The Last Meeting

The Last Meeting

The loss of Siegfried Sassoon's friend David Thomas.

• "I thought: ‘A little longer I’ll delay" - Throughout the poem Sassoon uses personal pronouns to show that this is his experience, which makes the poem more powerful as it creates more emotion.

• "...hold His human ghost" - Alliteration/religious imagery is used here despite the fact that Sassoon is an atheist to show that he hopes that his friend's spirit has survived (he is a ghost) rather than it being completely lost. 

•  "He was beside me now, as swift as light." Sassoon uses a simile to show that David Thomas is still with him even after death. Shows how much Sassoon cared for him and that he focuses on his memories of him to get through difficult times.

• " I will go up the hill once more To find the face of him that I have lost" Sassoon is visiting a place that is special to him to ponder on his memories of David Thomas; this quote shows that he misses him. The fact that it says 'once more' shows that Sassoon visits this place to think about his friend often.

• "the folk Loitered about their doorways, well-content With the fine weather and the waxing year." The death of David Thomas has obviously seriously affected Sassoon's life, yet it has had absolutely no effect on those who did not know him. This shows how insignificant soldiers were in the war and how they were expendable. 

All Quiet on the Western Front initial views

Upon reading the first chapter of All Quiet on the Western Front, one idea that has become evident is that the war drains the morale of the soldiers fighting in it, and something as simple as a few packets of cigarettes is all it takes to make the soldiers feel better. "The most important thing, though, is that there are double rations of tobacco as well." Similar ideas are present in Birdsong (except with extra rest rather than extra cigarettes), as Stephen suggests that a few days away from the front line are enough to 'heal' a soldier, which Stephen describes as being a 'cruel trick', due to the ability of rest making a soldier aware of the horrors of war which they were previously numb to.

Journey's End Loss of Innocence

Faulks demonstrates the loss of innocence in 'Journey's End' by highlighting the matter of fact attitude Stanhope possesses at the prospect of death at the hands of the German soldiers. This shows the lack of fear that Stanhope now has, due to being at war for 3 years and seeing the horrors it entails. "Yes. It'll come while we're here. And we shall be in the front row of the stalls." Stanhope says this to Osbourne as if he is simply telling him to go and clean out the guns, when in fact he is telling Osbourne that there is an attack on the way, which they both know they will likely not survive. This suggests that the idea of death may no longer scare Stanhope, due to its presence being everywhere in the war that he has spent a large part of his life fighting. Also, due to his dependency on alcohol, and the fact that he feels he cannot go home to his family due to him thinking he is an embarrassment to them, death may seem like an easy way to solve the problems that are currently facing him. Alternatively, Stanhope's lack of fear when delivering this statement shows just how good a leader he is to the men in his company; if he had let Osbourne and the other men know that their superior is afraid, then they most certainly would have been terrified. By hiding his emotions, Stanhope does not alarm the other men, which shows that he cares about his fellow soldiers, as he does not want them to be scared of what is to come.