Two Themes of George Bernard Shaw’ s Plays “Arms and the Man”

munition and the Man is bingle of George Bernard Shaws successfully pen plays that baffle become predominant and globally renowned. Shaws play leads itself to deuce themes that people can relate to, which argon the importance of contend and the essentials to sure love and conjugation. These themes are interwoven, for Shaw look atd that while state of war is evil and stupid, and marriage sought after and safe, both had become wrapped in wild-eyed illusions which led to bootleg wars and also to unhappy marriages. 1 The theme of war applies itself into the plot inside the first few pages of the melodrama, when the Bulgarians are at war with the Serbs.Romance is portray by the ridiculous and ironic relationships of Raina, Sergius and Bluntschli. Unfortunately, due to societys omit of comprehension and failing to gather up from our past errors, we are destined to retell the majority of them. Another act of ignorance found in this play is the bearing of the Petkoffs towar ds their material advantages and their possessions of wealth, bringing them personal superiority. Arms and the Man is as hot and up-to-date now as when Shaw first produced his play in 1894. 2War is an unfortunate condition that exists when a group feels its vital interests are at stake and discriminateks to impose its beliefs or figure on a rival group through the use of overt force. Shaw was a state-controlled and an ardent pacifist. 3 He did not agree to the idea of war, and he wrote ab protrude it to warn us, future generations, not to commit the same crime. The romanticistic view of war (he held) is based on the idealistic notation that men fight because they are wedgees, and that the soldier who takes the biggest risks wins the greatest glory and is the greatest hero.Raina had imagined war as an exciting sport after talking with Captain Bluntschli, one of the defeated, she now sees it as a dreadful reality. 5 Sergius, too, has learned something of the realities of war, and is so disgusted by them that he has sent in his resignation, saying goldbricking is the cowards art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harms way when you are week. 6 This theme of war helps Shaws Arms and the Man to continue as a undecomposed and current play, as it was in 1894.The battle of Slivnica was remarkable mainly for its astonishment ending wherein the Bulgarians defeated the invading Serbians much more by good luck than good management, and went to ally themselves with Austrian Hungary thereby bringing earthly concern War I one small step closer. 7 numerous other wars have taken place since then, and yet man has unflustered to learn that war is not the answer. The romance in the play is envisioned by the humorous and ironic relationships of Raina, Sergius and Bluntschli. In Arms and the Man Raina Petkoff intends, at the time the play opens, to become the wife of Major Sergius Saranoff, who is then out fighting the Serbs.News has co me home to Raina and her mother that Sergius has ridden bravely at the head of a victorious cavalry charge, and Raina rejoices because she can now believe that her affianced is just as splendid and noble as he looks That the human race is really a glorious world for woman who can see its glory and men who can act its romance In the beginning scene of the play, after adoring Sergius portrait, Raina goes to bed murmuring My hero My hero This is a romantic view of life, but then reality shortly breaks in upon her.An enemy solider, Captain Bluntschli the chocolate-cream soldier, escaping from gunfire in the Bulgarian countryside, scales the balcony of a mountain estate and lands in the bedroom of a schoolboyish woman whose father and fiance are fighting on the front. He is desperate through exhaustion and fear, and Raina sneers at him. Nevertheless, when the pursuers come to search the house, Raina hides the momentary and denies having seen him. She also feeds him chocolates, the y are his passion he carries them like all sea captain soldiers, he says into war instead of bullets.Bluntschli is Shaws affectionate parody of a Swiss pragmatist, level-headed and unemotional. It amuses Shaw to discombobulate him by placing him, initially, in a situation where his profundity cannot help him much. Raina no longer thinks of war as a romantic game, nor does she any longer think of marriage as the mating of a beautiful heroine and a ornamental and fickle Sergius. She takes as her husband the cobwebby Bluntschli, whose common sense and six hotels in Switzerland forget give her constancy and comfort.The realities of love and marriage become one of the most frequent themes in Shaws plays throughout the remainder of his long life. 9 The complexities of love and marriage has not changed much over the years. For example, love and relationships were just as secret in 1894 as they are in 1998. This makes Shaws play youthful and the issues it deals with are understanda ble. Shaw believed that it was foolish to act as though the possession of wealth, or any other material advantages, is a sign of personal superiority. deal may not any longer think it impressive to have an electric bell in the house, but there are countries immediately where families with television sets and motor cars feel just as stupidly exalted as the Petkoffs did with their bell and library. 10 Many people world-wide today conceive themselves above others and look down on those with less materialistic possessions, as if they were inferior. Having more materialistic possessions and wealth does not necessarily mean it will bring you happiness, this is not the reality of life at all.As a mater of fact, those with less materialistic treasures tend to live a happier and dovish life. This is because their efforts are not concentrated on wealth but quite on family and friends who support each other. Money and wealth can control a person to become greedy and require more. It is mu ch rectify to live a life of harmony and peace, blessed for what to have, than to live distressing about the things that you do not have. That is a lesson Shaw is trying to teach us. We should learn from the Petkoffs and acquire a better attitude towards life and its materialistic treasures.If taradiddle repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learn from experience? George Bernard Shaw. Furthermore, Arms and the Man is as fresh and up-to-date today as when Shaw first produced his play in 1894. Shaws play leads itself to ii themes that people can relate to, which are the importance of war and the essentials to square(a) love and marriage. The theme of war applies itself into the plot within the first few pages of the play, when the Bulgarians are at war with the Serbs.Romance is portrayed by the humorous and ironic relationships of Raina, Sergius and Bluntschli. Shaw believed that it was foolish to act as though the possession of wealth , or any other material advantages, is a sign of personal superiority. Moreover, Arms and the Man is a successful play and will continue to fly high due to the nature of its themes, war and romance being contemporary with todays society. Perhaps Shaws best major power might have been his ability to attract attention to himself, his ideas, and his works. This ability never failed him.