Mark Twain's short narrative or prose poem The War Prayer is a stinging critique of war, particularly of blind patriotic and religious passion as causes for war. What follows is a graphic account of the difficulties inflicted by conquerors on war-torn civilizations. The man is neglected at the end of the narrative. It is implied that he dies. Twain was an American writer best known for his satirical essays and novels, including Huckleberry Finn. He created Mark Twain for which he is now better remembered. The War Prayer was first published in the New York Evening Post on April 19, 1899, just months after Twain returned from a European trip during which he witnessed several wars being fought. He wrote this piece of fiction in response to these events, but also as a criticism of the Christian religion and patriotism. Blind faith in one's country and religion has caused many terrible things throughout history, so Twain questions if this is really the way people should be thinking. The story is told from the point of view of a priest who is praying in church when suddenly war breaks out around him. He continues with no interruption until the war ends, at which time everyone goes back to their usual activities. There is no mention of anyone being killed in the battle or anything like that, which means that we are not meant to think that the priest was injured or died. People have argued over whether or not The War Prayer is fact or fiction.