Sassoon’s declaration is very strong, containing a lot of powerful opinions on the struggles of soldiers whilst at war. I think what Sassoon is trying to explain is that maybe in the beginning there were certainly heavy reasons for why they should fight, but after months of living in trenches and warfare, the reasons are becoming doubtful, and the aspect of war becoming less glamourous and noble. Sassoon is clearly shaken by his experiences while fighting, as he describes his struggles as ‘sufferings’ and ‘evil’, showing that he has suffered a great deal and has witnessed such traumatising acts that society’s initial thoughts of fighting for your nation as being great and honourable just seem wrong and unjust, as millions of young men are sacrificing their lives everyday.
He definitely does not want to go through the same thing again, and the idea of letting more and more innocent men experience such pain and agony unnerves him. Sassoon expresses some anger and displeasure with those who think that being in his state is such an amazing experience, possibly to those who have strongly encouraged their men to go out and fight, and he clearly wants to set things straight. Those who are in the comfort of their own homes don’t realize the amount of anguish and suffering that the soldiers go through for the benefit of their nation, because of the sugarcoated facts that the government has fed them and through his declaration, Sassoon wants all these lies to stop, and the true image of war to be revealed to the public.
I agree with Sassoon’s belief that the war has gone on for far too long, because violence seems like the only things it can do is to either scare or anger the enemy, and doesn’t solve any problems- only making them bigger than they already area and lengthening the process in which it could be solved. It’s depressing what the soldiers like Sassoon have been forced, and in some ways tricked, to do, and the consequences which they have to endure after: scarred mentally and physically, or dead.
1 comment:
Nikki,
Your post shows you have carefully considered not only the impact of war on Sassoon personally, but the effect it can have on society as a whole.
Your consideration of his language used is good and I would encourage you to do more close language analysis, when commenting and reflecting on text.
Whenever comments are made, there should be a reference to what evidence there is in the language used (diction and syntax)
Well done for producing an informed and thorough response.
Post a Comment