Declaration Commentary

It is very sad that Sassoon has had to go through enough horrors to make want to defy the government and possibly be sent to jail but it also makes him very brave because he has chosen to do something that no one else has done before. It is quite frustrating because the government should take note of what he is saying and realize how awful the war is but instead all they can think about is how Sassoon is ruining the image that war is glorious.

The declaration was very controversial at the time which would explain why everyone was so shocked but it is also disheartening that instead of sticking up for him and helping him, Sassoon’s friend Graves shuts him away. Even though he does it to keep him from going to jail we can still tell that he is slightly ashamed of him where he should actually be ashamed of himself for not siding with him. He doesn’t seem to understand that Sassoon wants to get his opinions out no matter the consequences: “this is an act of willful defiance”. Sassoon knows that he will get in trouble yet he feels that the public deserves to know anyway.

He also subtly mocks society’s view of soldiers with shell shock: “I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on the behalf of soldiers”. The use of the word “convinced” tells us that he realizes how crazy his ideas may sound to people who believe that the war is good but he knows what is best because he has actually experienced the war.

In addition, he compares the government to a barbaric race when he describes the soldiers being sent out to war as being “sacrificed”. This implies that their only purpose for living is to be slaughtered like lambs which is an unjust way to treat humans. The government regards the soldiers as expendable lives that can easily be replaced.

By Melissa Tobin