A Soldier's Declaration

The declaration that S. Sassoon wrote was very powerful and it must have taken great courage to want to present it to the public because it explores all the horrors and all the pain he has endured during the war. The declaration explains how he feels about the war and how he believes the course of it has changed. It is very interesting that Sassoon wrote this because it is a soldier’s view of the war and how it has been handled. He is blaming the government for keeping the soldiers in the war because he believes that the war should be over and that it is wrong to continue fighting. Sassoon also believes that all the problems can be solved only by negotiation and not war. This blame he is placing on the government could only lead to prison but he was very strong minded and believed that he should stand up for what he believes in.

Sassoon has used emotive language in this declaration in order to bring out his point firmly, such as the words ‘willful defiance’, ‘evil and unjust’, and ‘callous’. The words ‘willful defiance’ suggests that his is determined to make his point clear to people, which implies that Sassoon is a brave man on and off the battlefield. The phrase ‘ends which I believe to be evil and unjust’ suggests that he also portrays the government as power-hungry figure because they keep sending troops to the battlefield in a war that no longer needs to take place. Moreover, Sassoon uses the word ‘callous’ to describe how the society feels about the war. This suggests that the society he lives in have a carless regard for the soldiers and they don’t give a thought to the lives that are being destroyed.

However, this declaration is notable because Sassoon does not disagree with the ‘conduct of war’ because one would think that anyone returning from war would inevitably dislike it. Sassoon only dislikes the terms of it, which I find very interesting.

This declaration stirs up different emotions; anger for the government for keeping the soldiers at war when, according to the declaration, there were other ways to handle it, admiration for Sassoon for writing it, empathy for the soldiers on the front line and irritation for the people at home for being ignorant about the sufferings of warfare.