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World War 2 Quotes

Decent Essays

Not only is the geographical place significant to expressing David's alienation, but the novel’s temporal setting of World War II further leaves David in a state of isolation. Despite having “tried to enlist” (346) in World War II, David’s “physical limitations” (346) prohibit him from joining World War II. Due to his weak heart, “the war had gone around David”, like Anna moving away and Chris getting married, “it was like all the rest of the things that happened to the others” (346). As the mountain encloses David in an alienating environment, the personified war which circles around him is another factor limiting his ability to connect with others. Like the image of David looking through the kitchen window in the novel's prologue, he is only …show more content…

The threat of never coming back from the war “bonded [the men] together”; however, David is further estranged from the men who are closest to him. David feels “a blind hatred of Toby” (390), he felt like “he was seeing - his life stolen before his eyes” (390). The aggressive imagery of David yet again watching someone else's life move beyond the mountainous landscape of Entremont signifies his entrapment and sense of alienation. The reader is left with an image of David stranded in the field, “immobile” (388), thinking about how “there had been a war [...] he hadn’t been in” (388) and the other events that happened “when he was alive and young” (388) which had “all been for the other men” (388). David's unmoving stance signifies his monotonous, unchanging life. Furthermore, Buckler’s shift into a past perspective creates the illusion that David is imagining himself in the future reflecting on this moment in his life - his final realization that he will be trapped in Entremont forever. Furthermore, being the final chapter before the Epilogue, the last day of David's life, this concluding scene of alienation with a past perspective suggest his impending

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