Techniques Louis de Bernières Uses to Portray the Effects of the War

What techniques does Louis de Bernières use to portray the effects of

the war so powerfully?

Louis de Bernières uses many techniques to portray the effects of the

war as powerfully as he does. He uses techniques that vary from use of

language, to using the diary of a homosexual soldier. In the

in-between there are other techniques such as: contrast of the good

and bad effects of the war; death, from the inside and the outside; or

showing feelings from soldiers instead of numbers and figures.

From my point of view, the use of language is the technique that

sticks out the most. He uses all sorts of words, meanings, effects and

even languages! Just as he uses sarcasm everywhere: “War is a

wonderful thing. In movies and in books.” Sarcasm is very well

applied, as in a real war there is also sarcasm, cynism and irony in

everyone´s words. This creates the effect of reality and holds on to

the reader´s attention. He also tends to make good use of repetition:

“I hate puttees.” and “War is great.” Repetition, as in most pieces of

literature, creates a very positive effect on the reader. The power of

his words is amazing. He uses detail in every sentence, always

surprising the reader with new, powerful vocabulary: “Francesco´s

mother was a small grey woman with a mole on one cheek and a brushing

of black down upon her upper lip [...] slavonic eyes, [...] olive

skin, [...] jeweller´s fingers.” Likewise, he also uses very

descriptive language when describing rough moments making them

incredibly powerful: “ [...] in a haze of nostalgia and forgetfulness,

had found in front of him the titanic bulk of Carlo Guercio, had found

his wrists gripped painfully in those mighty fists [...] he stared

wonderingly into the mid...

... middle of paper ...

... expressed

outstandingly well in the book. “At least 4000 were massacred and

possibly 9000. Was it 28000 kilos of butchered human meat, or 648000?

Was it 18752 litres of bright young blood, or 42192?” this quote is

incredibly impressive. It does not only provide us factual

information, but also portrays the amount of insanity that takes place

at times of war. It not only shocks the reader the outstanding

figures, but the roughness and coldness in which Louis de Bernières

puts them forward.

In general, Louis de Bernières accomplished a great result with these

techniques. The powerful effect of irony, reality and humour expressed

in words, brings forward very effectively the effects of war. If the

objective of a good novel is to portray and transmit feelings and a

good story, Louis de Bernières has surely accomplished it with Captain

Corelli´s Mandolin.