Reality of war

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  • Created by: nfawre
  • Created on: 13-05-15 20:22

Drama

Journey's End

  • Set in dugout (form) allowing an inside view of the horrors of wa. The fact it is set over a short piece of time demonstrates the daily trauma of waiting, dying etc Thoughts and feelings build up and then lots of events happen very quickly- that the reality of the character's situation.
  • "W3e must have pepper"- lack of supplies, a need to make the day to day life of war resemble normality. Mundane conversation higlights the rather un-glorious aspects of war.
  • Change in Raleigh's character- starts off excited, if a little nervous-surprised at how quiet the front line is, he was expecting something more exciting. When Osborne dies his character changes in a very small space of time- he walks slowly down the steps.
  • "It all seems a bit silly doesn't it"- war is not glorious, it doesn't make sense.

Accrington Pals

  • Ralph's letter demonstrates desperation- war has changed them. Different views of the reality of war presented-waste of life (Tom), secong flood (Arthur) etc
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Prose

Birdsong

  • Morphine tablets a necessity- when Douglas dies "we'll get you some morphine"
  • So many people have died and the war has destroyed the French and Belgian terrain "There's so much muscle and blood in the Earth" "They expect to die" - death is becomes the norm.
  • The men walk past a mass grave being dug before the battle- their grave.
  • Brennan finds his brother on a patrol to collect the dead bodies- he only finds a torso "his fingers vanishing into buttered green flesh"
  • Jack Firebrace's work is far from glamorous- in a tunnel, with air fed into it, constantly in danger.
  • When they bury Jack and Joseph Levi, it demonstrates that really they are not enemies. "They dug a grave for him and Jospeh Levi. They made it a joint grave, because the war was over"
  • The "boy" in the hospital anf Tipper represent the loss of youth, war is a waste of life.

Regeneration

  • The experience of the soldiers is so terrible that it affects them hugely, some for life.
  • e.g Burns is blown into a gas filled german corpse.
  • Sasson's declaration- the war has been fought for the wrong reasons, in reality it could have been avoided.
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Poetry

'Dulce Et Decorum Est'- Wilfred Owen

  • The old lie- it is good and glorious to fight and die, this is heavily contrasted in the poem- the death of the soldier is not glorious it is horrifying, dehumanising.
  • "Bent double" suggests war has not made their life worth while but stolen it from them.
  • Graphic description of death- this is no game, "drowning" "choking"- exposes the brutality and violence of war, often hidden by propoganda.

'Anthem for Doomed Youth'- Wilfred Owen

  • Title itself suggests the death of those who go to war is inevitable- this is the reality of war, people die.
  • "stuttering rifles' rapid rattle" everything is unsure in war.

'Exposure'- Wilfred Owen

  • "But nothing happens" - constant waiting
  • The soldiers are exposed to the weather, in terrible condiditons- the weather is the enemy.
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Poetry

'Strange Meeting'- Wilfred Owen

  • The structure of the poem moves from the battle field to Hell and in doing so demnstrates the reality of war, i.e they are very hard to distinguish.
  • "It seemed that out of battle I escaped" Hell is better than war.

'Glory of Women'

  • "Knitting socks to send your son his face trodden deeper in the mud"- contrasts reality of war and the views of those at home. The mother is trying to help her son who is past helping.
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