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Analysis Of War Photographer

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In the first stanza of the poem Duffy portrays the war photographer as needing order and it being and important part of the photographer’s work. Duffy says that in his darkroom he lays out his films to produce in ‘ordered rows’. This is because he has been in a stressful, chaotic and disordered environment for a long time and he has not been in control of anything in the war zone. Therefore when he gets home and is on his own, he needs a sense of order, calm and control. There is further evidence of calm throughout the stanza. The ‘red’ light that ‘softly glows’ is shown to further calm the scene. ‘Softly’ is a calm word and if something is soft, it is usually inviting and comforting. Duffy then goes on to describe his dark room as a church …show more content…

This could represent the hundreds of people who went off to war, while very few were lucky enough to return home. Duffy also says that the ‘readers eyeballs prick with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers’. This is means that even though the readers are upset about the loss of lives in the war, it doesn’t affect them in the long run. This is emphasised by the use of the word ‘pricked’ which is like a short and sharp pain, but after a minute or so, the pain wears off and you can go about your day as normal again. This is a stark contrast to the effect the war has had on the photographer’s life. The readers are affected for a moment, but the effects on the photographer’s life are long lasting. The long lasting effects of the war on the photographer are shown later in the stanza where Duffy describes him on an ‘aeroplane’ as he ‘stares impassively’. This shows that all the traveling that the photographer has to do, to and from war, has resulted in him not belonging anywhere and feeling detached and remote. I think that it is unacceptable that the readers, who represent a vast majority of the public, should be so dismissive of the loss of lives and the terrible things happening in the war zone. I also think that part of the photographer’s nervousness is linked to the fact he has nowhere he calls home. He doesn’t belong anywhere

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