preview

Similarities Between Refugee Blues And The Last Night

Decent Essays

This essay discusses the plight of the Jews. The two texts used are ‘The Last Night’ written by Sebastian Faulks and the poem ‘Refugee Blues’ which is written by W. H. Auden. Both the texts talk about misery of the Jewish people being persecuted for their beliefs, due to Hitler’s regime. ‘Refugee Blues’ mainly focuses on the hardship of being Jewish and have been displaced, which provokes sympathy. Similarly, ‘The Last Night’ also focuses on the innocence of the Jewish people: it shows two young boys in their last few moments of freedom and how they suffer from being in the wrong place at the wrong time potentially leading to their deaths. I intend to demonstrate that both the texts employ a range of various language devices; some are similar …show more content…

For example, in the 5th stanza, the narrator is offered a chair, “Went to a committee; they offered me a chair.” This manifests the hospitality towards the Jew and presents a slight ray of hope. Although, he is asked politely to return next year and this means that they had a false hope which ended up in despair. Auden uses irony to illustrate the helplessness and the harsh attitude towards the Jews without any concern. This creates a strong understanding and makes the reader benevolent. In addition to this, the phrase “asked me politely to return next year” is juxtaposed as two opposing ideas are next to each other to emphasize on the cruelty and austerity. Similarly in ‘The Last Night’, Faulks uses alliteration and creates tension, “sat slumped against the wall” and this connotes that the adults know what is going to happen and that there is no point fighting back. Tension is also portrayed in Line 23, “sudden ripple, a quickening of a muscle and nerve”. The body’s reaction tells us that they are stressed and this creates suspense, making the passage more dramatic for the reader. Faulks lists things and mentions the familiar sound of the Parisian bus. The phrase “familiar sound… homely thudding” highlights that it is a common mode of transportation that these people used in their daily life. Although, they never thought that it could be used in a different manner, leading to their deaths. The irony is …show more content…

In comparison to ‘The Last Night’, Faulks displays grieve by emphasizing the innocence of the two boys’ hardship of being Jewish. The texts proposes that they would die in the concentration camp, “they might write a final message”, the adjective ‘final’ highlights on how death is very close to these people, despite the fact they are innocent, they are about to get killed for their beliefs. This has an effect on the reader as it is disappointing seeing the cruelty towards the Jews and how death is taken so casually. Innocence is also demonstrated when the children fall asleep in transit camp, dreaming of other places. The adults have a good understanding of situation in the upcoming moments but on the other hand the children are naïve and don’t realise what it happening which allows them to escape reality. The young dream of other places and this hints the reader, explaining that no one is spared in the end no matter of age or gender. Auden’s method of displaying innocence contradicts with Faulk’s method. The poet uses the repetition of “my dear” which shows that the refugee’s wife is innocent and this suggests that the refugee is speaking to his wife about the situation, explaining or consoling them. “Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that”; “But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive”; “Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me”.

Get Access