Faulks´ Birdsong Analysis

This is shown when it states, “A vast population of waterbirds lived in the swamp… paddocks and wooded country beyond were lorikeets, rosellas… families of pigeons – fruit-pigeon, bronze-wings… and high over stood the birds of prey, the hawks and kestrels” (1). Through the incorporation of asyndeton and descriptive language it emphasises how lively and welcoming Australia is, which is seen through the various types of birds entering the sanctuary. Malouf continues this notion of Australia being filled of warmth when it states, “A place where people came; he couldn’t keep all this, or his excitement in it, to himself” (13) and “How much life there might be in any square yard of it” (18). By Malouf expressing the characters’ emotions towards the land it showcases how the land itself brings joy and happiness into their lives which contrasts the attitudes presented in Europe. This is shown through the harsh tones and negative connotation used when Malouf describes the atmosphere of Europe as an uneasy and tortured setting when it states, “The air even at knee height was deadly” (91) and “The air was tormented” (92). Through the metaphor and word choice used it facilitates to the images of war being a cruel and unbearable experience, which is highlighted through the words ‘deadly’ and ‘tormented.’ Therefore, through juxtaposition

Juxtaposition, a literary device in which two or more people, places, or ideas are placed side by side for the purpose of contrasting them, is frequently used in Erich Maria Remarque’s war novel titled All Quiet on the Western Front to exaggerate the brutal nature of war. Remarque often offsets these grotesque descriptions with portrayals of nature and everyday beauty, and utilizes this juxtaposition of war and nature to portray the true horror of war. When Paul Baumer describes the significance of the latrines and how they provide a distraction for the men from the war, he paints a picture in the reader’s mind of a beautiful carefree meadow filled with flowers and butterflies, but the reader can infer that danger still lurks at a distance

David Malouf's novel ‘Fly Away Peter’ charts out the life of protagonist, Jim Sadler. Jim Sadler starts the novel as an innocent young man who lives on the Coast of Queensland. As Jim shows his love and appreciation for birds, he ends up getting a job at a sanctuary owned by Ashley Crawthaw. His job was to watch for the birds that migrated to and from the sanctuary. Throughout the novel the readers are taken on the journey that Jim faces, from the innocence of a young adult to the horror and brutality of the war. At the beginning of the novel the audience is introduced to Jim while he is gazing in the far distance to where the swamp ended and the farmlands began(Malouf, D. Pg.1). Jim’s love for birds was strong, everything about them just amazed him - he could sit for hours and watch them while naming each as he proceeded into the day. By being in the sanctuary, Jim is protected from the harsh reality of the outside world. Having grown up in the country, he is oblivious to how cruel the world is. Once exposing himself to the outside world and goes to the town centre, without much awareness regarding the war, he feels pressured to join the War Effort. Jim is aware of the need to extend his experiences within life and acknowledges the changes that war will certainly bring. On Jim’s arrival to the trenches he is hit with the harsh reality he thought he would never understand. Being so distant from the

In the second stanza the distinctive experience of power is present. The use of the technique of imagery and emotive words “to pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows’ tells us that the soldiers were strong, loyal and had enough power within a degree to assist fellow soldiers. The use of personification to create sound “sob and clubbing of the gunfire” This leads the audience to understand what the soldiers were up against without even directly saying it. The imagery visually shows the scene in their

He touches on their tragic deaths compared to their hopeful letters of going home and seeing their loved ones. He describes his astonishment as he realizes that none of these men actually showed hatred or abuse towards the German, they simply believed and had conviction in the justice behind their cause. This letter illustrates the feelings of a once happy man, now stuck at war. He says, "War hardens ones hearts and blunts ones feelings…"(p.68). This young soldier has lost all signs of the happy life he led back home. The harshness of war got to him just like the rest of the soldiers out there and if they so much as dreamed about accepting the reality around them, they would have gone either insane or surrendered and he could not give himself that luxury so onward he went.

Faulks chooses to focus on the very different relationships between Stephen Wraysford with both Michael Weir and Jack Firebrace. Although the relationships are different they are both forged through the circumstances of war. This is more evident in Wraysford’s relationship with Firebrace in parts two and six, where they are forced together. In comparison Weir and Wraysford are always together apart from when Weir visits home, at which point he tries to explain what the war is like, however he finds that they are not interested and this makes him angry, he wishes that ‘a great bombardment would smash…kill the whole lot of them’. Here Faulks has shown the resentment felt by the men on the front towards the people on the home front because they had no idea what it was like for them and because some of them were not interested or just did not know how to react to the horrors that their family members had been exposed to.

The theme of loss is also shown through all three writers' work, demonstrated through the destruction and brutality of the war. In "Birdsong" Stephen appears a strange and isolated figure at the beginning of the novel who brings with him concepts of unrest, as he possesses a "knife with a singular scrupulously sharpened blade" which suggests the idea of conflict. As well as losing Isabelle in a romantic sense, he experiences extreme loss and privation throughout his time in the war, particularly the loss of Weir and Jack Firebrace that are dealt with in graphic but simplistic language. Weir's death occurs suddenly and within one paragraph his face is said to be "smashing unprotected into mud". Stephen is pained by his death and even feels "he had loved him" and he had made the

Faulks expedites the process of firm belief among the characters during life on the front line, which is particularly highlighted

This acts as a metaphor for the vulnerability of the soldiers, and their undignified deaths. Alliteration is used to add emphasis to the descriptions of the Poets surroundings, with words such as bury and burrows and clubbing and sobbing. Slessor also successfully illustrates the way in which the soldiers are brought toward the shore by the sea with the words “wander in the waters far under”. The alliteration of the ‘’w’ sound emphasizes the bodies being carried through the current against their will. The fourth stanza opens with the words “unknown seamen”.

While these seem like they have no connection, in this book it makes the connection that during war bad things will happen, and no one can change that. But, things will move on in the world and ‘the birds will keep chirping’. C.) What themes are presented in the

The friendships that are formed during a war will last a life time and that is evident in the Yellow Birds. The bond that is formed between the Soldiers is the reason why many of them come back to the war even after they have suffered so much because of it. They think of their fellow soldiers as brothers and they feel like they must go back to be with them and protect them. The soldiers become so close that they are inclined to keep each other safe. This friendship and brotherhood is greatly portrayed in the Yellow Birds between Bartle and Murphy.

Whereas, Faulks' Birdsong, written 75 years after the armistice, relied on reinforcing the importance of history and its connection to the present through disorientating timestamps, yet mainly focuses on the soldier's experience. Sherriff's drama is rather authentic as the presentations of

‘The Yellow Birds,’ written by veteran Kevin Powers, narrates the experiences of John Bartle in the midst of the Iraq war. Subsequent to witnessing demise of his war associate Murph, he endeavours to disclose the situation by discarding his corpse into the Tigris River and claiming he never found him. The story changes back and forth each chapter, between the battle in Al Tafar, Iraq and his post-war life in the USA in order to portray the powerlessness and inner enslavement felt by Bart. The novel details his internal struggle to reconcile the veracity of the situation with the perceived inevitable outrage from Murph’s mother. The utilisation of evocative and graphic language in order to bolster the reoccurring theme of brutality is prevalent whilst the author simultaneously upholds a sense of beauty. Powers strikes this balance through the use of imagery, juxtaposition and through referring to the surrounding environment and landscape.

In this essay I will be arguing that the relationship between Stephen and Madame Azaire is intangible in the opening of Birdsong. I think that the reason Faulks has done this is to engage the reader so that throughout the novel it is unclear on how their relationship is going to develop. I will be exploring a number of different encounters with Stephen and Madame Azaire. I will be talking about how their relationship is shown at the beginning of the novel and how they act around each other when they first meet. Faulks also uses a lot of references to eye contact when talking about Madame Azaire and Stephen and I will be exploring the importance of

Journey's End is a play about British soldiers in World War One, and the effects the war has on them, both physically and mentally. The play explores many aspects of war life, including friendship, alcoholism, class boundaries and the lifestyle of the men in the trenches. This essay explores how the play shows the effects of war on those involved, looking at use of dialogue, lighting, props and other key dramatic devices. The essay will mainly focus on Act 3, Scene 2 of the play, but relevant quotes from other scenes in Journey's End will also be used to help illustrate points.