what is the theme of the poem john brown
Answers
The song is a protest against war and highlights its futility. It talks about the futility of War and is particularly relevant in the current scenario of the Iran-Iraq and the war in Syria. The story of a young man (John Brown) proudly marching off to war expecting to find glory and wins medals, only to return many months later "all shot up," with a disfigured face, and barely able to talk. He tells his mother of his horrible experience on the battlefield, and how he felt like a 'puppet in a play.' The song ends with him dropping his medals into his mother's hand. Many find it to be devastating anti-war statement.
Another theme is the theme of a mother who wishes her son to fight. His mother thought that going to war was the 'best thing' he could do. In fact, he has no knowledge of a purpose for being there other than doing her bidding. He finds himself 'a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'. He has no hatred for the enemy he is fighting, but rather sees that 'his face looked just like' his own. He can empathize with the soldier on the other side who may be fighting for just as specious a purpose. The son sees himself a 'puppet in a play;' one of the manipulators of strings is clearly none other than dear old mom.
In Dylan's Ballad, it is not the abandoned damsel or mother who delivers the harsh rebuke, but the wounded soldier himself. He calls her to come over to him not for hug or a kiss but to give to her all that she apparently ever wanted from her son. 'But as he turned to go he called his mother close / and he dropped his medals down into her hands.'