The ending of “The Wasteland” painted somber mental image of post-world war one Europe. Distant music wafting from the inside of a local pub, or from a gramophone, brings memories of a time when the horrors of war were nonexistent.  It’s easy to forget, as I command my ship and crew from the great reaches of the sky, that the world below is full of such things as war and death. I see references such as these not simply as reminders of what we’re capable of, but also as examples of why we should not forget what such things truly bring. War itself only brings loss and the remnants of death for the rats, or the innocent bystanders in our case, to trudge through in the aftermath. Just as I should never forget my duties as the captain of my ship and crew, those on the ground should never forget their duties of learning from the past. As well as this, we should remember that death itself makes war the somber and hellish thing it is. Eliot painted a sobering image of the windowless chapel with the harmless dry bones to convey this message. I believe that this image acts as a memorial of sorts, in that it acts in the same way a monument to fallen soldiers. But can dry bones really be as harmless as Eliot makes them sound? If one looks deeper, it’s clear that any remnant of war and death can be harmful in that it stirs up painful memories. The reason behind this is that moving on from such things is a difficult thing in itself. Over all, I strongly believe that Eliot captured the true nature of what war leaves behind and why moving on proves difficult. While it’s true that we should learn from the mistakes of the past, so is the fact that their consequences can be difficult to move on from.

Return to game