Themes and message

The poem “Eve of Destruction” by P.F. Sloan is very powerful, and so are its themes and message. The poem explores the theme of war, racism and injustice and hypocrisy.

War

The dominant theme of the poem is that of war and the consequences it can bring not only for those directly involved but for the entire planet. Wars have always been seen as a solution for obtaining peace, but the author of the poem does not agree. He believes that peace can be obtained with open-mindedness and acceptance, not with an interminable list of people who lose their lives. In “Eve of Destruction”, war is depicted through violent images such as guns flaring, explosions, dead bodies floating in the water, or through the image of nuclear weapons. When analyzing this theme, we must keep in mind that “Eve of Destruction” is, in fact, a protest song against the Vietnam War. According to many of the US citizens, the involvement of the USA in the war was not justified and lead to many lives of innocent men being lost. The war lasted...