How is Bowe presented?

Bowe:

• "Someone help me get the strap over, I - can't - do - it"
• "Mother O'God let me live" - fear of death, not suited for war. Religious reference = desperation
• "Shaking like a leaf" - imagery shows fear, lack of patriotism - going against everything Rudyard said about enlistment
• "Do I have to take the basket across if the pigeon's dead, sir?" - soldiers are only following orders, doesn't know anything about war and surviving - no sense of logic, lack of common sense. Also shows fear - he can't focus or concentrate properly
• "Bowe scrabbles in the mud" - animalistic, driven by instincts and the need to survive - id. No thought or logic, no noble sacrifice. Anticipate him as a weak character

John: 

• He is assertive, he appears commanding over the other soldiers, not a child amnymore
• "McHugh...I'm trying...I'm trying" - he's trying to remain calm, to be mature, an adult
• Military jargin shows lack of true understanding - only repeating orders
• "Listen everyone"
• "You will...you'll find a way" - sets and controls agenda: commanding verbs
• "Shut up! Shut up! Of course, dump the bloody thing." - no longer calm and controlled - shows fear and inexperience, he is not suited for war

Soliloquy:

• "Oh Daddo" - he has regresesed, a child again. Commanding officer just a facade, not who he is. He is a child again - he is terrified of death but still thinking of his father - not let him down etc. - be a man.
• "Please God I mustn't let them down." - Talking about his troops and his father's unrealistic expectations of him - he's a child really
• Use of punctuation - "Keep the pistol out of the mud - left hand on the parapet - pull -" - it's a system, a ritual he has to go through it to focus and stay sane. Programmed, a machine. Stream of consciousness
• "Please God let me live." - religious speech, relying on something superior to him to try and survuve - similar language to Bowe - PTSD 

Camaraderie:

• Presence of camaraderie is a massive lie built up by the home front. In reality it doesn't exist - all men are scared of dying but it doesn't bring them close
• "Don't point your scabby **** at me!" - lack of camaraderie - it's every man for himself, no strong connection between soldiers
• "**** - **** - **** off Bowe!" - no camaraderie at all, hostility towards other soldiers
• Reality of war, not what propaganda puts forward
• "You can take mine Bowe." - sudden support from McHugh in front of John to impress him