er?

Accordi
ngtothestoictr
avel
l
er,
they
oungonesdi
e‘i
nfl
amedandhappy
’.Fort
hisr
eason
theydon’
twanttears.

8.
Howl
onghadt
hewomanbeenaf
fl
ict
edbysor
row?

Thewomanhadbeenaf
fl
ict
edbysor
rowf
ort
hel
astt
hreemont
hs.
Shehadt
ri
edt
ofi
nd
somet
hingt
oconsol
eheri
nherdeepsor
row.

9.
Whydoest
hewoman,
squest
ioncauset
heol
dmant
olosehi
stemper
ament
?

Atfi
rstthemantri
edtoanswerher.
Butlat
erhefoundt
hathewasunabletodoso.He
fi
nal
lyreali
zedt
hathi
ssonwasi ndeednomoreandwouldnev
ercomeback.

Answeri
nabout100wor
ds.

1Descr
ibet
hecoupl
ewhower
ehost
edi
ntot
hesecondcl
asscar
ri
age?

Theset t
ingofthest or
yisasecondcl assrail
waycarri
agef r
om Rome, parkedata
stati
onwi thsomet r
avel
ler
s.Theyarewai ti
ngforthedepartur
eoft helocal t
rai
nt oa
smal lv
ill
age.Theyhav etospendtheni ghtaboard..
Atdawnt heyar ejoinedbyacoupl e
grievi
ngf ort
heirsonont hewarfront.Thewomanwasbul kyandi ndeepmour ning.
Shewasai mostlikeashapelessbundle.Herhusbandf oll
owedherpuf fingandmoani ng.
Hewasat i
nyman, t
hinandweakly.Hisfacewasext r
emel ypale.Hiseyeswer eshiny
andbr i
ghtandhel ookedshyanduneasy .Aft
erhiswifewassett l
edin,hetookhi sseat
polit
ely.Hethankedt hepassengersforhelpi
nghi swi
fe.He

f
elti
twashisdutytoexpl
aintotheot
herpassengerswhyhi
swifewasgri
evi
ngov
erthe
f
actthatt
heironl
ysonwasbeingsenttothewarfront
.Hewant
edthem t
opit
yasthe
warhadtakenawaythei
ronlyson.

2.
Whatadv
icedi
dthehusbandr
ecei
veaboutpar
ent
all
ove?

Thehusbandwast ol
dthathemi ghtspoi
lhisonlysonwithexcessi
veat
tent
ionbuthe
couldnotbelovedmor ethanall
theotherchi
ldr
en.,i
fther
ehadbeenany .
Heanswered
thattheyhadonlyonesonwhowasbei ngsenttothewarfrontagai
nstt
heir
wishes.Theyexpecthi
mt ostudy.

Thepassengerexplainsthatonecannotlov eone’
ssonmor et hananyofone’
sother
chil
dren.
Parentall
oveisnotli
kebr eadthatcanbesplitequallyamongchildr
en.
Af at
her
,
he,saysgivesall
hislovetoev er
ychil
d,withoutdi
scri
mi nati
on.Ev ent
houghinthecase
ofthefatherofanonysoni fthesondiest hefat
hercandi etooandputanendt ohis
dist
ress.

3.
Commentont
hephy
sical
appear
anceoft
heol
dtr
avel
l
er?

Theoldtrav
ell
erwasf atandredfacedwi t
hpalestgr
eyeyesthatwer ebloodshot
.The
manwaspant ing.Hiseyeswerebulgingandsowedextremev it
ali
ty-asifhi
sweakened
bodycouldhardl
ycontainit
.Hist
wof rontteet
hweremissingandheat t
empt edt
ohideit
bycoveri
nghismout hwithhishand.Hewasseenopt i
misti
candconf identashewasnot
i
nmour ni
ng.Ther ed-
facedman’ssonsenthi m amessagebeforedy i
ng.Inthemessage,
thesonsaidthathewasdy i
ngsat i
sfi
edathav i
ngendedhisli
fe’i
nthebestwayhecoul d
havewi shed.
’Thati
swhyt hered- f
acedmanwasnotev endressedinmourning.
Unabl
e
tobeli
ev ethewordsoftheoldtravell
erthewomanaskedhi m whetherhi
ssonwasr eall
y
dead.Thisshockedhim.Atfi
rstthemant r
iedtoanswerher.
Butlaterhefoundthathe
wasunabl etodoso.Hef i
nall
yreal i
zedthathissonwasindeednomor eandwoul d
nevercomeback.Accordingtotheol dtravel
ler,
sonsarebornsimplybecausetheymust
bebor n.Whentheycomet ol
ife’
t heytaketheparent
’sl
i
fewiththem.

4.
Expl
aint
hedi
ff
erentopi
nionsshar
edbyt
hepassenger
sregar
dingt
hewar
.

Thecoupl ethatenteredatdawnwer eoft heopi nionthattheywer etheunluckiestpeople

astheironlysonwasbei ngsenttowar.Onepassengerhadhi ssonsentt othewarf ront
sever
al t
imes.Anot herpassengerhadfiver elat
ivesinthewar .Theol dt
ravel
lertook
pri
deint hefactthathissonhaddi edi
nt hewar .Heexplainedt hatyoungsonwentt o
fi
ghtforthecount rybecauseitcal
ledforthem. Hesai d’I fcountryisanaturalnecessit
y
l
ikebreadofwhi cheachofusmusteati nor dernottodi eofhungerSomebodymustgo
todefendIt’.
Hadt heolderpeoplebeenint heirstead, t
heywoul dhavedonet hesame.

5.Whywast
hewomanst
unnedbyt
her
emar
ksoft
heol
dman?

Thewomanwasst unnedbyt heremarksoft heoldmanbecauseshecamet othe

real
izat
ionthati twasn’tt
heot her
swhohadbeenwr ongal lalongbuthersel
f.
Shehad
notbeenablet or i
seuptothesamehei ghtoft hoseparentswhohadbeenwi l
li
ngnotonly
tosendt heirchildrent
othebat tl
efr
ontbutev enacceptt heirdeath.
Itseemedtoherthat
shehadst umbl edintoawor l
dshehadnev erdreamtof ,oneunknownt oher.
Shewas
extr
emel ypleasedt oheareveryonecongratulati
ngthebr aveol dmanwhocoul dspeak
sost oi
call
yofhi sson’sdeath.

6.
Whatwer
ethef
eel
i
ngsoft
heol
dmant
owar
dssendi
ngy
oungpeopl
etowar
?

Theoldmant hinksitisnatur
al f
oryoungpeopl etowantt ogot othewarfront
.Thisis
becauseast heyarey oung,t
heirloveforthei
rcountryisgreatert
hantheirlov
ef orthei
r
famil
ies.Ifcountryisanaturalnecessityl
ikebreadofwhicheachofusmusteati n
ordernottodieofhungerSomebodymustgot odefendIt.Theoldmansay sthatpeople
shouldstopcryingifthei
rsonsdi ei
nt hewarandi nsteadlaughorthankGodbecause
thei
rsonsdon’ thavetoseet hepettysideofli
fe.Theydieinfl
amedandhappy .
Onedi es
youngandhappywi thouthavingtheuglysidesoflif
e,theboredom ofit
,thepettiness,
thebitt
ernessofdisil
lusi
on.

7.
Descr
ibet
hewayi
nwhi
chpat
ri
oti
sm i
saddr
essedi
nthest
ory
.

Atfi
rstthepassenger
st alkabouttheirlossesduet othewar.Butthentheoldman
begi
nstospeak.Theol dmant hinksitisnaturalforyoungpeopletowanttogot othe
warfr
ont.Thi
sisbecauseast heyarey oung, t
heirlovefort
heircountr
yisgr
eaterthan
thei
rlov
ef ort
heirf
amilies.Ifcountr
yi sanat ur
al necessi
tyl
i
kebr eadofwhicheachof
usmusteati nordernottodieofhungerSomebodymustgot odefendI t
.Theoldman
saysthatpeopleshouldstopcryi
ngi fthei
rsonsdi
einthewarandi nsteadlaughor
thankGodbecauset heirsonsdon’thav et
oseethepet
tysideofli
fe.Theydieinfl
amed
andhappy.Thust heoldmanadv i
sest hepeoplei
nthecarr
iagetolaughort hankGod
i
nsteadofcryingforthelossoftheirsons.

8.Howdoy
our
eactt
otheol
dman’
sgr
iefatt
heendoft
hest
ory
?

Thegri
efoftheoldmanatt heendofthestoryissurpr
isi
ngbecauseal lalonghehad
shownhimselft
obeast r
ongpersonal
ity.
Theoldmanhadsuppor tedpatri
oti
sm and
askedthepeopl
einthecompar tmenttolaughorthankGodi nsteadofcr y
ingfortheloss
ofthei
rsons.Hesaidthathewasnotev eninmour ni
ngbecauseoft hi
s.Sowhent he
l
argewomanaskshi mi fi
fhissonisreall
ydead,iti
ssurpri
singthathecannotev en
answerherbuti
nsteadbreaksdowncrying.I
tisasifonlyt
hent hatheaccept sthereali
ty
ofthel
ossofhisson.

Answeri
nabout300wor
ds.
1.HowdoesPi
randel
l
opor
trayhumannat
uret
hrought
hest
ory
.

2.Br
ief
lyexpl
aint
heconf
li
ctsandt
hemesr
aisedt
hroughwar
.

3.Deathismeani
ngf
uli
fonedi
esf
orone’
scount
ry.Ev
aluat
ethest
atementbasedon
thestor
y.

(
CommonAnswer
)

Thestor
y‘War’waswrit
tenbyLuigiPir
andell
oin1918.Thebackgroundissetina
rai
l
waycarri
ageinI
tal
yduringWWI .Thestor
yat t
emptstol
ookatt
heef f
ectsofwar
onthepeopl
elef
tbehi
ndi nthehomecount r
y.Thepeopl
einthest
oryaregri
evingt
he
l
ossofthei
rsons.

Theset ti
ngofthest oryisasecondclassr ai
lwaycarr
iagefrom Rome, parkedata
stati
onwi thsomet r
avel
ler
s.Theyarewai ti
ngforthedepartur
eoft helocaltr
aint oa
smal lv
ill
age.Theyhav etospendtheni ghtaboard..
Atdawnt heyar ejoi
nedbyacoupl e
grievi
ngf ort
heirsonont hewarfront.Thewomanwasbul kyandi ndeepmour ning.
Shewasai mostlikeashapelessbundle.Herhusbandf oll
owedherpuf fi
ngandmoani ng.
Hewasat i
nyman, t
hinandweakly.Hisfacewasext r
emel ypale.Hiseyeswer eshiny
andbr i
ghtandhel ookedshyanduneasy .Aft
erhiswifewassett l
edin,hetookhi sseat
polit
ely.Hethankedt hepassengersforhelpi
nghi swi
fe.He

f
elti
twashisdutytoexpl
aintotheot
herpassengerswhyhi
swifewasgri
evi
ngov
erthe
f
actthatt
heironl
ysonwasbeingsenttothewarfront
.Hewant
edthem t
opit
yasthe
warhadtakenawaythei
ronlyson.
Thehusbandwast ol
dthathemi ghtspoi
lhisonlysonwithexcessi
veat
tent
ionbuthe
couldnotbelovedmor ethanall
theotherchi
ldr
en.,i
fther
ehadbeenany .
Heanswered
thattheyhadonlyonesonwhowasbei ngsenttothewarfrontagai
nstt
heir
wishes.Theyexpecthi
mt ostudy.

Thepassengerexplainsthatonecannotlov eone’
ssonmor et hananyofone’
sother
chil
dren.
Parentall
oveisnotli
kebr eadthatcanbesplitequallyamongchildr
en.
Af at
her
,
he,saysgivesall
hislovetoev er
ychil
d,withoutdi
scri
mi nati
on.Ev ent
houghinthecase
ofthefatherofanonysoni fthesondiest hefat
hercandi etooandputanendt ohis
dist
ress.

Theoldt ravel
lerwasf atandr edf acedwi t
hpal estgreyey esthatwer ebl oodshot.
The
manwaspant ing.Hiseyeswer ebul gingandsowedext remev itali
ty-asi fhisweakened
bodycoul dhar dl
ycontainit.
Hist wof rontteet
hwer emissi ngandheat tempt edtohi
deit
bycov eri
nghi smout hwi t
hhishand. Hewasseenopt i
mi sti
candconf i
dentashewasnot
i
nmour ning.Ther ed-
facedman’ ssonsenthi m amessagebef oredy ing.Inthemessage,
thesonsai dthathewasdy i
ngsat isfi
edathav ingendedhi sli
fe’ i
nt hebestwayhecoul d
havewi shed.’Thatiswhyt her ed-facedmanwasnotev endr essedi nmour ning.
Unable
tobeli
ev ethewor dsoft heoldt r
av ell
erthewomanaskedhi m whet herhi ssonwasr eall
y
dead.Thisshockedhi m.Atf ir
stt hemant r
iedtoanswerher .
Butl aterhef oundthathe
wasunabl etodoso.Hef i
nall
yr ealizedthathissonwasi ndeednomor eandwoul d
nevercomeback.Accor dingtot heol dtravell
er,sonsar ebor nsi mpl ybecauset heymust
bebor n.Whent heycomet oli
fe’theyt akethepar ent’
sli
fewi tht hem.

Thecoupl
ethatent
eredatdawnwer
eoft
heopi
niont
hatt
hey

weretheunluckiestpeopleastheironl
ysonwasbei ngsentt owar .
Onepassengerhad
hissonsenttot hewarf r
ontseveralt
imes.Anotherpassengerhadf i
verel
ativesi
nthe
war.Theoldtr
av el
lertookpri
deinthefactthathissonhaddi edinthewar.Heexplai
ned
thatyoungsonwentt ofi
ghtforthecountr
ybecauseitcalledforthem.Hesaid’If
countryi
sanat uralnecessi
tyli
kebreadofwhi cheachofusmusteati nor dernott
odie
ofhungerSomebodymustgot odefendIt
’.
Hadt heolderpeoplebeenintheirst
ead,
theywouldhavedonet hesame.

Thewomanwasst unnedbyt heremarksoft heoldmanbecauseshecamet othe

real
izat
ionthatitwasn’
ttheot her
swhohadbeenwr ongal lalongbuthersel
f.
Shehad
notbeenabletor i
seuptothesamehei ghtoft hoseparentswhohadbeenwi l
li
ngnotonly
tosendt hei
rchildrent
othebat tl
efr
ontbutev enacceptt heirdeath.
Itseemedtoherthat
shehadst umbledintoawor l
dshehadnev erdreamtof ,oneunknownt oher.
Shewas
extr
emel ypl
easedt oheareveryonecongratulati
ngthebr aveol dmanwhocoul dspeak
sost
oical
l
yofhi
sson’
sdeat
h.

Theoldmant hinksitisnatural f
oryoungpeopl etowantt ogot othewar front
.Thisis
becauseast heyarey oung, t
heirlovefortheircountryisgreaterthant heirlov
ef ortheir
famil
ies.Ifcountryisanat uralnecessityli
kebr eadofwhi cheachofusmusteati n
ordernottodieofhungerSomebodymustgot odefendIt.Theol dmansay sthatpeopl e
shouldstopcryingiftheirsonsdi ei
nt hewarandi nsteadlaughort hankGodbecause
thei
rsonsdon’ thavet oseet hepettysideofl i
fe.Theydieinfl
amedandhappy .
Onedi es
youngandhappywi thouthav ingtheugl ysidesoflif
e,thebor edom ofi t
,thepettiness,
thebitt
ernessofdisil
lusion..Sowhent helargewomanaskshi mi fifhissoni sreall
y
dead,iti
ssurprisi
ngt hathecannotev enanswerherbuti nsteadbr eaksdowncr y i
ng.Iti
s
asifonlythenthatheaccept sthereali
t yofthelossofhisson.

.Sowhenthelar
gewomanaskshimififhi
ssonisr
eallydead,
itissurpri
singthathe
cannotev
enanswerherbuti
nst
eadbreaksdowncr
ying.I
tisasifonlythenthathe
accept
sthereal
it
yoft
helossofhi
sson.