The idea of religion is mentioned in the novel because it is a very realistic factor of war. during war, especially in the trench war, the idea of God, faith and hope were taken very strongly by some soldiers. Simply because it was the only they could truely grasp on.
The theme of religion is mention throughout the novel. On page 98 Rivers mentions the idea of Christianity and its responsibility towards war. He symbolise holy figures such as 'The Virgin, St John, The Holy Ghost descending, and God the Father to the roles in a society such as the government, the civilians, the generals and the soldiers.
A further mention of religious theme is on page 183 to 184. The idea of Christ and death is mentioned here. It also quotes from the Bible that 'the imagination of a man's heart is evil from his youth'
Also the roles of the psychiatrist towards the patient can be considered as somewhat godly. The idea that the psychiatrist could manipulate a patient's mind into believing something, when that something is so self destructive, such as returning to war. A good example would be Dr.Yealland's session with his mute patient.
3 comments:
Thankyou Brian for exploring religion.
glad to be of help!
Faith is an important theme in the novel and it is explored in a variety of ways. It is not surprising under the circumstances that soldiers in particular are either embracing or questioning their faith. War is an unnatural state for humans to be in - it breeds violence and death whereas faith of a spiritual nature (hopefully!)wants to see and believe the best in human nature. Hopefully this is our true state to desire and achieve peace, compassion and kindness for one another and ourselves.
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