The two lines of text in this excerpt from William Dean Howells's "Editha" that demonstrate the author’s opposition to conventional ideas of patriotism are:
1.) "You just expected him to kill someone else, some of those foreigners, that weren't there because they had any say about it, but because they had to be there, poor wretches—conscripts, or whatever they call 'em.
2.) "I thank my God he didn't live to do it! I thank my God they killed him first, and that he ain't livin' with their blood on his hands!"
<h3 /><h3>What is Patriotism?</h3>
Patriotism simply means allegiance to one's nation. A patriotic person can go as far as dying for his nation. In the text above, we can see that the author does not share the commonly accepted ideas about patriotism.
The author did not think that it was right to kill the opponents from a warring side who knew little or nothing about the cause of the war. He even preferred that the soldier on his side dies than staining his hands with innocent blood. This is absurd because it is not the commonly accepted norm.
Learn more about patriotism here:
brainly.com/question/12775098
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