Abstract

This article examines David Abrams’ Fobbit in terms of its approach to war heroism in the context of the 2003 Iraq War. It aims to add a new perspective to the discussion of the futility of war by demonstrating the novel’s representation of war heroism through the behavior of soldiers on and off the battlefield. While war hero narratives celebrate soldiers’ acts of bravery and chivalry, post-heroism points to the decline of the heroic ethos in modern wars, as soldiers become more concerned with their survival and well-being. Military instincts are as robust as ever, but they are challenged by reflective critiques that severely curtail their ancient freedom. More and more voices are exposing the inhuman side of war. I make this argument through two constructs that I call “Manipulated Stories,” which examines how war stories are constructed to sound more heroic and appealing to audiences, and “Clumsy Humans,” which addresses the behavior of soldiers and their heroic/unheroic traits. Most of the heroic stories in Abrams’ novel appear to be manipulated and manufactured to serve the pro-war agenda and make them more appealing to the American public. Most soldiers are largely unheroic, focusing more on their survival and personal interests than on any heroic quest.