Metaphorically Speaking

War is Hell. Wow, those are some bold words. By using a metaphor and not a simile (which says one thing is merely "like" another thing, O'Brien is able to fully convey how he feels about war as a whole. To me, metaphors speak louder than similes. By saying something "is" something else the reader is left no room for interpretation and not given any space to qualify the degree to which the two things are alike. Like O'Brien says, this phrase is a generalization. Yes, it is used to convey to the reader what he believes war is, but what is hell? Is it Dante's vision of an iced-over, center-of-the-world chamber one is summoned to? Or is it the common, cliche, we all grew up around- the one where the devil is red with horns and breathes fire to all those who he has "possession of"? I think the decision is up to us individually to decide how we interpret the metaphor.