Initially, having been convinced that war is a glorious act of patriotism, the writers felt downright betrayed by the previous generation, once coming to the haunting realization that war is the opposite of what had been conveyed to them. For example in All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul’s teacher, Kantorek, represents this despised upon generation as he goes to great extent to intensely convince the whole class to go to war until finally they succumbed to “under his shepherding” (11). The generation that Kantorek represents had a misleading portrayal of war, as Germany had not gone to war during their youth and therefor they had no clue of what consequences their greedy and impulsive decisions would bring about on these shapeable young men. This misconception proved to be lethal as it created the all-popular vibe that war is a glorious event that always leads to better futures. In addition, in the poem “Arms and the Boy”, Owen describes an omniscient group who “let the boy try along this bayonet-blade” (line 1).
Even thought some soldiers survived the shellings and gas, they were still destroyed by the war. Many men were destroyed by the war mentally. The Soldiers that survived the war and came home almost all had PTSD and were mentally ill from what they had seen or experienced. (Chapter 5, pg.87) "The war has ruined us for everything” This quote means that what they have seen and done in the war has transformed them into only being able to think of and understand the life of war. War becomes what they live and breath and cannot comprehend with other jobs that do not relate to war and the horrifying killing that they were trained to do.
Wilfred Owen uses contrast in this poem to help show the major changes for example “ There was an artist silly for his face, For it was younger than his youth, last year. Now, he is old; his back will never brace” This talks about before the war he would have people wanting his picture. But now no-one wants to see him, he looks old even though he is still young and his back will not support him. Many soldiers lost their limbs in battle and this poem helps people realise the pain the soldiers went through both physical and mental. “Mental Cases” is about the men who went crazy due to the events of World War I. it helps explain how these men looked with the use of half-rhymes, metaphors and similes “ drooping tongues from jaws that slob their relish, Baring teeth that leer like skullls teeth wicked?” This talks about what the men looked like after going crazy.
Basically, the author of All Quiet on the Western Front brings out a theme of the brutality of war through Paul and the other men that are facing the hardships. Every day when they were at war they stayed alert to survive. However, war wasn’t only about trying not to get killed; many emotions were involved as well. The idea of not seeing your loved ones everyday was a major thing they had to overcome. They had to stay strong for themselves and they comforted each other.
His clear memory, after fifteen years, of the events that took place with these friends, showed how much these boys not only meant to him then, but also how much they shaped the man he had become. There were not many occasions when they show much friendship toward one another. When Finny finally realized that Gene betrayed him, he began to run and he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg again. This probably gave Gene insight into what war really was all about. When Gene went he realized that Leper was Away With Out Leave and the war had caused him to go insane.
We see fragmentation in their respective relationships through the structure. The Manhunt is written in couplets which suggest a relationship between two people. However, there is little rhyme in these couplets which shows us that there isn’t harmony in their relationship. Perhaps the war in which Eddie was in has made his mind focus on the destruction of war to the extent that he can’t think of his relationship. After all, he suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
They feel as though that the only other people in the world who can understand them are other war veterans. Brett, Jake, Krebs,and the Narrator from "In Another Country" cannot fit back into society. Due to the scars they have received from the war they no longer fit into their spot of the puzzle because their puzzle piece had been reshaped and re colored. As a result they started from scratch creating a new picture of society in which their puzzle pieces fit simultaneously together into a puzzle title that the world knows today as The Lost Generation. The
Nothing should be sugar coded because many lives were lost and many individuals suffered a great deal and everyone should understand why. In McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Field” he explains life before and after war. There was once a time when they experience the feeling of love and the enjoyment of life, but now they lay dead looking back at the life they had to give up to fight in war. Those who have died have passed the torch to the next generation of soldiers. This proved that the peace treaty didn’t solve the problem and a new war would occur.
‘The falcon cannot hear the falconer’, the use of the particular bird, a falcon, a powerful force that has escaped its master. It symbolises a loss of control, which could be related to many aspects of the world. All previous strong held beliefs are coming apart and are causing anarchy in the world. It could symbolise the gradual movement of mankind away from God or religion; and it could also convey Yeats’s fear of technology progressing out of man’s control. He was concerned that it could inflict lots of harm at great ease, an idea that was reinforced by the atrocities of World War 1 which created destruction that many people had never seen before.
It is a reflection on how that the world war one changes everything – changes what had been the ‘ natural order’.. Life changed dramatically after War World One- the social order changed, lifestyles changed, expectations changed, and most of all as a result of the many deaths caused by the war- futures changed. I believe the poet wrote this poem in order to express his feelings towards that one swan that is left alone. He wrote this poem during his last days and while he was on his last visit to Coole Park. He felt sorrow towards the swans, felt sorrow for himself as well as all that have been left alone. The message the poet is conveying is that the world was tamed through war and revolution.