journey s end and exposure s portrayal of war
In both Journey’s End and Exposure, battle is generally presented in a ominous light because Owen and R. C. Sheriff, respectively, focus on the attitude in the soldiers throughout their experience on the frontline. Whilst Owen draws even more attention to any risk of strain created by the harsh winter conditions inside the trenches, Sherriff concentrates on the lining events in the trenches and how the troops are susceptible to emotional stress as a consequence of the war. On the other hand, both text messaging constantly consider the slow pace of World Conflict 1 and suggest that the soldiers spent the majority of their very own time simply waiting for the enemy’s up coming move. Furthermore, Owen and Sherriff mean that the troops almost lived in a false actuality ” as they avoid very much mention of the enemy or any severe events in the war, and tend to have rather mundane discussions. Similarly, both writers hint at the psychological strain around the soldiers due to their ongoing exposure not only to the weather circumstances, but to the range of horrors they will face on the battlefield.
The idea of war as a tenuous state is reinforced throughout Owen’s Exposure as towards the end of stanzas 1, a few, 4 and 7 the phrase ‘but nothing happens’ is repeated. The fact which the phrase unwraps with ‘but’ indicates that despite how prepared the soldiers may be, they still have to wait painfully until the resistance decide to make an attack. This means that the males grow even more distressed as time moves along because the waiting around simply enables them to over analyze the situation more ” elevating their worry. The repeating of the assertion and the abs ba rhyme scheme creates a cyclical result, therefore allowing the reader to reflect on the tediousness of war as well as the monotonous regimen of the troops. Likewise in Journey’s End Sherriff frequently uses stage directions of ‘there can be silence’ to share the moon like atmosphere which can be produced because of the lack of action. When discussing the German attack Osbourne states that ‘it’s been expected for the last month’ which will again shows the sluggish development of the war, since the soldiers have no choice but to amuse themselves even though they anticipate the next rezzou. In fact , one of the potential brands for Journey’s End was ‘Waiting’, so it’s evident that Sherriff seen the warfare as a type of inane waiting game creating great soreness, but primarily distress to the soldiers within the frontline.
Denial is another common motif in Exposure and Journey’s End as the creators suggest that the soldiers filter the nightmarish nature of war by almost neglecting to accept that it’s real. For example , in Direct exposure Owen’s use of rhetorical questions produces a sense of disbelief and confusion as they question ‘what are we doing right here? ‘ and ‘is this that we will be dying? ‘ This displays how the troops have become therefore overwhelmed by the whole means of war, they may have practically forgotten their genuine purpose, for that reason triggering feelings of refusal. The soldiers question their existence within a dazed strengthen, as if they are really half-conscious which usually again illustrates their loss in engagement inside the war. In the fifth stanza, Owens dingdong in the terms ‘dazed’, ‘deep’, ‘ditches’, ‘drowse’, ‘dozed’ and ‘dying’ creates a heavy, trance-like tone creating an image of your limp, fatigued soldier plodding along. This adds to the concept of sub intelligence and produces a dream-like disposition which verifies the soldiers’ retraction from your war. Owen also even comes close the sound of artillery gunfire to ‘a dull rumour of a few other war’ ” similarly this suggests how the soldiers block out the war for the extent that they can pretend they’re almost not even involved at all, as if they’re spectators. The phrase ‘some other war’ reduces the general significance of the concept of war ” it can evident that must be become an everyday aspect of life for the boys on the frontline as they make reference to it in this vague manner (like it doesn’t really matter them inside the slightest). In Journey’s End Sherriff preserves this thought of hyperreality, while the soldiers discuss this sort of trivial concerns such as ‘getting dirt in the tea’ and ask each other regarding whether they choose ‘black swines or white-colored pigs’. The topic of these slight, unimportant themes shows how the soldiers are very keen to to avoid virtually any talk of warfare, however in Sheriff’s interpretation it appears as if the boys are simply doing this on purpose ‘to forget’ the harsh fact of struggle. Unlike Exposure, where the soldiers appear to be even more bewildered and dazed, Journey’s End features the soldiers’ inner hardship which they try to disguise by simply focusing on unneeded things.
Moreover, the two Owen and Sherriff exhibit the mental and physical strain on the soldiers in the constant pressure of battle. For example the starting stanza in Exposure claims, ‘wearied we keep awake’. The alliteration of ‘w’ produces a lifeless tone, as if the audio is mumbling which suggests they may have been destabilized by the constant cycle of battle. The simple fact that the men force themselves to stay alert even though they are really wearied displays how they force their bodies to the limit and will not give in, regardless of the great hardship of the warfare. In Journey’s End Sherriff makes it crystal clear that Chief Stanhope has suffered under the strain of warfare as he turns to liquor to relaxed his nerves. Osbourne shows that Stanhope was once ‘on his again all day with trench fever ” in that case on duty most night’ which usually demonstrates his determination to fulfil his duty even when he is strike by serious illness. Furthermore the repetition with the word ‘all’ in this sentence in your essay reinforces the thought of the troops being caught up in a constant cycle of battle which in turn obviously leads to the destruction of their mental and physical health. Osbourne also says that Stanhope has ‘stuck it right up until his nerves have got battered to bits’ which even more indicates how the war features such an enormous impact on the boys ” his or her nerves will be destroyed by the horrors they have to endure.
Overall, it can be evident that Exposure and Journey’s End capture conflict in a comparable light, since both perspectives consider the importance of time within the frontline besides the soldiers’ emotions of refusal in the ditches. Moreover every single text reveals how the guys are worn down by anxiety, as the war seems to drain almost all their energy and hope. Even though Exposure concentrates more for the idea of mother nature acting against the soldiers, equally outlooks allow the reader to consider the internal effects for the men rather than solely the physical effects that are normally associated with battle.
