WAR by: Luigi Pirandello

- A group of people who left Rome by an old-fashioned local (train) had to make a stop at a
town called Fabriano to wait until morning to continue their trip. A man spots a sobbing woman
and asks what's wrong; he learns that her son had to go to the front lines of the war. A bunch of
passengers explain about how they dealt with their sons going to war..

- The people on the train quarrel about who suffers the most: the parents who lose an only son,
or those who lose one son and still have one left. As one passenger states, love for one's
children knows no bounds:
“Paternal love is not like bread that can be broken into pieces and split amongst the children in
equal shares. A father gives all his love to each one of his children without discrimination . . .”

- The old man carries himself with a great deal of confidence as he speaks to his fellow train
passengers.  He hears the sad discussion from the passengers about the sacrifices their children
are making.  The old man affirms that "everyone should stop crying" because these are "good
boys" answering the call of their country.  The old man references his own son as evidence.  He
tells his fellow passengers that his son "before dying, sent me a message that he was dying
satisfied at having ended his life in the best way he could have wished."  As further proof of
this, he shows the passengers that he does not "even wear mourning."  The old man solidly
believes that his son died for a proper cause.  The old man believes this sacrifice is not a source
of sadness as much as it is a source of pride.

- While the old man believes the words his son wrote, it is clear that he has not fully processed
the boy's death. When the woman asks him if his son is "really dead," it triggers powerful
feelings.  His "harrowing, heart-breaking, uncontrollable sobs" show that while the old man
might believe the words his son wrote, they do not provide consolation.  He has lost his boy.
The war took his child.  No amount of justification can lessen that hurt. As a result, the ending
to Pirandello's story speaks to the unending pain that is a part of the war experience.  While
claims of nationalism and patriotic duty can be used to justify it, nothing can mask the pain that
war brings on those who have to experience it.