Brutal Reality of War in Winifred M. Letts' The Deserter and Siegfried Sassoon's The Hero Both Winifred M. Letts and Siegfried Sassoon have strong views on the war; however they both express themselves using different language. Winifred M. Letts chose her words carefully to put the reader on the side of the Deserter using rhetorical questions as in line 6, "But who can judge him, you or I?" This makes it seem like the deserter running away, was a natural response to his surroundings, and is asking if you would do or feel any different. In line 5, she uses the phrase, "Just that" This gives the impression that it was a very simple decision for the Deserter to turn and run because as it says in line 2, "Fear had dogged by night and day." Here she is metaphorically saying that fear had surrounded him every day and night since arriving, and he could not escape it. Winifred M. Letts chose, in line 8, the phrase, "Yearns to live and not die" This creates a dramatic emphasis on how he longed and struggled to be free of the war, and go home to his family and safety. In line 13 the use of the phrase, "With eyes as wild" Gives the interpretation that he is not thinking properly, he is frightened and on edge, ready to snap at any moment. He will not listen to anyone and is alert because of the sickness of wanting to be home and worry of him getting caught. She repeats the phrase, "An English bullet in his heart!" Twice, this adds to the drama of the moment because you read it twice, it also builds up the momentum and emphases that he was not shot by one of the German's bullets, but by one... ... middle of paper ... ...e happened during the war. In "The Deserter" soldiers did try to escape and as a result ended up blindfolded against the wall being shot by English soldiers, many even their own friends. Letts makes the reader feel regret and sorrow for his death, as like any of the soldiers he had no choice but to join the army. The language in the poem was rhetorical, truthful and hard hitting, as you put yourself in his shoes. In "The Hero" Mothers and wives got letters from colonel's everyday with lies about how great and brave their sons were. Sassoon's gentle words at the start of the poem makes you feel sad for the old lady. However, as you go through the poem you get to know her son through the Brother Officer as what a coward he was, the language reflects this by using harsh alliteration and cruel words describing the son.
Guy Sajer’s The Forgotten Soldier is a work notable not only for its vivid and uncompromising account of his experience as a member of the Wehrmacht in World War II, but also for its subtle and incisive commentary about the very nature of war itself. What is perhaps most intriguing about Sajer’s novel is his treatment of the supposedly “universal” virtues present within war such as professionalism, patriotism, camaraderie, and self-sacrifice. Sajer introduces a break between how war is thought about in the abstract and how it has actually been conducted historically.
Bravery can be showed by having strength, being willing to sacrifice, and standing up for yourself and others. Life will not be very fun if you do not try to make it fun. One has to be brave to make life fun. If one is not strong it would make it hard to be brave. If Holling was not strong then he would not have been able to play Ariel in the Shakespeare play. All of his friends showed up when he was was wearing yellow tights and feathers on his butt. He stayed strong and finished the play. “Still ringing in the hands of Danny Humfer, Meryl Lee and Mai Ti who were standing in the very front row.” (Schmidt 86) That moment was when Holling first saw all of his classmates watching him in the play. At first he only saw Danny’s parents, but then
during the war. This novel is able to portray the overwhelming effects and power war has
The Elusiveness of War and the Tenuousness of Morality in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” “How to Tell a True War Story,” and “Style”
The poem begins by saying ‘I was a cottage maiden’. It is a simple beginning, talking in the past tense. She tells us she is lower class person.
Although the little girl doesn’t listen to the mother the first time she eventually listens in the end. For example, in stanzas 1-4, the little girl asks if she can go to the Freedom March not once, but twice even after her mother had already denied her the first time. These stanzas show how the daughter is a little disobedient at first, but then is able to respect her mother’s wishes. In stanzas 5 and 6, as the little girl is getting ready the mother is happy and smiling because she knows that her little girl is going to be safe, or so she thinks. By these stanzas the reader is able to tell how happy the mother was because she thought her daughter would be safe by listening to her and not going to the March. The last two stanzas, 7 and 8, show that the mother senses something is wrong, she runs to the church to find nothing, but her daughter’s shoe. At this moment she realizes that her baby is gone. These stanzas symbolize that even though her daughter listened to her she still wasn’t safe and is now dead. The Shoe symbolizes the loss the mother is going through and her loss of hope as well. This poem shows how elastic the bond between the daughter and her mother is because the daughter respected her mother’s wish by not going to the March and although the daughter is now dead her mother will always have her in her heart. By her having her
...s the theme of family. For example, when you truly love someone in your family, you make sure that you show them you truly love them by not only giving them a hug but also telling them that you love them. I can relate to this situation because whenever I notice that my mom is feeling down, I make sure that I tell her that I love her and she is the best mom in the world. Another theme that is present in this poem that I can relate with my life is the theme of mortality. For example, the man is obsessed with not only how but also why Annabel died. I can relate to the man in this situation because after my mom’s dog passed away about nine or ten years ago I was wondering for the longest time why she had to pass away. She wasn’t always the nicest dog, but I still loved her anyways. This poem celebrates the child-like emotions with the ideals of the Romantic era.
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
For many soldiers and volunteers, life on the fronts during the war means danger, and there are few if any distractions from its horrors. Each comradeship serves as a divergence from the daily atrocities and makes life tolerable. Yet, the same bonds that most World War literature romantically portrays can be equally negative. James Hanley’s “The German Prisoner”, shows the horrifying results of such alliances, while “Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemmingway reveal that occasionally, some individuals like Lieutenant Henri seek solidarity outside the combat zone. Smithy of “Not So Quiet” and Paul Baumer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” demonstrate the importance and advantages of comradeship while giving credence to the romance of these connections. Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” depicts Siegfried Sassoon, as an officer who places comradeship and honor above his own personal anti war convictions. Regardless of the consequences, each demonstrates not only the different results of comradeship but also its power and level of importance to each character in the abovementioned writings.
The poem becomes personal on line 10 when she uses the first person and says “I lost my mother’s watch”. She is letting the reader know what she has lost in reality. Then she gets sidetracked to mention other things she has lost; she then mentions other things she has lost of much more importance such as houses, continents, realms, and cities, but then again mentions it was not so hard to lose those things. But in the end, mention the loss that really matters. She remembers the qualities of the lover she lost.
Writing the poem in ballad form gave a sense of mood to each paragraph. The poem starts out with an eager little girl wanting to march for freedom. The mother explains how treacherous the march could become showing her fear for her daughters life. The mood swings back and forth until finally the mother's fear overcomes the child's desire and the child is sent to church where it will be safe. The tempo seems to pick up in the last couple of paragraphs to emphasize the mothers distraught on hearing the explosion and finding her child's shoe.
Overall I think this poem was sad as it made me feel sorry for the
However as shown in the final stanza this poem is truly about the lost of someone dear to her and
Toward the end of the poem, it shown how shock Olds was to understand her dad “At the end of his life his life began to wake in me” (Olds 440). It was a new beginning for her and her dad. She tried to create a bond within her dad when she realized that her dad was actually a lovely and caring man. She informed her readers at that she hated her dad but
To me the poem seems like a lament for the poverty of these people and